B2B startup Udaan sees demand for electronic products rising in lockdowns

400 sellers clocked sales worth Rs 1 crore each on website for gadgets last year, says company

Udaan, the business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce startup, said on Monday it helped more than 400 electronics goods sellers get sales worth Rs 1 crore each in 2020, crediting its growth to demand by people working at home during the coronavirus pandemic.

Udaan got more than 1.13 lakh new users in its electronics category in 2020 and shipped some 160 million products to 12,000 pin codes.

“As people started working from home, the demand for electronic products from professionals and families increased to facilitate their daily work, education of kids as well as for family entertainment,” said Hrishikesh Thite, head for electronics category at Udaan.

After the pandemic triggered work-from-home (WFH), many working professionals moved back to their hometowns in tier 2 and 3 cities. This resulted in a large volume of orders for electronic products from cities across Uttar Pradesh followed by West Bengal, Assam, and Bihar.

“This trend was visible across the country,” said Thite. “The seller partners on our platform benefitted as they were able to cater to demands across Bharat by leveraging our robust supply chain network and our deep access across the width and depth of the country.”

Small retailers benefited as they got access to a wide range of products at the best prices, with the convenience of placing orders on the Udaan app anytime from anywhere. Many small and big brands also joined Udaan to access new markets, and benefit from cost efficiencies offered by the platform.

Demand surged for electronic products after lockdowns to contain the coronavirus. The sale of accessories witnessed a sharp spike making it the highest selling product on the  Udaan platform. More than 120 million accessories and consumer electronics followed by 10 million mobile handsets were sold on the platform during 2020.

Udaan also sold 50 million electronic products within three months post the unlock, comprising of audio and mobile accessories (19 per cent) and power accessories (16 per cent). The other products included mobile handsets (9 per cent), computers and IT accessories (7 per cent) and consumer electronics (6 per cent).

Brands such as Apple, SanDisk and boAt have partnered with Udaan to leverage its distribution network and access new markets. With doorstep delivery services in tier 1,2,3 cities across the country, the retailers didn’t have to risk going to wholesale markets during the pandemic.