Classifies platform OLX has witnessed high demand for pre-owned goods throughout 2020, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the company has said.
According to an official release by OLX, “a comparison of buyers and sellers data on the platform for 2020 versus 2019 reveals a strong growth trajectory of buyers throughout all quarters in the year over the previous one.”
The demand for used goods on the platform has outpaced the demand for new goods, driven primarily by consumers in non-metro markets. It has also witnessed an increase in listings by sellers from non-metros in the second half of 2020 especially for goods such as laptops, fridges and air conditioners.
OLX has recorded an increase of 35 per cent in demand from buyers in the year 2020 over 2019. Demand for electronics and appliances, mobile phones, accessories and furniture has also remained steady throughout the year, as per OLX.
“Demand for technology gadgets and electronics - laptops, mobiles phones, tablets and televisions saw a spike during 2020, even during the first few months when the lockdown was announced owing to home entertainment and online education requirements,” it said.
Each of these products witnessed a growth in demand by nearly 100 per cent in the non-metros, in Q2, 2020. In metro cities, there was high consumer demand for Tablets at 98 per cent.
By Q3 2020, demand for pre-owned goods across categories- electronics, appliances, furniture, and mobiles was nearly twice as much.
“Growth in user demand in Q4 was similar to trends witnessed in the same period of the previous year, indicating a return to normal of pre-Covid times,” OLX said.
The company observed a different tend in terms of listings by sellers. Listings “have moved a little differently with growth being witnessed in the second half of 2020 with users preferring to hold on to their owned items for longer and defer their upgrade/purchase decisions during these uncertain times as the economic effects of Covid-19 unfolded,” it said.
Seller listings were led mostly by non-metros in the second half of the year with categories such as fridges, ACs and laptops witnessing significant growth. These categories have grown in 2020, compared to the previous year – fridges by 45 per cent, ACs by 67 per cent and laptops by 17 per cent.
“Despite COVID-19’s unprecedented impact, we’re proud to report that OLX continued to serve both buyers and sellers and we were able to record an all-time high quarter as well, with activity reaching pre-Covid normal by the end of the year”, said Sapna Arora, CMO, OLX India.