Festive sales: E-commerce firms sold 11,000 cr worth of mobile phones in 4 days

Festive season sales ahead of Navratri are a centerpiece event for India’s e-commerce firms Flipkart, Amazon, Meesho, and others. In the first four days of the sale this year, e-commerce platforms sold 1,100 mobile phones per minute, with total sales of Rs 11,000 crore from the category, according to a report by consulting firm RedSeer. 

About 60-70 lakh mobiles were sold in 4 days, and the category recorded a 10x growth in Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) to drive a lion’s share of e-commerce sales. “Mobiles continue to do well, driven by upgrade programmes and new launches supported by value offers. Premium phones such as the iPhone 12, 13, and OnePlus models drove mobile sales on large e-commerce platforms,” RedSeer stated in its report. 

Not to be left behind was the fashion category, which saw a 4.5x jump in terms of daily average GMV to clock Rs 5,500 Cr worth of sales in four days. “Fashion continues on its growth journey fuelled by the consumer need for wardrobe improvement,” according to the report. “There is a growth wave in Tier 2+ cities driven by adoption of new commerce and curated offerings for the targeted customer,” it added.

Overall, the daily average GMV for e-commerce portals jumped 5.4x in this festive sale period, with roughly 50-55 million online shoppers from across the country making purchases. E-commerce platforms have clocked in sales of Rs 24,500 crore or $3.5 billion, contributing to 60 per cent of the projected GMV for festive sale 1. 

“The first four days of the previous year contributed to 59 per cent, signaling a better-than-anticipated kickoff to the festive season this year,” RedSeer stated. 

The first round of festive sales included Flipkart’s ‘Big Billion Day Sale’, Amazon’s ‘Great Indian Festival’, Meesho’s ‘Mega Blockbuster Sale’, and other seasonal sales on fashion commerce platforms like Nykaa, Myntra, and Ajio. E-commerce marketplaces typically hold up to three rounds of sales leading to Diwali. “The first of these sales is usually the largest and accounts for more than 50 per cent of the sales during the festive period,” Sanjay Kothari, Associate Partner, RedSeer, explained. 

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