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Demand trends: Muted post-festive momentum with consumers deferring purchases ahead of EOSS

Overall consumer demand across apparel and footwear retail remains mixed to muted in the post-festive period, with most stores experiencing a typical slowdown after Diwali (October). Nov’25 experienced a slight pickup driven by the onset of the wedding season; however, entering into Dec’25, demand softened again as consumers deferred purchases in anticipation of higher discounts in the upcoming EOSS (expected from the third week of Dec’25). Retailers expect EOSS to drive the bulk of demand in the near term.

Footfalls: Branded retailers experience weakness; Value fashion and Departmental stores relatively resilient Footfalls across most EBOs remain weak, with very low weekday traffic and only marginal improvement over the weekends. In contrast, value-focused retailers such as Zudio, Max, and Pantaloons continue to see healthier traction, aided by sharper pricing, broader assortments, and stronger customer engagement. Mall footfalls were strong overall, but branded retailers struggled to convert this into meaningful store traffic, whereas value retailers and departmental stores benefited disproportionately, aided by the presence of multiple brands and affordable price points.

Go Fashion expands into a multi-category format

Go Fashion has launched its new premium multi-category format in Mumbai, marking a strategic expansion beyond women’s bottom wear into women’s top wear and men’s essential wear to capture a higher share of customer wallet. The new 2,000- 2,500 sqft. stores feature an upgraded layout and visual merchandising, with a 50:35:15 space mix across women’s bottom wear, women’s top wear, and men’s essentials. Early traction from the Chennai Nungambakkam pilot (delivering INR1,000+ psf pm) supports the format’s potential. The company plans to test 15-20 such stores over the next year, with broader rollout dependent on performance metrics.

Our take

* Discussions with retailers indicate that quarterly demand trends remain soft, marked by a post-festive lull, weak footfalls at EBOs, and muted conversions. Consumers appear to be increasingly deferring purchases ahead of EOSS, making the upcoming discount phase a likely catalyst for any meaningful recovery in traffic and sales in the latter half of the month.

* Value fashion and multi-category departmental formats such as Zudio, Pantaloons, Max, and Shoppers Stop continue to benefit from stronger footfalls due to their broader assortment and competitive price points. These players are structurally better positioned to draw mall traffic compared to single-brand premium formats.

* While branded retailers are seeing flat to mid-single-digit growth, select premium brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein are delivering high single-to-double-digit LFL growth, supported by brand strength and a more resilient and stickier premium consumer segment.

We continue to prefer value fashion retailers (V-Mart, VMM). While we remain positive on DMart and Trent, we note there are near to medium term challenges from rising competition and subdued demand sentiment. In the footwear space, we prefer Metro.

All eyes on EOSS, which is expected to begin in the third week of Dec’25

* Across retailers, EOSS is emerging as the key catalyst for near-term demand recovery, with brands expecting a meaningful improvement in footfalls and conversions only once the discounting period begins. Departmental stores such as Shoppers Stop and several EBOs’ store managers indicated softer footfalls and walk-ins in recent weeks, driven by communication around upcoming EOSS promotions already reaching consumers. As shoppers become aware of the impending discounts, their behaviors clearly reflect purchase deferral ahead of promotional pricing.

* EOSS timelines remain staggered, with most branded retailers expected to begin in mid-December, while a few brands and the majority of the departmental stores are likely to commence their sale only toward the end of Dec’25.

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