With high pent-up demand and a wave of premiumisation in private consumption in smaller cities and towns in India, e-commerce platforms reported over Rs 1 lakh crore in gross merchandise value (GMV) during the month-long festive season.
According to industry data, this marks a growth of more than 20 percent compared to last year's festive sales on major e-commerce platforms across the country. Rs 55,000 crore-and this figure has just arrived for the first festive sales week itself that had kicked in on September 26, surpassing more than half of the overall business transacted during this festival.
"The increase in this festival sale will be 23-plus percent, much ahead of the previous festivals. The majority of the category stores-the mobile, electronics and apparels-had recorded sound growth during the festive days under business as usual. Except that, it delivered strong performance even at that base points, said Datam Intelligence.
Quick commerce, which started gaining pace in 2023, was the biggest contributor to e-commerce growth, accounting for 8 percent of it compared to 5 percent from the previous year.
Smartphones was the largest-selling category during the festival season accounting for about 65 percent of smartphone sales. The demand for premium brands had a sharp increase.
More than 70 percent premium smartphones on Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) came from cities classified as tier 2 and above, and more than 85 percent customers came from a non-metro area and above. Besides, more than 50 percent of sales on television came from cities classified as tier 2 and 3. This season saw a growth of more than 25 percent from tier 2 cities demanding large appliances. Customers opted for air conditioners, refrigerators, and were the choice picks of Amazon India.
While brands were looking to bank on festive demand, most of them strategically leveraged e-commerce platforms to cater to aspirational customers and reach relatively inaccessible consumers in tier 2 cities and beyond.
Emerging categories-home and kitchen appliances also picked up on quick commerce platforms that helped such platforms increase their average order values and profitability.
Read also| GST Collections Rise by 8.9% Year-on-Year to Rs 1.87 Lakh Crore in October
