Festive shopping via ecommerce may be changing both consumer and societal behaviour
ecommerce companies are slated to ship merchandise worth $12 bn in the latest festive season, a rise of 23% vs last year. Quick commerce, the Shinkansen sibling, may well contribute to nearly 10% of this figure.
Piyush Goyal has publicly expressed concern about online discounting policies ravaging small retailers. All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) has complained to large manufacturers about rampant transactional favouritism to the digital universe. Flipkart's 2024 'Big Billion Day' attracted over 33 cr user visits over just two days, while Meesho's 'Mega Blockbuster Sale' recorded a 100% growth in Day 1 sales. Both brands have noted a clear increase in the demand from tier-2 and tier-3 cities, spurred by improving logistics.
Physical channels are still going strong. But, clearly, the shift towards device-to-home is irreversible, aided by a seminal shift in consumer behaviour across categories, from dining to dressing. Quickcom, reportedly growing at over 280% over the last 24 months, has led to an influx of new categories, including consumer electronics.
Indians are operating in quick-service retail mode for both greed and need, while slow shopping seems unproductive and expensive. Definitely, the transition from WeCom (community shopping experiences) to MeCom (solo plug and play) is live, with significant implications for society at large.
In the flashback WeCom era, festive-buying was a family experience, instigated by the annual bonus. The nature of shopping was more experiential, clothes and
