Comments
The premium and super premium sectors are showing an uptick, as customers look for better quality products with increased purchasing power, says Himanshu Chakrawarti, CEO, Snapdeal.
What are the trends witnessed in the e-commerce sector in 2023? What are the likely trends expected in 2024?
Post-Covid, there was a big shift in the market as more customers started buying affordable products online, which made online platforms like ours popular. However, in an important development in the e-commerce space in 2023, Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) brands are now on the growth path. This change shows how customers’ buying habits are changing and it’s helping the e-commerce world grow.
One of the key trends that we see is customers getting more discerning about the value and quality of products, the range, the post-purchase experience and personalisation.
We see the strengthening of these trends in 2024, because, as a good portion of the market goes beyond the first few purchases, it seeks better quality merchandise and second, everyone is looking at the path to profitability, if not profitability. There’s a more discerning customer in terms of quality, because it’s not about giving the lowest price point, whatever the quality.
We are seeing a trend, which is more stable and better from the point of view of the kind of assortment and quality that customers will get over the next few years. This has never been a problem in the premium segment, which has always been focused on quality ... we had a problem at the value-end and that is increasingly getting solved now.
With India’s economy growing and looking good for the next year, we see a big comeback for e-commerce, especially in products such as clothes and lifestyle products.
With festival sales recording year-on-year (y-o-y) growth of approximately 16 per cent according to Redseer, what are your expectations for the next few years?
The festive period was quite decent for the e-commerce sector due to an increase in the number of customers coming in, which has added to the value segment. But at the same time, the premium and super-premium segment is growing.
But, the segment in the middle has been stagnant. But having said that, overall, e-commerce has been quite decent in the festive season, which is not the case with retail.
What are the challenges that the sector faces?
We are familiar with the performance and service standards in metropolitan areas. However, enhancing the quality of logistics and delivery systems in smaller towns is crucial for future growth. Addressing this challenge is imperative for an overall improvement in the industry.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.