E-commerce sites record Rs 1 tn in sales; non-metros drove festive shopping

Demand from non-metro consumers, coupled with increased interest in luxury brands, drove festive season sales

E-commerce platforms in India recorded approximately Rs 1 trillion (around $11.9 billion) in sales during the month-long festive season that concluded last week, marking an increase of over 20 per cent from last year, according to a report in The Economic Times.

 

Demand from non-metro consumers, coupled with increased interest in luxury brands, drove this growth. This season’s increase in sales, estimated at over 23 per cent by e-commerce consultancy Datum Intelligence, continued the growth trends seen in previous years, with sales of Rs 81,000 crore in 2022 and Rs 69,800 crore in 2021.

 

High demand in initial week

   

The first week accounted for more than half of the total festive sales, with major events like Flipkart's Big Billion Days and Amazon's Great Indian Festival, which began on September 26, generating sales worth Rs 55,000 crore ($6.5 billion). Sales tapered off in the third week but picked up again towards the end of the season.

 

Some sellers on Flipkart reported year-on-year growth of 40-50 per cent, while Amazon stated that over 85 per cent of its customers were from non-metro cities. Increased demand from tier II and III cities boosted purchases across various categories, including smartphones, home appliances, fashion, and groceries.

 

Smartphones, premium products lead sales

 

Smartphones emerged as the top-selling category, with online sales accounting for nearly 65 per cent of all smartphone purchases during the festive season. Both Flipkart and Amazon identified smartphones as their highest-grossing category, with a notable demand for premium and mid-premium Android models featuring AI-driven functions. Flipkart reported a 17 per cent rise in demand for top brands, while Amazon saw its largest year-on-year growth for smartphones priced above Rs 30,000, with over 70 per cent of these sales coming from smaller cities.

 

The demand for premium brands also stood out this season, with Amazon reporting a 30 per cent increase in sales of large appliances and a significant rise in luxury fashion and beauty items, with some categories experiencing over 400 per cent growth compared to regular business levels.

 

Additional growth areas 

 

The festive season also benefited SoftBank-backed Meesho, which saw a 40 per cent increase in orders during its Mega Blockbuster Sale. Key areas of growth included a 105 per cent rise in home and kitchen items, a 60 per cent increase in beauty and personal care, and a 75 per cent boost in children’s products.

 

Reflecting this sales surge, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions also spiked in October, reaching 16.58 billion and growing 45 per cent year-on-year. The total transaction value was up by 34 per cent from the previous year, according to the National Payments Corporation of India.

 

Quick commerce 

 

Quick commerce also performed exceptionally well, accounting for an estimated $1.1-1.2 billion in sales during the season, according to Datum. The final week saw significant last-minute purchases, driven by platforms expanding into additional cities.

 

Several homegrown direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands saw sharp growth, with some categories, including beauty, shoes, and apparel, reporting up to 700 per centyear-on-year increases. For example, Wakefit, a sleep solutions brand, saw a 50 per cent rise in revenue and a five-fold increase in website traffic during the sale period.