According to the Redseer report, e-commerce ‘s gross merchandising volume could cross $7 billion this year during the festive season, a major leap from $3.8 billion last year.
With the festive season coming up, customers are expected to splurge in ‘revenge transactions.’
With more than 160 million online shoppers, the study also expects gross e-commerce sales to reach $38 billion in 2020.
Diwali is the moment when houses across India are offering a new look. Family shopping, not just for the family, but also for gifts to friends. So it’s not without reason that India’s retail industry has high hopes and expects the festive season to make up for the tepid sales so far this year.
And with people preferring to stay home because of the raising number of coronavirus cases, e-commerce is going to win big this year.
According to the Redseer report, e-commerce’s gross volume of merchandising could cross $7 billion this year during the festive season, a major leap from $3.8 billion last year. With Amazon’s Great Indian Shopping Festival coming up and Flipkart’s Big Billion Days sale coming up, the study expects these festive sales events to raise $4 billion in sales.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, India’s retail sector has been adversely affected and the majority of shopping has been in the ‘essentials’ range, but with the festive season coming up, customers are likely to splurge in ‘revenge buying.’
The growth in e-commerce sales was noticeable when the non-essential segment was opened during the unlocking phases. Earlier, in its earnings statement, Walmart claimed that since the reopening of the lockout, GMV (Gross Merchandising Volume) at Flipkart has crossed the pre-COVID-19 level.
The Redseer report lists five reasons for the doubling sales for online players this year:
- COVID driven massive online adoption of Bharat customers
- Rise of new shopping models owing to changing customer demographic
- Strong nationalist sentiment
- Massively hit organized retail
- Rise of Jio
Though malls across the country are still hoping for a festive revival, the second round of coronavirus cases in major cities like Delhi might act as a barrier. Shoppers may choose to splurge by online shopping.
Almost every other e-commerce player from Amazon, Flipkart to Snapdeal, has been betting on Tier II and III markets – as the next growth boost will come from the ‘Bharat’ consumers. From vernacular offerings to the development of last-mile delivery hubs, e-tailers have stepped up their presence in small towns. And during this Diwali, that’s what may have led to a rise in numbers.
