Stealing The Deals With A Click

Here are two reasons why India’s festival season rings in cheer and happiness. One, there is the usual fun, frolic and feasting linked to the Navratra, Dussehra and Diwali festivities. Two, it is also the season when online retailers shower deals and bargains on consumers.

This year too, marketers are all set to spend majority of their annual marketing budget on campaigns to lure customers.

The festive quarter of the year (October-December), which makes up almost half of online retails annual GMV, is famous not only for the lower prices but also for wider selection and categories of products. This year too, India’s leading online players are in the race to give consumers a new experience with their fresh offerings.

“Our ‘Great Indian Festival’ that happens at this time of the year, has become synonymous with a month-long celebration that we do with our consumers, our sellers and our ecosystem partners across India,” says Manish Tiwary, VP, Category Management, Amazon India. “With expanded selection and a robust logistical support system, we are ready to handle the massive customer traffic that we are bound to receive this season.” Another major player in the category, Flipkart’s annual ‘The Big Billion Days’ sale that has become India’s most anticipated event. “This year marks the fifth edition of TBBD. After working closely with our sellers and brands over the last few months, we plan to deliver unparalleled, diverse, and affordable offerings to customers in every corner of India,” the company mentioned in a statement. Industry estimates reveal that Flipkart’s GMV during the current year sale season stood at $1-1.1 billion from $660 million in 2017 whereas Amazon India’s  GMV stood at $700-800 million from $380 million in 2017.

Not just the online retail giants, even cashback and coupons websites make larger than life projects during the festive season. For instance CashKaro.com, is projecting a 300 per cent rise in transactions in the October to December period. Ratan Tata- and Kalaari Capita-backed CashKaro.com is expected to pay over Rs 15 crore as cashback to its users during these three months alone. “The Oct-Dec quarter of the year usually generates a major chunk of sales for retailers due to the festive season. This time it’s going to be even more exciting considering the recent investments and capital infusions in two of India’s largest e-commerce sites,” says Rohan Bhargava, co-founder, CashKaro.com. “The needle is clearly moving from offline to online, as more and more people are now ordering items such as TVs, washing machines and refrigerators in addition to electronics and smartphones.”

In the recent months, online marketplace Snapdeal, too, as seen massive growth in business from both existing and new buyers, with nearly 80 per cent of the new buyers coming from smaller cities across the country.  “Our sale is for both the experienced online shoppers and those using the festive season to explore online offers,” says a Snapdeal official.

During last year’s festive season, QuikrBazaar, a goods platform allows people to buy anything pre-owned, refurbished, unboxed under one umbrella, witnessed over 40 per cent month-on-month increase in certified sales. “We continue to see a similar trend from August as well. Apart from introducing new categories, a wider catalogue, and discount offers, we are also looking at launching no-cost EMI option for Quikr certified furniture, electronics and appliances this festive season,” says Sarath Chandra Gudlavalleti, VP, QuikrBazaar.

Voonik, which has been known to the customers as a destination for ethnic wear and fashion wear, too has joined the ‘fest’ bandwagon. “The months during Navaratri and Diwali are the busiest days for Voonik every year. We see a 2X jump in traffic without any proportionate increase in spends. Voonik holds a Customer split of 60 per cent Men and 40 per cent Women in the last two quarters. But, during the last two weeks, the traffic of Women has increased making the proportion 50-50, which will increase to 65 per cent in the next two weeks. The repeat customers have increased by 12 per cent without any specific retargeting campaigns,” says Prem Suganth V.T., Business Manager, Voonik.

The daily active users expected to visit the site during the sale season will be 3.5x of the current day traffic, adds Suganth.

Jabong’s ‘Cracker of a Sale’ is also offering the latest season trends from premium global brands “at up to 70 per cent discount and many other interesting deals”, according to Gunjan Soni, Head, Jabong and CMO, Myntra.

Even as clothing retailers are tracking unique visits and clicks, online jewellery retailers such as Melorra oo expecting to grow its overall sales by at least 25-30 per cent. “There are 2 days that see a 3-5X spike during the season – these would be Dussehra and Dhanteras days. We are confident of growing upwards of 25 per cent  at least during the season,” says Meera Iyer, Head of Marketing, Melorra.

The festive season, in the grocery segment, is not very different from other times. “However, the consumption increases, because festivals are the times of great food, enthusiasm and  holidays. People are off diet are all out indulging in traditional food. While the consumer base does not dramatically increase, return of existing customers increases thereby increasing the value and the frequency of purchase,” says Raagaleena Sripada, Senior Marketing Manager, bigbasket.
Sripada adds that Dussehra and Diwali adds value to the grocer from categories such as Home & Kitchen, Dry fruits and Chocolates. While the purchase of crockery, steel utensils and dinner sets almost doubles during festive times, the dry fruit volume and sales almost triple during festive seasons “since this is the most preferred gifting option”, says Sripada. Chocolates, sweets and savouries also go up during festivals by 15 per cent on bigbasket.  

RentoMojo, a startup that allows customers to lease furniture, appliances and bikes, is offering its customers flat discounts on their monthly rentals and furnishing an entire house for one lucky winner to make them experience the convenience the company offer in the easiest possible way. “With the demand and the festive offer, we are poised for a 300 per cent growth in revenue compared to the last festive season,” said Geetansh Bamania, CEO and founder, Rentomojo.
Compared to last year, gift card adoption has been truly inclusive as this category has witnessed usage in the tier 4-5 markets as well. “For consumers who are shopping on our digital gifting platform Woohoo, we have introduced special value-add benefits, unique experiences, novel shopping and dining offers, travel and hospitality-themed packages with leading brands of India,” says Pratap T.P., co-founder and Director, Qwikcilver Solutions.  Woohoo is projected to clock a 3X growth in gift card transactions during the festive season,

Shopping trends have changed drastically over years and now the percentage of people shopping online too has gone up. Digital commerce in India is set to reach Rs 2.37 lakh crore by the end of this year, IAMAI says in a recent report. And going by the sales estimates in the ongoing festive season, it is a win-win situation for both consumers and the e-commerce retailers.

‘The months falling during Navaratri and Diwali are the busiest for Voonik. We see a 2X jump in traffic without any proportionate increase in spends’ Prem Suganth V.T. , Business Manager, Voonik

Manager, Bigbasket Sripada adds that Dussehra and Diwali add value to the grocer from categories such as home & kitchen, dry fruits and chocolates. While the purchase of crockery, steel utensils and dinner sets almost doubles during festive times, the dry fruit sales almost triple during festive seasons “since this is the most preferred gifting option”, says Sripada. Sales of chocolates, sweets and savouries also go up by 15 per cent during festivals on Bigbasket.

RentoMojo, a startup that allows customers to lease furniture, appliances and bikes, is offering flat discounts on monthly rentals and furnishings for an entire house for one lucky winner to make them experience the convenience the company offers in the easiest possible way. “With the demand and the festive offer, we are poised for a 300 per cent growth in revenue compared to the last festive season,” said Geetansh Bamania, CEO and Founder, Rentomojo.

Compared to last year, gift card adoption has been truly inclusive as this category has witnessed usage in tier-4 and tier-5 markets as well. “For consumers who are shopping on our digital gifting platform Woohoo, we have introduced special value-added benefits, unique experiences, novel shopping and dining offers, travel- and hospitality-themed packages with leading brands of India,” says Pratap T.P., Co-founder and Director, Qwikcilver Solutions. Woohoo is projected to clock a three-fold growth in gift card transactions during the festive season.

Shopping trends have changed drastically over the years and now the percentage of people shopping online too has gone up. Digital commerce in India is set to reach Rs 2.37 lakh crore by the end of this year, IAMAI says in a recent report. And going by the sales estimates in the ongoing festive season, it is a win-win for both consumers and e-commerce retailers.