In an interview with ET Now, Chawla revealed that while overall growth was broad-based across jewellery, watches, eyewear and emerging businesses, the jewellery segment saw a unique pattern: buyers remained flat year-over-year, but ticket sizes increased significantly as customers purchased higher-value items amid rising gold prices.
Gold price anxiety brings fence-sitters to market
“Because of gold prices not coming down, fence sitters came in and there was a lot of fear of missing out,”Chawla explained, noting that this sentiment drove traffic during both the festive season and subsequent wedding period.
The executive emphasized that the company’s operating teams executed flawlessly on new collection launches, exchange programs, and high-value exhibitions throughout the quarter, contributing to the strong results.
However, Chawla cautioned that consumer behavior becomes difficult to predict when gold prices show volatility. “In the month of February we have seen some volatility in the prices. It has not just been a one-way upward movement,” he said. “Whenever those things happen, customers tend to wait and watch and see if they can time the market.”
Exchange purchases surge as key growth driver
Titan significantly ramped up its exchange gold strategy in Q3, with exchange purchases contributing 10 percentage points more than the previous period. The company views exchange as beneficial for customers, the country, and the environment.
“We do see a benefit even during exchange purchases that there is an upsell,” Chawla noted. “Customers may come in with a certain grammage of gold that they have, but they tend to buy much more than what they got in.”Despite the exchange boost, fresh purchases still account for more than 50% of business, indicating a healthy mix of both acquisition channels.
Industry grammage falls 8-10% as prices bite
The high gold prices took their toll on volume, with Titan experiencing a 7% decline in overall grammage compared to an estimated 8-10% industry decline. However, the company outperformed significantly in gold jewellery specifically.
While Titan’s gold jewellery grammage fell 12%, the broader industry saw a 24% decline in this category, according to World Gold Council data cited by Chawla. The divergence reflects a major industry shift toward bullion purchases as consumers sought safer gold investments.
Mixed buyer trends across product categories
Breaking down the buyer trends, Chawla revealed varied performance across segments:
- Studded jewellery: 3% buyer growth
- Gold jewellery: Buyer decline
- Gold coins: Growth in both buyers and ticket size
- CaratLane: 4% buyer growth, with positive momentum building in November and December following strategic interventions
- The overall buyer count remained flat quarter-over-quarter, making the ticket size growth even more significant as the primary revenue driver.
Outlook remains cautious amid price volatility
Chawla emphasized the difficulty in predicting future consumer behavior, particularly as gold prices show recent volatility after months of steady increases. He noted that volatility has become “;a way of life” in the gold market, occurring within quarters, months, and across years.
“If secularly gold prices continue to tend upwards, customers tend to come in especially when there are reasons to come in whether it is festivals or it is weddings,” he said. “Otherwise they may hold on and see where it goes and then decide what to do.”
The company continues to invest in exchange programs and new collection launches while monitoring price trends closely.
Key takeaways
- Titan posted broad-based growth across jewellery, watches, eyewear and emerging businesses in Q3
- Buyer numbers stayed flat, but ticket sizes increased significantly
- Exchange purchases contributed 10 percentage points more, with customers typically buying more than they brought in
- Titan’s gold jewellery grammage fell 12% vs. 24% industry decline
- Fresh purchases still account for over 50% of business
- February price volatility creating wait-and-watch behavior among some consumers
- CaratLane showed improving momentum with 4% buyer growth