All the festive treats offered by various banks including HDFC, will help create demand which will help MSMEs, stated Parag Rao, group head for payment solutions and marketing at HDFC Bank. He added HDFC’s festive treats have always been a platform that worked with merchants.
Speaking to The Free Press Journal, Rao stated, “Important part of the festive treats is the MSMEs — important for rejuvenation of our economy. With such an initiative, we look at creating demand and improving consumption which will help these MSMEs.”
While the bank witnessed a challenge in the month of April and May, in June there was a surge in buying after many companies allowed work from home. Rao added from apparels to laptop to furniture, whatever was needed to make working from home a better experience drove the demand. So, this demand is expected during the festive season as well.
He added this festive season will be seen as an opportunity to grow further. Despite the pandemic, the bank’s growth has not been hampered and it will continue in the future as well. “Growth is part of our business plan and we will continue to grow,” Rao stated.
This festive season, however, it will be the new normal or new trends that will drive demand. Keeping this trend in mind, HDFC has offered a slew of offers related to electronics, online education, and fitness and well-being.
Meanwhile, due to the COVID-19-pandemic, there has been a change in the consumption pattern of the consumers. Rao stated that the bank has kept this in mind while designing these offers during the festive time. "While the first trend was a rise in demand for products that supported work from home or work at home, the second trend was the emergence of online education,” added Rao. Understanding the trend in online education, HDFC has partnered with Byju’s to offer EMI schemes for learning.
Keeping up with changing times, the bank is offering over 1,000 plus offers from leading players and over 2,000 hyper-local offers through tie-ups with local merchants across semi-urban and rural locations.
