Airport looks, resort styles goad retailers to stock up on vacation wear

livemint.com:

NEW DELHI : Ankita Sehgal was all geared up for her 10-day vacation to Vietnam but for one important detail that she had to tick off her to-do list: shopping. Not in Vietnam, rather for.

“While I did plan to shop while on holiday, I still needed some things before the trip," said the 35-year-old ended up spending around ₹7,000 on pre-travel shopping, including for a new pair of sneakers, personal care products, and some comfort clothing such as shorts and shirts. “Sneakers for long walks as well as some casual clothing since my wardrobe is mostly office clothes," she Sehgal, an operations manager with a leading consulting firm.

Indians have evolved past the post-covid revenge travel phase, and are now actively holidaying both in India and abroad, spending their disposable incomes on collecting “experiences"—a trend retailers are looking to cash in on to make up for their tepid sales. With Indians high on travelling, retailers are actively curating “vacation looks" and launching holiday-specific collections across categories such as apparel, accessories and even beauty products to boost sales.

"Vacation shopping has become an occasion in itself," said Kavindra Mishra, chief executive at Shoppers Stop. Earlier this week, the department store chain announced a partnership with online travel booking platform EaseMyTrip.com to launch vacation-specific promotions and rewards.

Apparel retailers have been grappling with tepid sales the past several quarters with consumers spending more on “experiences" such as travel and eating out, stifling demand for products such as clothing and electronics. In a recent joint report, Boston Consulting Group and the Retailers Association of India said consumption in India had undergone a