The online sales that started beginning this month and will last till the weekend have so far seen the top three firms — Flipkart, Amazon, and Snapdeal — notch up combined sales of Rs 3,000-4,000 crore. The expectation is that aggregate sales will hit around Rs 11,000-12,000 crore by the close of the sale, which will be only marginally more than what these firms clocked in October last year during the festive sale period.
While the usual electronics and apparel products continue to sell the most during the sale period, the discount levels are not very high and that perhaps explains why the total sales may only be a tad higher than what it was last year in October.
Government regulation prohibiting e-tailers from sourcing more than 25% of their total products from a single seller is the reason behind the slowdown in the discounts. Also, the rules mandate that the discounts have to be borne by the sellers and not the e-tailers as they are only the platform for selling the products. However, to make the shopping experience pleasant, e-tailers this time are focusing on services like faster delivery.
Still, if e-tailers are able to pull in combined total sales of around Rs 11,000-12,000 crore, it would be almost double of what they clock during a month in normal times. “In a regular month, the total business done by the e-commerce industry in terms of gross merchandise value is Rs 5,000-6,000 crore. This month due to sales, the business is expected to double,” said an analyst who did not want to be named.
Electronics and fashion continue to do well in terms of generating sales. Around 60-70% of the goods sold so far are in these two categories. The remaining 30% are fashion and lifestyle products which include home décor, etc.
“Consumer electronics, smartphones and mobiles and fashion in all categories grew seven times. On day one, consumables witnessed 10 times growth — a clear validation of online shopping now becoming part of customers’ everyday lives,” said an Amazon India a statement.
“The Big Billion Days, like every year, has now set a new landmark in the history of e-commerce in the country. What makes it special is that the number of units sold in the first six hours of sale surpassed the total units sold in a day during the first day of The Big Billion Days in 2015,” said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, head, category design organisation, Flipkart.
