Indian shoppers are already flocking to online stores to make their festive season purchases, with the first four days of the ecommerce sales season generating a staggering ₹29,000 crore in sales, according to a report Redseer. This amount is 16% higher than the gross merchandise value during the same period last year, indicating a growing enthusiasm for online shopping among Indian consumers. The report also highlights the role of the fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) mindset, as shoppers are keen to secure their desired products even before the sales season officially begins.
The report attributes much of this success to the introduction of the Pre-book/Price lock feature, allowing users to lock-in the prices of high-value products in advance of the festive sale. This industry-first feature, coupled with attractive deals on high average selling price (ASP) items and easy financing options like No-Cost EMIs, has encouraged consumers to secure their choices early to avoid missing out on the exclusive deals during the actual festive sale period.
As a result, Day 0 or the Early Access Day saw a 10 times increase in sales compared to the usual business activity for e-commerce websites running sales. The first official day of the sales also saw over seven times higher sales than usual. This indicates not only the popularity of online shopping but also the trend of “premiumization” in this year’s festive season, as consumers are willing to spend more on high-ticket categories.
Mrigank Gutgutia, a partner at Redseer, explains, “Premiumization as a theme is clearly being seen in this festive season as consumer discretionary spending in high ticket categories has done well. Further, the steady growth in overall sales and high ASP categories reinforces the belief in the strength of the Indian consumption story.”
In addition to the impressive sales figures, e-commerce companies are also focusing on improving the quality of customer experience. They have prioritized faster deliveries and a smoother shopping process, leading to fewer cancellations typically seen during the festive surge in sales. This improvement in service, coupled with the Pre-book feature, allows companies to better gauge demand ahead of time and fulfill orders efficiently.
Looking ahead, Redseer predicts that categories like fashion, beauty & personal care, and home will continue to gain traction in the second half of the Week 1 festive sale. With the combination of higher sales figures, premium products, and improved customer experience, it seems that this year’s ecommerce sales season in India is poised to be a successful one.