Consulting firm RedSeer said that the recent countrywide online festive sales saw brands clocking a gross merchandise value (GMV) of $9.2 billion in a release on Friday. The firm added that online festive sales continue to grow at a blistering pace and saw a 23 per cent YoY growth in GMV.

Mobiles, fashion see high growth

A slew of new launches and easy financing options meant that mobiles continued to remain the most widely-sold product, accounting for more than a third of the total GMV.

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With people finally leaving their homes after months of lockdown, the fashion category witnessed a resurgence driven by consumers’ desire to refresh their wardrobes and new innovative business models catering to shoppers in Tier 2 cities. The sales of Fashion items via online channels doubled this year, the release added.

Categories that witnessed subdued growth include home furnishings, home décor, furnishings, and other electronics.

Customer base grows

The overall online shopper base grew approximately 25 per cent year-on-year, with 57 per cent of total shoppers coming from Tier 2+ cities. This meant that this year’s festive sales were dictated by affordability schemes, Redseer added.

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While overall online GMV and the absolute number of shoppers both increased, the GMV per user declined from ₹6,570 to ₹6,490 as relatively less expensive items such as fashion products saw an increase in their share of the overall GMV.

Boosting consumer demand

The Flipkart Group emerged as the leader during the festive sales with a 62 per cent market share, while Amazon had a 27 per cent market share.

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e-Commerce platforms took steps to boost consumer demand through strategies like high pre-sales marketing and campaigns including a curtain-raiser event to reveal sale prices and pre-book items at discounted prices, enabling affordability through banking partnerships and seller-driven discounts on aspirational brands to bring the most competitive price to customers.