E-commerce Firms to Witness a Boost this Festive Season; Expects $6.5 Bn in Sales

• With $6.5 billion in sales during the festive season, online retailers this year will witness a 34% year-over-year growth.
• The number of online shoppers this year will rise to about 60 million from the figure of 45 million e-shoppers last year.
• Flipkart to lead in smartphone and fashion categories during this period while Amazon will rely on Prime members.

The forthcoming sales could be a different affair for various e-commerce firms in India as the festival season begins in India. It is expected that all the major e-commerce firms will witness major sales of about $6.5 billion, a 34% year-over-year growth, over the next four weeks.

As the overall retail contribution in the country shrinks due to low footfalls in physical stores, e-commerce could grow by over a third compared to the previous year, according to a new report by Forrester Research.

The sales are expected to be driven primarily by Mega Sales events like Flipkart's ‘Big Billion Days’ sale and Amazon's ‘Great Indian Festival’ sale.  that are scheduled from October 15 to October 21. It is estimated that about 75% of the sales would occur during this period.

The report also estimates that the number of online shoppers this year will rise to about 60 million from the figure of 45 million e-shoppers last year.

“We expect a lot of demand in consumer electronics, home appliances, smartphones, and home furnishing to drive more sales during the festive month," said Satish Meena, a senior forecast analyst at Forrester. 

"We also expect an increase in the share of purchase from tier 2 and 3 cities due to migration of employees to smaller cities as offices are closed,” he added.

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In a survey conducted by RedSeer, 91% of respondents said they’d shop online, versus 87% last year. This clear shift in consumer preference for online shopping is causing brands to alter their strategies.

Flipkart will reportedly lead in smartphone and fashion categories as they will account for 50% of total sales during this period while Amazon will rely on Prime members.

“There is a cut in spending, but since this is the festive period and there is more visibility around the pandemic, some salaries have been restored, these are coming together to drive demand,” said Meena.

A recent report, also from Forrester Research, observes that this festival sale will also see strong nationalist sentiments coupled with the government’s Atmanirbhar policy, which is expected to impact the brand mix in categories such as electronics and mobiles.

It is also expected that the Rise of Jio is likely to impact the festive sales momentum, though given their limited exposure to electronics, the impact is likely to be moderate.

This festive season will see maximum shoppers from Tier II cities driven by the Bharat and democratization themes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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