E-commerce sales hit $6.5 billion in a week, up 26% during festive season
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.(Photo: Shutterstock)
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.
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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.
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.
First Published: Oct 11 2024 | 4:23 PM IST
