E-tailers clock $4.6 billion in the first week of festive sales

Amazon India accounted for 28% of the total GMV clocked by e-commerce platforms during the first week of festive sales.

The combined GMV this year was 23% higher than last year when e-commerce sales for the first week averaged around roughly $3.7 billion. Further, growth marked by e-commerce sales this year comes despite offline establishments continuing to be open during the festive season.

The growth of e-commerce sales this year comes on the back of new shoppers moving to the online mode of purchases. The overall online shopper base grew by 20% over last year, with tier-II towns and cities accounting for more than 61% of the people making purchases during the festive e-commerce sales.

Close to 40 million of the total of 62 million people who have shopped from online platforms this year were from tier-II cities and beyond, RedSeer said.

Amazon and Flipkart kick-started their flagship festive season sales on 2 October, including early access for premium members.

In terms of category mix, smartphones continued to drive roughly 46% of overall GMV clocked by e-commerce platforms. Fashion made a comeback this festive season, contributing 17% of overall sales, as individuals stepped out of their homes, RedSeer’s estimates showed.

RedSeer states that during the first week of e-commerce sales this year, mobiles worth about ₹68 crore were sold every hour.

“Fashion also saw demand as customers wanted to refresh their wardrobe, and the reach expanded as newer affordable platforms reached tier-II customers. However, the demand for other categories such as home furnishings, home décor and furnishings have been subdued during the festive season this year,” RedSeer said.