E-tailers expected to touch GMV of Rs 10,000 crore in the 2017 festive season

The festive season of 2016 was a success for the e-tailing industry -- after a series of setbacks in the year -- and it set the tone for its steady growth over the next few quarters. Red Seer Consulting, a research and advisory firm, expects the industry's Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) to touch Rs 10,000 crore ($ 1.7 billion) in the 2017 festive season, around 60 per cent more than last year.

The GMV for the festival season in October 2015 stood at $720 million and rose to $1,050 million in the same period in 2016.

The report says that gross units sold in the October 2015 festival period were 19 million, which rose by 42 per cent in the same month in 2016 to 27 million units. It expects 38 to 43 per cent boost in gross units sold during the festive period in September 2017. "In 2017, the lead up to the sales has been much more positive and we expect this year to be significantly bigger than the last" says the report.

As usual the expectations from the festive season are quite high but people still hold the 'let GST puzzle settle' sentiment and they might want to delay their purchases. However, experts believe that organised players will have a good festive season as their GST activities are well in place unlike the unorganised sector, which is still struggling to come to terms with the new taxation system.