BENGALURU: India’s smaller towns and cities (tier II and III) are likely to drive 50 per cent of sales, worth over $3 billion, during this festive season. According to an analysis by market research firm Redseer Consulting, there is also a likelihood of 50 million shoppers buying from e-commerce platforms in the period, with more than 35 million e-shoppers located in tier-II and III cities.
Bengaluru-based Flipkart said that on the first day of its Big Billions Day sales event, 50 per cent of the new customers came from tier III cities across all categories. “Along with the momentum witnessed from metros and Tier-II cities, 50 per cent of new customers have been from Tier-III+ cities, across categories. 60 per cent of the sellers on the platform belonged to tier-II cities and beyond,” the e-tailer said.
Flipkart backed fashion retail platform, Myntra also said that 50 per cent of its shoppers on the first day of the sale came from tier-II and III cities. Overall, 1.5 million customers shopped on the platform which registered a 100 per cent growth in sales.
“We feel elated with the phenomenal opening response with over 2 lakh new customers participating in the Big Fashion Festival so far. Shoppers in Tier-II and Tier-III cities and towns are likely to outdo their counterparts in big cities, in terms of shopping for fashion, this festive season,” Amar Nagaram, CEO, Myntra, said.
As for Flipkart rival Amazon India, its vice-president Manish Tiwary said that it saw over 1.1 lakh sellers receiving orders during its sale-with 66 per cent sellers, 91 per cent of new customers, and 66 per cent of new Prime sign-ups coming from small towns.
Redseer also predicts that the Covid-driven massive online adoption of “Bharat” customers will lead to an acceleration of e-commerce shopping this month, combined with factors like the rising usage of Whatsapp-based purchases, and the entry of JioMart.