UNITED STATES, November 7, 2023 (BBC): For many businesses, holiday spending is a major part of Q4 revenue – think Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Kwanzaa. Now, as it gains national recognition, US merchants are increasingly embracing Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, for its commercial potential. While every region in India has traditions for commemorating this holiday, most celebrants broadly see Diwali as the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness and wisdom over ignorance. Also marked by Jains and Sikhs, it is celebrated every year in October or November, precipitating a range of private and public celebrations. Diwali’s profile is growing, particularly in the US. In 2022, President Joe Biden marked Diwali at the White House with the biggest-ever celebration. Recognition has also appeared at the state and city levels: the Pennsylvania State Senate passed a bill earlier in April this year making Diwali an official holiday state holiday; and in New York City, Mayor Eric Adams announced in June that Diwali will become a school holiday in the city’s public school system, the largest in the country.

To celebrate the holiday, consumers spend on gifts, food for parties, festive decor and floral arrangements. “Diwali is the equivalent of Christmas for consumption for South Asians in terms of buying new clothes, buying new things, painting the house,” says Nirmalya Kumar, a professor of marketing at Singapore Management University. Major retailers such as Target, Walmart and Costco have begun to cater to Diwali in the past few years, stocking shelves with Diwali-specific goods, including decorative productive products for the home, food and gift boxes. Greeting card aisles also display Diwali-themed cards alongside Christmas ones. There’s a big potential market. At nearly 4.4 million, the Indian-American population has grown by more than 50% between 2010 and 2020, according to 2020 US Census data, which includes groups that celebrate Diwali.

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https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20231107-why-diwali-spending-is-primed-to-rocket-in-the-us

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