India is a land of festivals and fairs, celebrating its varied rituals and ways of worship in all its glorious regional and cultural diversity during the festive season. As October heralds the beginning of a joyful three-month festive season leading up to a new year, a palpable cheer spreads throughout the country. During this time, the way most Indians celebrate and welcome numerous Gods home differs – from the Pujor Bela in Kolkata to the Choti Diwali in the Marwari community of Jaipur or the Chatt Puja in Bihar to the Dandiya Raas in Gujarat – but there is one thing that unites everyone in the country: a sense of celebration and new beginnings. The season is marked by religious ceremonies, family get-togethers, and plenty of shopping and the Indian consumer is set to splurge on clothes, gifts, jewellery and other items during the upcoming festival.
This time, a pandemic-struck India has been gearing up for the season with its long-compiled shopping lists, and e-commerce giants such as Amazon India, Flipkart, Myntra and Nykaa are hoping to generate huge revenues in the next few months.
The main reason for the exponential growth prediction for e-commerce platforms is the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though the outbreak has taken its toll on large retail outlets and malls that were the traditional shopping destinations for most Indians, it has increased consumer dependence on e-commerce platforms instead.
During the lockdown, the average Indian consumer was homebound for many months and e-commerce chains stepped forward as essential service providers by emerging as the all-in-one platform for shopping, mobile recharge, bill payment and delivery of goods conveniently to the doorstep. The country has embraced the e-commerce alternative and this trend is expected to continue over the next few months.
With a 70% increase in customer base this year, e-commerce giants are expecting to double the revenue that was made during last year’s festive season. The numbers are also in favour of e-commerce portals as their revenue is likely to be US$7 billion this year compared to last year’s US$3.8 billion.
The growth in revenue reflects the greater brand presence of Amazon, Flipkart and other e-retailers in the smaller tier-2 cities. Previously, metros and tier-1 cities accounted for most of the traffic and revenue for e-commerce platforms, with consumers purchasing luxury goods during the festivals.
The pandemic, however, helped the e-commerce giants break into the retail market in tier-2 cities and smaller towns. This season, consumers from smaller cities will splurge more, driven by the relief of a fast recovering market and easing of restrictions amid the pandemic.
To lure these customers, e-commerce platforms have launched huge sales and attractive discounts on almost every item in their inventory. While Amazon launched its month-long Great Indian Festival Sale on October 17, Flipkart’s Big Billion Days sale went live on October 16. Riding on the wave of new endorsers in the online retail sector, e-commerce platforms are hoping to book huge gains in terms of revenue this festive season. Something to cheer about after months of sluggish growth.
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