Rs 1 Lakh Crore Festive Sales in e-Commerce
As private consumption surges in India's smaller cities and towns, fueled by pent-up demand at high premiumisation wave, e-commerce platforms raked up gross merchandise value of over Rs 1 lakh crore in the month-long festive season.
According to industry data, this is more than 20 percent growth from last year's festive sales on major e-commerce platforms in the country. The first week of festive sales (which began on September 26) alone saw business worth Rs 55,000 crore, which is almost half of the total sales.
The increase in sales during the festive season was estimated to be over 23 percent this time by e-commerce consultancy Datum Intelligence.
The categories that showed some impetus were mobiles, electronics, and fashion; however, the other categories did a better business-as-usual (BAU) performance.
The category that really showed promise in 2023, where it was significantly big, is quick commerce at 8 percent, although still up from 5 percent last year.
Smartphones emerged as the best-selling category, with online sales accounting for almost 65 percent of all smartphone sales during the festive season. Premium brands experienced a growing demand.
Cities Tier 2 and above contributed over 70 percent of Amazon's premium smartphone sales.
More than 85 percent customers came from non-metro cities, while over 50 percent of TV purchases came from tier 2 and 3 cities, noted Amazon India. Demand for large appliances from tier 2 cities grew by 25 percent, where customers mostly opted for air conditioners and refrigerators, claimed Amazon India.
As brands harnessed the festive demand, several of them went ahead to leverage e-commerce platforms strategically for catering to aspirational customers and reached relative less accessible customers in Tier 2 cities and further.
Newer categories including home and kitchen appliances saw momentum on quick commerce platforms where it helped platforms increase the average order value and hence profitability.
