The pandemic has forced corporate entities to abort or scale down on Diwali gifts this year.

The gifts used to come in various forms: from the ubiquitous dry fruit boxes to elegant packs with fountain pens and card holders. Companies used to hire creative agencies to think of innovative gifts.

But with the economy in a tailspin, corporate gifts have been going south for the past few years. This year, the segment has hit rock bottom, according to givers and takers.

The dry fruits' market in Burrabazar has been busy for the past few days. But bulk orders from companies were missing, traders said. “Bulk orders are a fifth of last year,” Paresh Modi, a dry fruits’ trader, said.

Many companies opt for personalised gifts during Diwali. A premium fountain pen and an accompanying notepad or card holder used to be a popular choice with many companies till this year.

“Corporate gift orders are 15 to 20 per cent of previous years,” Gautam Jatia, the CEO of Starmark, said.

“Premium pens are the most popular gifts. In previous years, there have been instances of a client ordering around 30-40 Kindles as Diwali gift. But things have come to a standstill this year,” Jatia said.

An online trading firm spent “around Rs 5 lakh” on Diwali gifts last year for premium clients.

This year, the budget is one-fifth. “Staying afloat is a challenge now. Gifts have taken a back seat,” a senior official of the firm said.

Many companies used to hire advertising agencies to come up with innovative and insightful corporate gifts, both during Diwali and New Year.

“Corporate gifts have seen a significant drop in the past few years. This year, there is nothing at all,” a Calcutta-based advertiser said.

He usually starts working on New Year gifts from October. “But there are hardly any orders so far this year.”

Till 2016, a private bank in BBD Bagh used to order “around 200” boxes of dry fruits during Diwali for premium depositors.

The number has been going down for the past few years. But this year, the bank has ordered nothing. “We are just sending e-cards to customers,” an official said.

An official of an FMCG company is flooded with gift hampers during Diwali every year. But this year, the number has been just “a couple of dry fruit boxes”.

A Calcutta-headquartered FMCG company has bucked the trend and continued with personalised corporate gifts this Diwali as well.

“We wanted to celebrate the spirit of Diwali... and not let our spirit be dampened by the muted environment,” a spokesperson said.