Strategy consulting firm Redseer Strategy Consultants on Friday (October 13) released its latest report on the 2023 Indian e-commerce festive season, revealing impressive sales figures in the first four days of the sale period. The 2023 festive season sale has gotten off to a strong start, with a year-on-year (YoY) growth of approximately 16%.

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In the first four days of the 2023 festive season sale, the e-tailing industry achieved a remarkable gross merchandise value (GMV) of around ₹29,000 crore. This represents an increase of about 16% when compared to the GMV of approximately ₹25,000 crore during the same period in 2022.

The surge in sales during the initial days of the 2023 festive season sale can be attributed to the fear of missing out (FOMO) among Indian consumers. This FOMO, combined with a trend towards premiumisation, fuelled by accessible financing options, contributed to a strong start on day zero and day one of week one of the sale.

E-commerce platforms selling high average selling price (ASP) categories, including mobiles, electronics, and large appliances, witnessed a significant increase in the average order value compared to business as usual (BAU) figures from the previous year.

Consumers eagerly embraced the 'pre-book/price-lock' feature, an industry-first innovation that allowed them to lock in prices for high-value products before the official start of the festive sale.

This, along with attractive deals and financing options like no-cost EMIs, provided consumers with the assurance that they wouldn't miss out on these deals later in the festive season.

As a result of this innovative feature, day zero, or the ‘early access day,’ experienced a 10-fold increase in sales compared to BAU, while day one witnessed more than a seven-fold increase. Over the first four days of the 2023 festive season sale, daily sales averaged around six times higher than BAU for 2023.

The latter half of week one of the festive sale is expected to see a resurgence in low-ASP categories. Categories such as fashion, beauty, personal care, and home products are anticipated to gain momentum during this period.

Mrigank Gutgutia, Partner at Redseer, commented on the premiumisation trend and the broader consumption theme for this season, saying, "Premiumisation 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. However, these are initial findings from the start of the festive month, we are closely looking at the emerging trends from the rest of the festive month to draw stronger conclusions on how consumption is evolving."

A notable aspect of this year's festive sale is the heightened focus on fulfilment and a commitment to faster deliveries, which has enhanced the overall customer experience and reduced cancellations.

The 'pre-book/price-lock' feature introduced by e-commerce platforms prior to the festive sales allowed platforms to gauge demand more accurately before the sale period, leading to higher fulfilment rates and improved supply chain economics.

(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)

First Published:Oct 13, 2023 6:22 PM IST