No Modi wave in gifting; here's what stingy Indian corporates are giving this Diwali

It is sort of anticlimax for corporate gifting companies this Diwali, the first one after pro-business Narendra Modi took the Indian Prime Minister’s chair.

Diwali is the biggest time of the year for these companies and they had hoped for a big pick-up in demand during the festival, but these hopes have remained just that - hopes. Business volumes have surely witnessed an increase; but the value of gifts are just not matching up though.

“When we saw that Modi was pro-business, we thought it was but natural that corporate India would go all the way out to celebrate the success of a pro-business leader like Modi with mithai, dry fruit boxes, expensive consumer electronic items, and much more this Diwali,” says Anil Batra of online firm, Businessgifts.in.

Most gifting companies say their business has increased around 30 percent, but the gifts in demand from corporates are low-value, low-margin products. And the gifting category of choice are electronic gadgets and gizmos - now cheap enough thanks to Chinese players who are flooding India, and yet with better perceived value than a box of mithai.

Here are some of the gifts popular on corporate lists this Diwali:

1) Power Banks: With more and more Indians taking to smartphones and mostly the Android kind, the biggest problem they face is battery life. Added to this is the fact that most professionals today carry more than one smartphone or a smartphone and tablet combo, and charging them is a pain. Whether it’s an employee who can’t be productive on her smartphone or as a gift to business contacts, Power Banks, which are small, portable battery packs that can charge one or more devices (based on feature availability), are extremely popular and in vogue. In addition, the fact that power cuts are a reality in even many Indian metros adds to the lure of this category.

Power banks are available at various price points and most gifting companies say they have seen a 35-40 percent rise in demand in corporate bulk orders at the Rs 550-750 price point, with most companies opting for branded ones. The most expensive ones that some gifting companies have in this segment are Power Banks with a capacity of 10,000 mAH for tablets and smartphones and which usually come with two separate USB outlets for charging tablets and smartphones.

2) Bluetooth speakers: Indians love music and Bollywood’s popularity is testament to that. With Internet music becoming very popular, tinny smartphone speakers can’t keep pace and sound awful, and that’s where external Bluetooth speakers come in. They are small, can be battery- or USB-powered and can turn a smartphone or even a feature phone with a music player into a little personal music hub. They can also work well in a small party or at the gym or when playing games. Prices range from Rs 400 to Rs 1000.

3) Credit card shaped pen drives: With everyone sharing movies, music and clicking pictures and shooting videos of everything from their kids to cute animals and whatever else they fancy, demand for portable storage is at an all-time high. Pen drives are now cheaper and can store anything from thousands of songs to photographs for a few hundred rupees. However, small pen drives are prone to being misplaced and that’s where credit card shaped pen drives come in. These are shaped exactly like a credit card and fit into the credit card slot in wallets and purses. They also serve as an excellent promotional tool for companies to display brand names, because the space for branding is relatively large as compared to other gifts. Over 70 percent of gift orders have been for branded items in this category, according to gifting companies. The most popular ones are in the Rs 300-700 price point segment with a capacity of around 4 GB - 8 GB.

4) Household items: Gizmos and gadgets may be the most popular choices but some corporates prefer old fashioned favourites and perhaps it may have something to do with durability as compared to gadgets that seem flimsy. These are also perennial favourites with older employees who often struggle with technology.

The usual knick-knacks find their place on this list, ranging from table-top display sets like pen stands, and also what employers see employees use often such as thermos flasks (Rs 1200), sippers (Rs 185) and backpacks (Rs 1000). “We had to fit in what we could in the limited budgets that corporates gave us,” says Suvir Khullar, Director, Gifting Ideas. Interestingly, LED candles have been an item ordered heavily this Diwali, accounting for 8 percent of the orders in the household items segment.

5) Idols: You can’t go wrong with the Gods. When they are made of precious metals like silver, they have excellent value too. Ganesha and Lakshmi figures stamped on silver coins encased in glass containers have been a perennial favourite with organisations. Gold coated ones are also popular. Around 10 percent of corporates have settled for such items this Diwali.