MUMBAI: 20% of marketers plan more than three months in advance of the peak festive season. Non-metro cities are leading the pack when it comes to growth in e-commerce orders. A Delhivery report titled “Direct2Celebrations: Festive Insights for Brands” for consideration in your esteemed publication. This report provides insights into the e-commerce landscape in India, particularly during the upcoming festive season.
The report, drawing on data from 125 million plus shipments from the 2023 festive season, delves into key trends and predictions, offering an overview of the expected growth in e-commerce sales. It highlights factors driving this surge, such as increased internet penetration, growing smartphone adoption, and evolving consumer preferences. Additionally, the report analyses the impact of festive celebrations on online shopping behavior and identifies the most popular product categories.
Order Volume growth: Non-metro cities are leading the pack when it comes to growth in orders. With robust growth expected in e-commerce this festive season, the report says that while metro cities (like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai etc) experience the highest orders, the largest growth in orders will come from tier II cities led by Gurgaon (36.8%), Raipur (32.8%), Nagpur (20.9%), Jaipur (20.60%) and others.
Online shopping remains the preferred mode for 75% consumers and as much as 60% of online orders come from tier II cities and smaller towns. Among other key highlights, 81% of consumers use their smartphones or mobile devices to make purchases and recommendations from promotions/influencers are a deciding factor for 84% consumers.
Shopping trends: Categories like accessories and apparel, home makeovers, technology and electronics are shaping the latest shopping trends. Interestingly, electronics are gradually replacing dry fruits as the favoured gift during festivals whether for individuals or collective/corporate gifting. Mobile phones and power banks see the highest spike in electronics purchases at 44.5% and 43.6% respectively. Paint and pain tools see a 178.5% surge in growth followed by cleaners and disinfectants at 67.5%. Women’s accessories will see a 79.2% spike, as will the purchase of jewellery online at 32.1%.
Returns Management (RTO): With high order volume growth, there is also a surge in the rate of returns making a smooth return management experience a key metric for the performance of an online retailer.
Nearly four out of ten cash on delivery (CoD) RTOs (return to origin) are from apparels & accessories (39.3%) followed by beauty products and personal care (14.5%). These categories comprise over half of total CoD RTOs and highlight the need for a targeted returns reduction strategy for brands in this space.
An efficient logistics partner becomes the linchpin of e-commerce by addressing returns at every stage of the delivery process. From the use of AI for geolocation of bad addresses and an algorithm to forecast potential returns, leading logistics companies like Delhivery help minimise the occurrence of returns. In case of a return, streamlined processes for such requests are handled by the logistics partner whose customer-facing role becomes pivotal in the retail experience.
Additional insights: Marketing professionals are increasingly competing to make a headstart in festive planning. The report says that 20% of them plan more than 3 months in advance of the peak season. A crucial starting point is understanding the target audience for which Delhivery procured insights from MoEngage, Infobip and Lyxel and Flamingo for their combined expertise across customer engagement, omni-channel communication and digital marketing.
Using proprietary data as well as secondary sources, the report also includes tips for perfecting the customer experience and best practices in packaging and other recommendations that D2C brands can leverage for a successful festive season taken from September 2023 to November 2023.
MoEngage noted that there are five kinds of shoppers: Bargain Hunters, Exclusivity Seekers, The Researchers, Impulse Shoppers and Brand Loyalists For the first kind to win them offer time-sensitive deals, and match competitor prices. Provide flexible payment options like Buy Now, Pay Later. For Exclusivity Seekers highlight elegance, create exclusive copy, and support it with social proof on product pages. For The Researchers showcase value, feature reviews, and include chat support on product pages while maintaining consistency across platforms. For Impulse Shoppers offer Flash sales, complimentary products with limited-time discounts and create novelty items. For Brand Loyalists focus on giving Loyalty programmes with exclusive discounts, personalised recommendations, and real-time customer support.
