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Consumer behaviour this season reflects a bullish sentiment, fuelled by GST-enabled price reductions that have lowered costs in high-ticket categories such as electronics and pushed festive demand up 23-25 per cent across metropolitan and emerging markets. The GST reforms, effective from September 22 -- the first day of Navratri --reduced tax rates in several high-demand categories, including large-screen TVs, mid-range fashion and furniture, providing direct price benefits to consumers. These changes have not only lowered retail prices but also encouraged shoppers to look beyond tactical discount-hunting towards more aspirational purchases, lifting participation from tier 2 and tier 3 cities and stimulating growth in discretionary spending. According to market research firm Redseer, the reduction of GST on large TVs from 28 to 18 per cent led to a 6-8 per cent fall in retail prices, boosting demand for premium models. Fashion items priced below Rs 2,500 now attract just 5 per cent GST, encouraging mid-market apparel purchases, while furniture, now also taxed at 5 per cent, has shifted from wishlists to shopping carts. "First 2 days sales surged by 23-25 per cent year-on-year, marking a four-to-fivefold jump in growth over last year's muted start. The twin forces of GST 2.0 reforms and festive sentiment powered a wave of premium smartphone and TV purchases, with loyalty members driving record demand. "For the first time in years, India's festive e-commerce season is not just about deals it's about policy shifts, consumer confidence, and platforms vying to capture the premium basket. "User feedback suggested that demand was so strong that some apps even faced massive slowness and crashed within minutes of trying to place orders, suggesting positive sentiment of users to spend and grab flash deals and early-bird discounts," Redseer said. E-commerce major Amazon reported over 38 crore customer visits in the first two days of its festive sale, marking its biggest-ever seasonal start, with more than 70 per cent of traffic coming from outside the top nine metros. Sales growth was particularly visible in categories such as smartphones, appliances, fashion and wellness products, with premium items like QLED and Mini-LED TVs, advanced washing machines and flagship smartphones seeing robust demand. Small and medium businesses (SMBs), especially from tier 2 and tier 3 cities, accounted for significant sales momentum, with over 16,000 SMBs tripling their sales compared to an average day, Amazon said. "The #GSTBachatUtsav initiative has been incredibly well-received, with sellers passing on GST benefits worth crores in just 48 hours through our dedicated storefront featuring home appliances, electronics, daily essentials, healthcare, fashion, and more. We're humbled to see strong business growth for lakhs of sellers across the country, from small businesses and local artisans to made-in-India brands," said Saurabh Srivastava, Vice President, Amazon India. Flipkart reported a 21 per cent increase in user visits during the first 48 hours of its festive sale compared with last year, attributing the rise largely to the GST 2.0 reforms. Categories such as mobiles, TVs and refrigerators recorded a 26 per cent year-on-year jump in demand. Growth was seen not only in the metros but also in cities like Indore, Surat, and Varanasi, indicating deeper penetration into non-traditional markets. Snapdeal, too, observed sharp momentum in fashion, with the category doubling year-on-year and seasonal apparel soaring nearly fivefold. Festive gifting segments such as serveware recorded even sharper surges of around 350 per cent. "We believe the recent GST changes have also played a definitive role in shaping consumer choices. Categories like apparel and footwear, which have benefited from reduced GST rates, are seeing stronger traction in the ongoing sale. We see a bullish consumer sentiment, buoyed by festive offers and lower prices due to GST-led price reductions," Snapdeal CEO Achint Setia said.

Shares of GK Energy extended their post-listing gains on Friday, surging 6.6% to hit an intraday high of Rs 175.95 on the BSE. This fresh upmove comes after the stock listed with an 11.8% premium over its issue price of Rs 153 earlier in the day, taking total listing gains for IPO investors to nearly 15%.GK Energy’s robust debut reflects strong investor appetite, with its Rs 464 crore IPO subscribed 93.6 times overall, led by high institutional demand. The company had priced its IPO at Rs 153 per share, valuing it at a market capitalization of around Rs 3,103 crore at the upper end of the price band.The company intends to utilise the proceeds from the IPO to primarily fund working capital requirements amounting to Rs 322 crore, with the rest allocated for general corporate purposes.Analysts previously noted that despite being fully priced, GK Energy’s strong fundamentals, visible earnings trajectory, and healthy order book provide support for further upside potential.Financially, the company reported revenue of Rs 1,099 crore and profit after tax of Rs 133 crore in FY25, translating into a healthy PAT margin of 12.1%. EBITDA stood at Rs 200 crore, with strong return ratios — 63.7% ROE and 55.7% ROCE — underlining the company’s operational efficiency.GK Energy is India’s largest pure-play provider of EPC services for solar-powered agricultural water pump systems under the PM-KUSUM scheme. Its asset-light business model and solid order book — valued at over Rs 1,028 crore as of August 2025 — have boosted investor confidence.Around 10:30 am, the shares of GK Energy were trading with overall gains of 13.4% at Rs 173.45 over its IPO price.Also read: Sun Pharma, Cipla & other pharma stocks crack up to 5% as Trump announces 100% tariff on imported patented drugs(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

Shares of Tata Motors gained 2% to their day’s high of Rs 677 on the NSE on Friday, September 26, after Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) announced a phased restart of its operations after a cyberattack halted production for almost a month. With today’s gain, the stock snapped a 2-day losing streak.“As part of the controlled, phased restart of our operations, today we have informed colleagues, suppliers and retail partners that sections of our digital estate are now up and running. The foundational work of our recovery programme is firmly underway”, the company’s British subsidiary said.Also read: Copper is the new gold? Why this reddish glow can help your portfolio growThe luxury carmaker added that it has significantly ramped up its IT processing capacity for invoicing and is now working to clear the backlog of supplier payments at the earliest. Its Global Parts Logistics Centre — which supplies distribution centres for retail partners in the UK and globally — is returning to full operations, enabling partners to continue servicing customer vehicles.Additionally, the financial system used for processing wholesale vehicle sales is back online, allowing the company to sell and register vehicles more quickly and improve cash flow.The development gains significance as JLR, earlier this week, announced that it is extending the production delay until October 1. “JLR accounts for 70-75% of its consolidated revenue; the attack's disruption to production and IT systems could have a significant financial impact. The estimated revenue loss is £300-400 million, with an additional £50-100 million in indirect costs. This could translate to a 1-2% drag on Tata Motors' FY26 EBITDA,” Santosh Meena of Swastika Investmart told ETMarkets.JLR did not disclose the details on what kind of data was affected but said it had informed relevant authorities."Our forensic investigation continues at pace and we will contact anyone as appropriate if we find that their data has been impacted," the company said earlier this month.At about 9:45 am, shares of Tata Motors were trading at Rs 675, higher by 1.7% from the last close on the NSE. Given the negative news circling regarding the same, the stock slipped over 6% in the last 4 sessions.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)