E-commerce sales hit $6.5 billion in a week, up 26% during festive season

Sales for the week beginning Sept 26 accounted for roughly 55% of the expected total e-commerce sales for the festive season

Online marketplaces recorded sales totalling $6.5 billion during a week of festive promotions, reflecting a 26 per cent increase from last year. Mobile phones, electronics, consumer durables, home goods, and general merchandise comprised approximately three-fourths of this total, according to a report by The Economic Times.

According to e-commerce consultancy Datum Intelligence, sales for the week beginning September 26 accounted for roughly 55 per cent of the expected total e-commerce sales for the festive season, the report said.

Reports show that online retailers and brands were projected to achieve a gross merchandise value (GMV) of $12 billion during this festive season, which represents a 23 per cent increase from about $9.7 billion last year.

 

Higher-than-expected demand

In the e-commerce sector, GMV refers to the total sales generated by an online marketplace. The report quoted industry experts as saying that online consumers, particularly many from smaller towns and cities, have been purchasing items with higher average selling prices (ASP) and increasingly opting for EMI payment options.

E-commerce giants Flipkart, owned by Walmart, and Amazon India kicked off their annual festive sales — Big Billion Days and Great Indian Festival, respectively — on September 27, providing early access to members of their loyalty programmes, Amazon Prime and Flipkart Plus, starting September 26.

“Amazon India has witnessed strong customer demand across the consumer electronics category this festive season, with the premium segment (above Rs 30,000) seeing the highest year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth of 30 per cent. This growth is primarily driven by smartphones such as the iPhone 13, OnePlus, and Samsung S23 Ultra. Furthermore, the demand for premium products is not limited to metro areas; significant demand is coming from Tier-II and beyond cities, which account for 75 per cent of all orders,” said Ranjit Babu, director, consumer electronics, Amazon India.

"We are also seeing customers upgrade to bigger TVs, with 50 per cent of all orders being for large-screen TVs. Furthermore, tablets saw 60 per cent of sales in the premium segment, while large appliances like washing machines, refrigerators, and air conditioners experienced increased demand, with a 1.7x spike from customers using exchange offers and a 1.6x spike from those opting for no-cost equated monthly instalments (EMIs). Additionally, to streamline and provide additional peace of mind to our customers, we have initiated a new service where authorised, trained, and trusted personnel will provide installation, setup, and troubleshooting services across 400+ cities at their doorstep, at a time convenient to them. We have also introduced extended warranties at attractive rates across our selection," he added.

Meesho launched its Meesho Mega Blockbuster Sale on the same day, reporting a 40 per cent year-over-year rise in orders. This growth was driven primarily by strong demand from Tier-II cities, with nearly 45 per cent of shoppers coming from Tier-IV locations and beyond, the report said.

Flipkart said that it is committed to faster delivery options across all locations while expanding same-day and next-day delivery services. The report quoted a company executive as saying that while major metropolitan areas like New Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru continue to dominate, there is a robust demand from customers in Tier-II+ regions like Medinipur, Hisar, Berhampore, Bankura, and Agartala.

The report quoted Satish Meena, an advisor at Datum Intelligence, as saying that around Rs 50,000-Rs 55,000 crore worth of goods were sold during the first week of e-commerce festive sales.