By Mangalam Maloo
The Diwali 2023 consumer sales trends reveal a dynamic landscape characterised by a surge in online shopping, premiumisation, and a shift in consumer priorities during the festive season, according to data compiled by CNBC-TV18 from Bizom, Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho, Myntra, and Razorpay.
The trends from traditional channels and major e-commerce platforms reinforce the K-shaped recovery in the economy, where items of mass consumption are still struggling, whereas growth in premium products and modern trade channels continues to surge.
As the remainder of the festive season moves forward, brands are expected to offer discounts and schemes to manage inventory levels, emphasising the need for agility in response to evolving consumer preferences.
Traditional channel sales
Pre-Diwali stocking at kirana stores, which is 14 days before the festival, recorded mid-single-digit growth, as per retail intelligence major Bizom. The overall sales recorded a growth of 4.4% in 2023 on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, it added.
Category-wise, confectionery experienced a notable surge of 16.5%, while dairy products saw an impressive growth of 37.9%. Home care products and packaged food also registered positive growth, reflecting the increased emphasis on cleanliness and festive preparations.
Dairy products, including ghee, butter, and curd, witnessed strong demand as households engaged in the preparation of sweets and savouries. Confectionery sales spiked, driven by the popular trend of gifting during the festive season.
Home care products saw heightened demand, aligning with the increased focus on cleaning and hygiene as people hosted Diwali parties and welcomed guests.
Despite overall positive growth, certain categories like beverages and personal care experienced declines, potentially influenced by shifting consumer priorities during the festive period.
The five days of Diwali sales growth registered an increase of 2% on a YoY basis.
E-commerce sales: What trends from Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho, Myntra, and Razorpay show
E-commerce major Amazon recorded over 110 crore customer visits during its Great Indian Festival, with 80% from Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns. The platform saw a 35% increase in small and medium businesses’ sales on a YoY basis. Amazon saw significant demand for skin care, traditional wear, jewellery, premium smartwatches, and luxury beauty products.
Meanwhile, rival Flipkart recorded 1.4 billion customer visits over early access, and the seven-day shopping festival saw transacting sellers witness a two-and-a-half-times jump in business compared to the pre-festive period. The Walmart-owned platform notes a strong premiumisation trend in the smartphone, laptop, tablet, and home appliance categories.
Fintech Razorpay reports a 40% increase in dining-out experiences and substantial increases in sales for jewellery, fashion, lifestyle brands, and women’s clothing. Besides, the payment service platform reported a 137% rise in dietician consultancy services and a 42% jump in sales of fitness equipment. The festive season accounted for 20% of all spending on fitness and dieticians, it said.
E-commerce firm Meesho reported around 72 orders per second on its platform, with significant growth in beauty and personal care, men’s fashion, and home décor. The ‘Meesho Mall’ experienced a threefold jump in orders over business-as-usual days, while kids’ wear purchases increased by 114%.
Online fashion retailer Myntra sold 190 kurtas and kurta sets, 75 pairs of footwear, and 90 pairs of denims every minute during the festive season. Among the most popular items city-wise, Bengaluru ordered kurta sets, Delhi-wallahs footwear, and shirts and t-shirts in Hyderabad and Mumbai, respectively.
Myntra saw 42% of its demand coming from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities with luggage sales seeing a 1.6 times growth compared to the previous year. Myntra’s emerging categories like beauty, personal care, home decor, jewellery, watches, wearables, and luggage witnessed a 60% rise in demand.