I know chefs who stay home on Mondays and Tuesdays. On Wednesdays, he goes to different places during the day to do research and reaches the restaurant in the evening, so that he can serve the customers who come during the week. Then work till late night from Thursday to Sunday. For a long time in Mumbai, restaurants in South Mumbai and small outlets in areas like Dadar were open only four nights a week. Due to this, curiosity and demand among customers always remains more than supply. This is because entrepreneurs have sensed the shopping trend of Mumbaikars, who spend more on weekends or days around weekends. This week, a study conducted by data outfit ‘Price’ and Tata Sons on consumption patterns in the top 100 cities of the country has revealed the same thing. According to this, two-thirds of the weekly expenditure of urban consumers is spent on Saturday and Sunday. Spending on essentials like grocery and healthcare remains the same throughout the week, but there is a clear jump in fashion spending. This expenditure increases from an average of Rs 529 on other days to an average of Rs 1075 on weekends. This trend is more pronounced in the six major metros of the country – Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad. The remaining 94 cities are also not far behind. Only in some cities like Dhanbad this level is slightly less. Farmers who have been doing organic farming for a long time are doing this work very well not only in tier-1 cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru, but also in tier-2 cities like Indore and Jaipur. Many farmers do business only on Sundays, as corporate employees keep the stock of fresh vegetables in the fridge for the next few days. These farmers come together at one place and sell their weekly produce. Even in developed countries such as the US, Canada, Japan and Europe, many independent boutiques, fashion, antique or craft stores are open only from Thursday to Sunday. Their owners rely on appointments, online sales or high-margin business rather than daily customers. I have seen some private museums in states like Kerala, which are open to the public only on weekends and on request on other days. You might be wondering that when fixed expenses like rent and salaries remain the same, then why do these businesses open only for four days? There are many reasons for this. This may be due to the specialty of the place, such as a museum. The premises may be self-owned and the employees may be family members, who work for three days to earn and the remaining four days to enjoy life. Those operating from rented premises may be running it as omni-channel retail, where they combine online sales with a physical shop and offers such as ‘click-and-collect’. Could the three-day retail model become common in the future? Many colleges are promoting entrepreneurship in their courses, so this may happen in select sectors in the next few years. Businesses that can benefit from this model include luxury boutiques, handmade products, designer furniture, art and collectibles, specialty food and vintage clothing. Future weekend stores may be suitable for ‘destination shopping’, taking online orders from Monday to Thursday and using staff during this time to manage inventory, production and engage with online customers. By being open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, such businesses can have lower labor costs and can also meet more demand. Some even promote their limited opening hours as an exclusive brand experience. If you want to enter the food business, you can test the market with minimal investment by starting a weekend venture. The bottom line is that given the lack of highly-productive employees seeking work-life balance and the increased discretionary spending that occurs on weekends, many entrepreneurs may consider the ‘weekend economy’. This may become a future trend in some retail businesses.
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N. Raghuraman’s Column: ‘Weekend Economy’ may attract more people’s attention in future
