Gold Price Surge Shifts Indian Consumers to Old Jewellery Exchange

Gold prices surged by nearly 56% in FY26, prompting Indian consumers to opt for exchanging old jewellery rather than investing in fresh advance purchase schemes. As a result, deposits collected by India's leading jewellers declined sharply for the second consecutive year. In FY26, Titan's Tanishq chain saw a 39% drop in deposit collections to ₹2,116 crore, while Reliance Retail reported a 25% year-on-year decline to ₹250 crore.

Privately held Jos Alukkas also experienced a 25% fall in deposits last fiscal. Jewellers attributed the steeper decline to the significant rise in gold prices, which encouraged consumers to monetise existing gold through exchanges instead of making new purchases.

'The big surge in gold prices has changed the gold purchasing habit in India,' said Varghese Alukkas, managing director of Jos Alukkas. Advance purchase schemes, which allow consumers to make monthly payments towards a future jewellery purchase, have been an essential tool for driving gold consumption among middle- and lower-income households.