Ganesh Kendale
It may or may not be the iPhone effect, but shoppers ambushed mobile phones and electronics in the first week of online festive sales, probably shelving quintessential ethnic wear for later, reports Asmita Dey.
E-commerce platforms, including Amazon and Flipkart, are seen to have together crossed Rs 54,500 crore in sales in the first week of the festive season – Sept 26, when early access started, to Oct 2 – growing 26% year-on-year, show figures released by market intelligence firm Datum Intelligence on Friday.
Almost 60% of the spends were driven by mobile phones (38%), electronics and consumer durables (21%). “iPhone 15 and previous generations dominated sales… Samsung’s Galaxy S23 FE also did exceptionally well on Flipkart,” said Shubham Singh, analyst at Counterpoint Research.
Double-door fridge top pick, 50% shoppers opt for EMIs
During festive sales, mobile phones priced above Rs 30,000 typically sell more due to steep discounts on higher-end products. In the case of iPhones, following the launch of a new model, prices of previous editions dropped online, prompting a rush.
Smartphone sales on day one of Flipkart’s Big Billion Days and Amazon’s Great Indian Festival were lower than expected but picked up in subsequent days, said Singh, adding that competitive deals will further boost sales going ahead.
Within consumer durables, products such as doubledoor refrigerators and smart TV sets were among the top picks, with more than half the buyers opting for EMI, especially from smaller towns and cities, the report said.
Earlier this week, Amazon had said that tier-2 and -3 cities drove almost 70% of premium smartphone sales and nearly 80% of all television orders.
For the entire festival period until Diwali, online platforms are expected to log a higher 23% sales growth of nearly Rs 100,000 crore. Last year, sales had grown 16% to Rs 81,000 crore. Typically, the first week accounts for the bulk of the festival purchases.
Panasonic claimed doubledigit growth in online sales. “…We’re seeing consumers go towards premium segments. A lot of traction is for 5-star ACs, smart washing machines, microwaves with convection and insta cook features,” said Sushil Grover, business chief, ecommerce, D2C, marketing communication at Panasonic Life Solutions India. For Godrej Appliances too, premium products like frost-free refrigerators and ACs did well online.
