Products that cater to the consumer’s need for convenience while adapting to the homebody economy dominated the festive sale period — October 15 to November 13 — in India, according to data and market measurement company, Nielsen.
With the need for communication and increased media consumption, mobile phones and accessories, such as earphones, headsets, case covers, etc, continued to account for over half of e-commerce sales during the festive period, according to Nielsen.
While notably, the share of electronics, including laptops, printers, peripherals, etc, increased by 10% compared to 7% during the festive season last year given the increase in remote working and remote schooling, said Nielsen after analysing sales patterns on more than 30 e-commerce platforms in the country.
The measurement firm tracked a double-digit increase in average spend of online shoppers for electronics and accessories (39%), mobile and accessories (12%), fashion, including apparel, footwear, and accessories (10%), and appliances such as TV, washing machine, refrigerators, etc at 9%.
According to Nielsen, the growth of e-commerce during the festive period was led by Bharat (<10 lakh population towns). The firm reported a 16% increase in orders from smaller cities (<1 lakh population towns) and a 14% rise in shopper spends from >1 lakh+ population cities.
“Consistent with the trends that we are seeing globally, consumers in India are fitting into the homebound behaviour,” observes Kunal Gupta, Head, Consumer Intelligence, Nielsen, South Asia. “Triggered by the desire to make life and work easier and more convenient at home, we see a significant increase in shopper spend in categories that are perceived to cater to homebody needs on account of the pandemic.”
