This year’s festive season growth has been particularly important for ecommerce, as it saw slow growth in 2024. This was also reflected in the revenues of major players, Amazon India and Flipkart, for that year.
“September 22 was the largest sales day of the week, as Amazon Prime and Flipkart Plus/Black members received early access to deals,” the report stated.
ET reported on September 24 that online retail sales marked a 32-35% surge on the first two days of this festive season, helped by the roll-out of GST 2.0 and heavy discounting by ecommerce marketplaces Amazon India and Flipkart, according to analysts.
The first week of sales alone generated about Rs 60,700 crore GMV, accounting for 48% of the total festive season sales. Last year, the first week’s sales growth was 29% year-on-year (YoY).
On October 27, ET had reported that ecommerce platforms, sellers and brands reported a big jump in sales this year, driven by a revival in consumer sentiment after across-the-board GST cuts and robust demand from non-metro cities.
According to Datum Intelligence, consumer electronics and appliances were most in demand with YoY GMV growth between 35-43%. Other items, which were in demand and saw a jump in GMV, include mobiles (26%), lifestyle products (22%), and beauty and personal care items (21%).
Quick commerce wave
Meanwhile, quick commerce accounted for around 12% of total festive sales GMV, driven by last-minute purchases and ecommerce-style Diwali sales on apps. In fact, grocery as a category saw a 45% growth in sales this year compared to last year, thanks to quick commerce adoption, according to Datum Intelligence.
Quick commerce apps reflected this growth. Flipkart Minutes saw 1.5 times growth with over 19 lakh orders between October 18 and 22, while BigBasket reported a 500% YoY GMV increase. Fashion etailer Myntra M-Now saw its orders double during the festive period.
This surge was also reflected in UPI transactions, which hit a record Rs 94,000 crore in average daily value in October, up 13% from September.
Read more of ETtech’s in-depth coverage on festive sales:
