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Preethi J.

Bangalore, Nov. 9 Move over sweets and apparel: mobiles and MP3 players are the top festive buys. Shoppers looking for variety, convenience and good deals log onto online shopping markets for their Diwali buying sprees.

Last year, Diwali sales stood at about Rs 115 crore, according to Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), and is expected to cross Rs 250 crore this year.

IAMAI believes online buying behaviour has changed this year with the booming economy. The category of gifts has changed to consumer electronics, with the increase in wallet sizes and dropping MRPs. An iPod or the latest handset would make a memorable festival gift rather than a hamper.

According to Mr Neeraj Sanan, Marketing Head of Web 18, the firm that owns Compareindia.com, the most purchased product of this shopping reason is undoubtedly mobile phones. The bestseller on the site over the past few days has been Sony Ericsson’s W500i.

“Electronic items are selling more this Diwali. There has been phenomenal growth in this category,” agreed Mr V. Vaitheeswaran, Chief Operating Officer of Indiaplaza.com, another online shopping site.

In 2006, over half the sales at this site were of hampers and sweets, while electronics accounted for a mere 5 per cent. This year, over 45 per cent of online sales have been of electronic items – digital cameras, and MP3 players are popular gifts for the season. Sony and Canon are top brands in the former while it is Apple all the way in the MP3 category with the iPod music player.

On eBay, Nokia’s GPS mobile N95 features in the top most searched keywords (courtesy eBay Marketplace research).

“We are definitely expecting a rise in visitors to the site as many new eCommerce users make their first transaction during Diwali,” said the eBay India spokesperson.

The top categories in which eBay India would see increased sales are: technology products such as MP3 players, digital cameras, mobile handsets, computers and laptops; diamond and gold jewellery and lifestyle products such as apparel and watches.

In mobiles, HTC is catching up to the crest of the buying wave, while Sony Ericsson and Nokia are tied for the top slot on Compareindia.

Of the 150 handsets sold by a mobile phone dealer in the last two days – Sony Ericsson W700i is by far the highest selling model followed by Nokia’s N80 and N91. HTC’s Touch and D60 are seeing good sales at Hello Zone dealers. Nokia still rules the roost at Indiaplaza.in, followed by Motorola and Samsung.

Televisions are also a hot favourite – Sony, Samsung and LG are the most sought after brands. Compared to last year, sweets sales have dropped while diamond jewellery and gold coins now hold third place. Apparel, books, music and video follow, said Mr Vaitheeswaran.

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