New Delhi, Aug 18 (IANS): Ever since the pandemic, YouGov's Diwali Spending Index has been tracking the purchase intent of consumers during Diwali season. This year's data reveals a spending propensity of 94.45 among urban Indians, up from 90.71 in 2021, and 80.96 in 2020, highlighting a rapid road to recovery.

The Index was calculated as a weighted impact of 10 factors (like increase in gross household income, increase/decrease in household expenses, intent to invest or splurge and general optimism towards economy) on their intent to spend more/less this Diwali season versus last.

Among the 10 factors, one of the key drivers for people to spend more this year is their anticipation for the festival. More than a third (35 per cent) agreed with the statement "I am looking forward to Diwali this year since the rest of the year has been quite dull because of Covid-19".

Furthermore, nearly three in ten (27 per cent) urban Indians agreed that they feel optimistic about the economy in general.

This optimism reflects in their personal life as well as another 27 per cent claim their gross household income is higher today than it was a year ago, up from 19 per cent who said this last year. With urbans Indians appearing to be in a better position to spend this year, these factors could likely be pulling up the overall sentiment to spend more this Diwali as compared to last.

Even though there is an improvement, the biggest barrier to spending continues to be the fear of the uncertain. Just as many as those who in 2021 said they are more careful with their finances today than they used to be in the past agreed with the statement this year as well.

Having said that, there is excitement among the public and 36 per cent urban Indian respondents said they are likely to spend more than last year during Diwali in 2022. This is significantly higher than the past years, where 29 per cent and 17 per cent were willing to spend more during Diwali in 2020 and 2021, respectively.