N. Raghuraman's column: 'Weekend economy' may attract more attention in the future

I know chefs who stay home on Mondays and Tuesdays. On Wednesdays, they go to different places during the day and do research and reach the restaurant in the evening, so that they can serve the customers who come in between the week. Then work late into the night from Thursday to Sunday. For a long time, restaurants in south Mumbai and small outlets in areas like Dadar have been open only four nights a week. This makes customers eager and demand always outstrip supply. This is because entrepreneurs have sensed the shopping trend of Mumbaikars, who spend more on weekends or around the weekend. This is what a study by data outfit Price and Tata Sons on consumption patterns in the top 100 cities in the country revealed this this fact. According to this, two-thirds of the weekly expenditure of urban consumers is spent on Saturdays and Sundays. Spending on essentials like groceries 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 other 94 cities are not far behind. Only in some cities like Dhanbad this level is slightly lower. Farmers who have been doing organic farming for a long time are doing this very well not only in Tier-1 cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru, but also in Tier-2 cities like Indore and Jaipur. Many farmers only do business on Sundays, as corporate workers keep a stock of fresh vegetables in the fridge for the next few days. These farmers go together, to the same place and sell their weekly produce. Even in developed countries such as the US, Canada, Japan, and Europe, many independent boutique, fashion, antique or craft stores are only open from Thursday to Sunday. Their owners rely on appointments, online sales or high-margin businesses 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 other days on request. You may be wondering why these businesses open only four days when fixed expenses like rent and salary remain the same? There are several reasons for this. Maybe it's because of the specialty of the place, like a museum. Maybe the premises are their own and the employees are family members, who earn by working for three days and enjoy life the remaining four days. Those who are doing business in rented premises may be running it as omni-channel retail, where they mix online sales and offers like 'click-and-collect' with a physical shop. Could the three-day retail model be common in the future? Many colleges are promoting entrepreneurship in their courses, so this may happen in the next few years in select sectors. Businesses that could 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', which takes orders online from Monday to Thursday and uses staff to inventory, produce and connect with customers online. With them open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, such businesses can reduce labour costs and cater to most of the demand. Some even promote their limited hours of being open as an exclusive brand experience. If you want to get into the food business, you can start a weekend venture and test the market with minimal investment. The trick is that many entrepreneurs may consider the 'weekend economy' given the lack of highly-productive employees who want work-life balance and the arbitrary spending on weekends. In some retail businesses, this could become a trend of the future.