Online retailers seem to be having a gala time after Google India extended its virtual shopping extravaganza by a day. The sale will now end on Saturday night instead of Friday night.
The three-day event, Great Online Shopping Festival (GOSF), was extended after it witnessed an overwhelming response from shoppers despite the fact that the site crashed on the first day.
It has resulted in record sales for several e-tailers such as Myntra, Jabong and Snapdeal. That apart, several offline players and real estate companies such as Tata Housing have got huge response.
According to a Tata Housing official, the company sold 22 value homes after they announced on GOSF that a flat can be booked at just Rs 20,000.
GOSF's first edition in 2012 witnessed over a million people visiting the site, but this time the target is over 3.2 million people. According to a recent study, e-tailing, at approximately $2 billion (over Rs 12,000 crore), contributes less than just 0.5 per cent to total retail industry in India. However, it is estimated to grow to $75 billion by 2020.
Speaking about GOSF 2013, Sandeep Komaravelly, V-P, Marketing, Snapdeal.com, said, “GOSF 2013 has started off with a blast on Snapdeal.com. We have seen 10 times increase in sales compared to last year. We expect to see a further increase.” Electronics and clothing are the runaway categories this year, said several players, adding that the extension of the day will help them post record sales.