E-commerce platforms experience a buoyant boom in festive season sales with record crackling beginning

It's that time of year again when Indians get into the festive spirit, from ‘Garba and Dandiya’ to pandal hopping and Navratri celebrations with their loved ones. Consumers are back with zeal and optimism this holiday season, after two years of subdued celebrations due to the Covid pandemic. Taking notes, brands have left no stone unturned in keeping up with consumer spirits and adding spike to it, this year ‘Revenge shopping' appears to be the buzzword as online holiday season sales begin on September 23. E-commerce platforms such as Flipkart recently announced their flagship sale, “The Big Billion Days”, which is running from September 23 to September 30 and Amazon India launched the “Great Indian Festival sale” which also began on September 23, though a closing date has not yet been announced.

Apart from Flipkart and Amazon, which control more than 60% of the Indian e-commerce market, other online retailers are also preparing for the holiday season. According to industry experts, the holiday season has contributed to the industry's growth, and they anticipate that 50% more brands will use influencer marketing in the coming months. Marketers are increasingly looking to solidify their social media presence and reach out to the most affluent generations are millennials and Generation Z.?

Statistically, for the second half of the 2022 calendar year, industry experts predict a 20-25% increase in gross merchandise value (GMV), or the total value of sales on e-commerce platforms. In comparison to H2 2021, when GMV was close to $8 billion across e-commerce platforms, we anticipate H2 2022 sales to be between $11 billion and $12 billion. E-commerce brands and sellers are eager to capitalize on the holiday season sales because 60-75% of their annual revenue comes from sales made between August and September until the peak wedding season, which ends in December.

Augmentation in advertising costs

Sellers have seen a nearly 2x to 3x increase in the cost of bidding for keywords across e-commerce platforms, while bid costs have increased by nearly 20-50% on Google and Facebook.?

Discounts are still driving purchases

While impressive discounts of 50% to 80% remain the main draw, additional offers from payment, card, and BNPL (buy now pay later) providers are likely to sweeten the deal even more for buyers. Experts believe The ability to collect customer data is appealing to financial service providers.

The first half of the festival month has started well, and analysts expect the trend to continue. It clearly indicates the first signs of consumers moving on from the pandemic scars. Owing to the same, far ahead of the festive season, Savin Communication launched their new initiative #PRarambh. The goal of the new initiative is to digitally promote brands and their offerings while also creating a positive buzz around the brand to help them stay ahead of their competitors.