E-commerce players, including Amazon and Flipkart, can expect to generate sales of over $4.8 billion during this year's festive month (September 29-October 4), but the growth over last year will be subdued, according to research by Forrester. 

About 80 per cent of these sales will occur between September 29 and October 4 — the period in which Flipkart and Amazon will hold their 'Big Billion Days' and 'Great Indian Festival' sales.

Year-over-year growth in online retail spending during these five days will take a hit, from 93 per cent in 2018 to 32 per cent in 2019. 

Online sales during these five-day festivals had grown from $1.5 billion in 2017 to $2.9 billion in 2018. According to Forrester’s estimates, sales will hit $3.8 billion this year.

Also read:No slowdown fears: Amazon sees robust demand for large appliances

"Several factors contributed to the slow growth online retailers experienced in the first half of 2019, these include disruption due to the implementation of new e-commerce policy in January and February, and the slowdown in the overall economy. However, these factors will have a limited impact on festive season sales, as consumers will look for better deals on marketplaces, and get a boost from marketplaces launching new products and offering aggressive discounts and affordable financing," said Satish Meena, Senior Forecast Analyst, Forrester.

Smartphones will account for 36 per cent of all online spending during the festive season, followed by fashion at 24 per cent.

TVs and smart speakers are the categories to watch this year, with Motorola, Xiaomi, and OnePlus launching new TV models to cater to customers who are looking to upgrade their current sets.

"We expect around 20.2 million TVs to be sold in India in 2019, 30 per cent to 35 per cent of these will be sold online due to pricing and products with better specifications," said Meena. 

Related Topics