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Stay healthy with these detox drinks during the festive season

<ul><li><keyword id="36208" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="festive-season">Festive season</keyword> is going to play a big role in bring back the Indian advertising back on its feet. </li><li><keyword id="9908665" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="priya-jacob">Priya Jacob</keyword>, President-Media, <keyword id="3017247" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Network-Advertising">Network Advertising</keyword> writes how advertisers will write off this year and try to build customer confidence.</li></ul>Like every year, advertisers will be betting high on the festive season this year - more so after a huge lull in advertising during the past few months. Whether the pandemic is under control or not, consumers have begun to reclaim their lives – shopping will soon follow. The huge success of IPL where advertisers were willing to pay pre-Covid rates is a testimony to the positive sentiment of festive advertising. However, let us first look at the Economy. It has dropped by almost 24% in Q1 of 2020-21 as compared to Q4 of 2019-20 (which grew by 3.3% over the Q3 2019-20). Of course, by the time the festive season begins there will be some improvement, but will it be in the positive? Probably not. When you compare the GDP growth of Q3 (Oct-Dec) over the last two years, we see the GDP growth was above 5.1% in 2018-19 and about 4.6% in 2019-20. When you compare the advertising spends during festive season in 2019-20 you will find it was lesser than what was done in 2018-19. A small dip in GDP growth did manifest in less business in real life. Now in 2020-21 we are facing a decline in GDP! Let’s now look at the pandemic. The number of people who are getting infected has reached almost a lakh per day. Slowly as normalcy is restored with the opening of Public transport, Offices, Shopping malls etc. the number of affected people per day may continue to grow even during the festive season. And now let us look at the society at large and the consuming class. The stock market has grown by more than 50% in 5 months between 23 March and 28 August which may have increased the wallet size of the few investors. The consuming class too may have saved money despite reduction in their monthly income with their focus shifting to saving and investing more than spending. But when you add up these two classes of people though the number is healthy it is not awesome. Even if you add the 3.5 lakh odd millionaires the numbers won’t improvedrastically. In a light-hearted way it is understood that this class of people do not need to wait for festivals to spend or consume, for them every day is Diwali! It is the huge middle class from the middle to bottom of the economic pyramid that is badly affected. They are counting money for survival. India has 63 Million Micro Enterprise. Now if you assume each Micro Enterprise employs 2 people and each worker and the owners live in a 3-member family home, the total number of people who are dependent turns out to be about 600 million. A lot of them are dependent on daily sales and daily wages and donot have much cash saved. These are the people who are part of the consumption net and a lot of them look forward to festivals to spend on indulgence. While the advertisers will reach out with their offers (most of them will try to reduce the cost of goods on offer, which in turn will increase the cost per customer acquired) the actual commerce is likely to be much less than both expectations and last year. Advertisers will write off this year and try to build customer confidence. All forms of media have gone overboard to create fear rather than create knowledge-based caution. Advertisers will have to pitch “things will be fine soon” to all the customers to first try to eliminate the fear of continued lesser income (and to some extent health) uncertainty. Only discounts and superficial feel good messaging may not be good enough. A lot of advertisers will get encouraged by the surge in media consumption (both reach and time spent). They will try to splurge and since this will be more in hope than as a calculated risk, it could be even bigger than the spend last year.

Betting on festive season: How advertising industry is re-strategizing everything by doing it differently

<ul><li>This year’s initial <keyword id="19894908" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="festive-season" source="keywords">festive season</keyword> has been good for smartphone makers, with an 11% increase in sales.</li><li><keyword id="19897758" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Samsung" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Samsung" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Samsung">Samsung</keyword> has emerged as the biggest smartphone maker in the first phase, followed by <keyword id="19894961" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Apple" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Apple" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Apple">Apple</keyword>.</li><li>Samsung recorded a 20% market share in the first phase, followed by Apple with a 16% market share.</li></ul>The festive season is here and e-commerce platforms Amazon, Flipkart and others have started their festive sales, offering devices such as smartphones at a discounted price. According to a report by Tech Insights, <keyword id="21017681" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="smartphone-sales" source="keywords">smartphone sales</keyword> recorded an 11% growth in the first wave of the festive season sales in India between September 26 to October 6. Among the smartphone makers, Samsung topped the chart with a 20% market share in volume terms during the first phase. "Samsung led the smartphone sales volume with a 20% market share followed by Apple in the first wave of the festive season," Tech Insight said in a blog. Apple is also gaining speed in the Indian market, with over 10 lakh iPhones being sold during the 11-day sale period. The top-selling models for Samsung include the Samsung Galaxy M35, Galaxy S23, Galaxy A14, Galaxy S23 FE and more. "Samsung was also the main sponsor for sales events on Flipkart and Amazon which also gave it an additional push. Samsung sales in unit terms grew 17% year-on-year in 2024's first wave compared to 2023's first wave," the blog said. The platform estimates that online sales volume accounted for 78% of the total sales during the phase 1 period. It was driven by online sales festivals like Big Billion Days on Flipkart and The Great Indian Festival on Amazon India while offline sales started to pick momentum with the start of Navratri. Apple was a surprising second with a 16% market share driven by strong sales of the iPhone 15 which crossed a million mark in 11 days of sales. iPhone 13 followed but the sales gap between iPhone 15 and 13 was significant. Oppo, OnePlus, Xiaomi, and Realme were also among the top vendors in the first wave of the festive season by volume. "North region sales were less compared to other region sales due to the importance of Shradh in this region. Also, states like West Bengal and Gujrat experienced better sales compared to other regions given the preparation for the popular Durga Pooja festival in these states," the blog said. With inputs from agencies. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/byd-emax-7-electric-mpv-launched-in-india-starting-at-26-9-lakh/slidelist/114046121.cms">BYD eMax 7 electric MPV launched in India starting at ₹26.9 lakh</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/personal-finance/news/heres-how-a-reddit-user-was-able-to-get-an-iphone-16-at-under-27000/articleshow/114035179.cms">Here’s how a Reddit user was able to get an iPhone 16 at under ₹27,000</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/hyundai-swiggy-ather-upcoming-large-ipos-in-india/slidelist/114014140.cms">Hyundai To Swiggy: Everyone wants to cash in on the IPO bonanza</a>

Samsung leads the first phase of festive sales with a 20% market share

<ul><li>Multiple brands have deferred their product launches and are counting on the <keyword id="36208" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="festive-season" source="Orion">festive season</keyword> to drive incremental reach and sales. </li><li>MMA, GroupM and Amazon Advertising's festive season playbook decodes <keyword id="139079" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="consumer-behaviour" source="Orion">consumer behaviour</keyword>.</li></ul>MMA, GroupM and Amazon Advertising have launched the ‘Decoding Consumer behavior and Winning the 2021 Festive season’ Playbook, a handbook for marketers on expected consumer sentiment along with recommended strategies for Diwali this year. The 2021 Diwali festive season will be an unprecedented test for marketers. As consumption is on a natural upswing post pandemic restrictions, brands are looking to stand-out and capture the mindshare among the new-age ‘digital’ consumers. Multiple brands have deferred their product launches and are counting on the festive season to drive incremental reach and sales. As a result, shopping aisles will be choc-a-block with new launches supported by high-decibel marketing campaigns. At the same time, consumer journeys have become more complex and non-linear, and the role of digital has become more prominent across the journey. As a result, this festive season will require marketers to re-think their media strategies in order to be successful. This playbook will help brands in making efficient decisions around their media strategy during the festive season. It captures insights around consumer sentiment and marketer expectations for the upcoming festive season, along with implications and recommendations for advertisers. The playbook is based on findings from consumer survey, brand marketer survey, and inputs from key opinion leaders. A few takeaways from the playbook: <ul><li>Consumer sentiment remains positive: ~50% consumers are likely to increase their <keyword id="10318360" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="festive-spends" source="Orion">festive spends</keyword> this year</li><li>Consumers are still not fully decided on their purchase: 62% consumers are currently undecided about the product/brand choice</li><li>Digital channels will be crucial across the journey: ~80% consumers journeys will be ‘digital’ influenced and 77% endemic journeys will involve <a href="http://amazon.in/" target="_blank">amazon.in</a></li><li>Brands should leverage multiple touchpoints: Be visible across touchpoints leveraging Connected TV, Video, Search advertising etc. to drive active/passive discovery and leverage ‘efficiency’ related metrics to assess performance holistically</li></ul>Moneka Khurana, Country Head, MMA India commented, “MMA is proud to have co-authored the white paper in collaboration with GroupM and Amazon Advertising to provide the much needed insights and guidance for the upcoming festive season for the ecosystem helping brands navigate the challenging times and drive optimal visibility and performance . 76%of marketers mentioned they will be allocating more spends for digital as compared to last year. Hence it’s key to understand omnichannel users better in the changing times as we continue to drive the narrative of shaping the future of marketing.” Tushar Vyas, President – Growth and Transformation, GroupM South Asia commented, “Digital influence in consumer journeys has increased significantly while the e-commerce adoption has accelerated in last 18 months. Hence, Digital is no more a support media platform but is core to media plans. Ecommerce platforms offer brands the opportunity to hand-hold consumers across the purchase funnel by not only aiding in active/passive brand discovery but also in closing the loop by measuring performance objectively. This playbook contains several key insights and is a must-read for any marketer who is planning for the festive season.” Vijay Iyer, Director-Ad Sales, Amazon Advertising India commented, “Digital is a part of our lives now like never before and the influence is only increasing. Ecommerce portals act as gateways to this world that we are so quickly embracing and are playing a crucial role in brand and product discovery. For marketers, this presents an unprecedented opportunity – to be able to identify and leverage customer intent at an unprecedented scale. This playbook will help brands in not only sharpening their online strategy, but will redefine how they measure and drive business outcomes.”

50% consumers are likely to increase their festive spends this year: Report

<ul><li>With COVID, brands have shifted their marketing monnies to <keyword id="169310" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-advertising">digital advertising</keyword>. </li><li><keyword id="160350" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sanjay-Mehta">Sanjay Mehta</keyword>, Joint CEO, <keyword id="3129634" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mirum">Mirum</keyword> writes why digital advertising will deliver you even better results this year.</li></ul>While digital advertising has been attractive and has been growing in terms of total marketing spends year after year, in particular this year in the COVID-hit world, digital advertising will deliver you even better results. Why so? Read on…. At the outset, let’s look at it from the consumer’s point of view. The kinds of words and sentences we have seen people use are some of the following – “For me just a couple of jeans and few T-shirts have been enough for all of these last 5 – 6 months.” Someone else has said, “ yes I have had a small salary cut but even my expenses have dramatically gone down, so in fact I have more savings in my account:” And more, “I used to spend a lot of money going out to eat or for my entertainment and such stuff, most of which have stopped in the last few months and so I find myself having good money in my bank even though I’ve been sitting at home”. These are the kind of messaging that you often hear from the people who have been largely working from home for the last 5 – 6 months. Yes there is boredom, yes there is a lot of frustration and yes, there is also an eagerness to get back to somewhat of the kind of life that everybody lived in the pre-COVID world. One way to “seem” like you are back in the pre-Covid times, is to shop as if you were! But with nowhere to go really, no big parties or weddings or such occasions, there is a sense of guilt in justifying unnecessary shopping. So we are at the point where the consumer WANTS to return to some pre-Covid normalcy, retail therapy will get her there, to an extent, but justifying that kind of shopping at a time, when there are no occasions for the same, becomes a challenge! This is where the alibi of the festive occasion comes in! Right from Raksha Bandhan and Ganesh Chaturthi onwards, India gets into 3 – 4 months of festivals, one after the other, every few weeks, including the biggest of them all which is Diwali. Traditionally these festivals have been a reason or an excuse to shop because you are going to meet a lot of people your friends, family, relatives and you are also vacationing etc. A lot of that lifestyle might not happen this year, you might not be able to visit many people’s home just yet, you might not be vacationing but the consumer with a pent-up demand and a sense of frustration at having been stuck at home, will find enough reason in the <keyword id="36208" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="festive-season">festive season</keyword> to justify a high amount of shopping, definitely much higher than the averages of last few months. The festival is just the right excuse. This is as far as the consumer is concerned. Now let us have a look from the brand’s point of view and the organisation’s point of view. Most of the brands have been subdued in their business over the last 5 -6 months. Thanks to COVID, initially there was a complete lockdown and factories were closed, the retail stores were closed and there was no sale. Slowly but surely, small amount of sales started happening, initially it was just eCommerce and then the stores started opening up, maybe for a limited number of hours and few days of the week, and of course, the factories also started resuming operations, in different parts of the country. Transportation and logistics also resumed. But the consumer demand did not really go up that much, so while the stores have been open, while the factories produced products, the sales had not had picked up that much and was still a trickle of the typical volumes that they usually see. All brands have therefore been eager to get back to selling more, eager to compensate for the last few months in terms of getting back to desired volumes of sale. Festive season and Diwali provide just the right antidote for them as well. Combined with the earlier mentioned pent-up demand of the consumers and their eagerness to shop now with the festive season as just the right alibi to do so, the opportunity of a sudden sharp increase of demand in most categories, is bound to happen. In such a scenario it is the brands who are able to make the most of this increased demand, who will be the winners! So here is a classic case wherein, on one side we will have an eager customer wanting to shop and finding the festive times as just the right alibi to do so, and on the other hand, the aggressive brands who are willing to go and grab the biggest market share of this pent-up demand. All brands will not have the same fortunes, as it will be the braver brands, the more aggressive brands who will make the most of the opportunity, and get the largest market share. So if you want to be amongst the winning brands who will grab the best of the market share in this festive season, what should you be doing? Well marketing is always the way to acquire the largest market share but in particular what kind of marketing should you be doing? Especially in a year where your fortunes could have been hit due to 4 -5 months of extremely low sales? Whether you are a marketeer or a CFO or a CEO, you key objective would be to spend money which can deliver the best ROI. It may not be the best year to experiment and splurge into large brand building budgets on television and print simply because of the fact that the lack of measurability around that does not give you the liberty to splurge and just hope that it will convert. On the other hand Digital Advertising is just perfect for this festive season. On the one hand we have seen significantly increased online time spends by the consumer, thanks to being at home watching a lot of OTT, following a lot of websites, ordering online, all of this behaviour have sharply seen an upward move. So on one side the consumer is spending a lot more time on Internet screens and on the other hand, digital advertising also provides extremely good measurability so that you can plan the spends in keeping with the returns that you get in terms of conversions. Due to these reasons digital advertising should make for the most potent weapon for a marketeer, especially in this festive season of the COVID year. The recommendation then, would be to be aggressively prepared with a good digital advertising budget but aimed in a very focused manner to achieving ROI, to having measurable impact from your spends on actual sales, and keep spending more to the extent you see the ROI maintain. If you are able to do so, you should be able to achieve excellent impact for your money spent and be one of the highest beneficiaries is terms of getting the best market share coming out of the pent-up demand of the consumer. While physical stores have opened to a fair extent, not everybody is comfortable to go and spend time in the malls and the crowded stores just yet. The COVID cases in India have particularly not slowed down, and in fact they continue to rise. So the pent-up demand of the consumer is far more likely to be met through online shopping rather than walking into physical stores. So ensure that you have a strong online sales set up in place. So this festive season get ready with a healthy ammunition of budgets for your digital advertising efforts, and if done well, you should see fantastic results and great ROI as well.

Digital advertising will deliver mega results for brands this festive season

<ul><li>The sluggish two quarters of this fiscal and dull results of auto, FMCG, real estate, apparel, telecom indicate that the upcoming <keyword id="36208" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="festive-season">festive season</keyword> will not bring profitability. </li><li>However, the first half of the year was unusual, unprecedented that the ad industry took a nosedive to as low as -60%. </li><li>Experts are hopeful that the festive season will bring in cheer and serve as a respite from the pandemic-associated slumber. </li></ul>This year, Diwali or Ganapati won’t be about bursting crackers on the street and meeting family to exchange sweets. It will be all virtual, about being there for each other in tough times and celebrating small victories. This festive season, like this year, is unusual, which has made many marketers rethink their strategies and understand consumer behaviour closely to come up with out-of-box solutions. The progress of advertising industry has always been in tandem to consumer sentiment and about 40-45% of the annual ad spends in India happen between Raksha Bandhan and New Year. This year, when ad revenue had reached as low as -60% in April, a lot of hopes are banking on the festive season for industry’s overall revival. In many ways, advertising is a lag and lead indicator for our country -- if the country's GDP is growing at 8%, advertising grows at 12%. If GDP falls, ad revenue falls even lower. With a steady monsoon and plump harvest so far, experts are hopeful that the festive season will bring cheer for the industry. It will help the ad world bounce back to normalcy. <keyword id="248051" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ashish-Bhasin">Ashish Bhasin</keyword>, CEO - APAC and Chairman India, Dentsu Aegis Network Asia said, “In the month of April, we were -60%. I think we will end this calendar year at probably around -15 to -20% decline in the advertising market, which means the second half will have to do better than the first half. It may not be as good as last year, which in itself wasn’t a great period, however it will start improving and coming closer. Monsoon season is looking good, so our rural economy should do well. For many categories now there is saturation in terms of penetration at least in metros, so a lot of growth will come from Tier II, III and rural areas. So if the rains continue and we have a good harvest, there will be more money in the pockets of the rural consumers and that will help the demand. With the advent of the festive season, hopefully, COVID cycle goes down by that time, coupled with a good harvest, demand going up and sentiment improving, I think by around Diwali we will see some signs of normality returning.” Priti Murthy, CEO, OMD India said, “The festive season will bring in cheer and serve as a respite from the pandemic-associated slumber. Our recently conducted survey states how the general news consumption has significantly increased during the lockdown period. With an increase in music streaming, online games, and cooking shows, and re-runs of popular shows from the 80’s &amp; 90’s making a comeback, the ad revenue cycle is all geared up during the festive season.” This Indian festive season is coupled with IPL, which is a gigantic festival in itself that drives advertising industry’s revenue and holds the power to alter market sentiment. While sans-Vivo, OOH and no activitations, Navin Khemka, CEO, MediaCom South Asia still believes IPL will help put ad industry back to 2019’s growth trajectory. “Given that IPL is confirmed, we can expect this year's festival season to be equal to 2019. Last year, the last quarter was approx. Rs 24,000 crore and this year we expect the number to remain constant,” said he. Digital taking the bigger chunk of the pie With the lockdown in Mumbai, which is the creative hub and houses many Indian agencies, Sandeep Sreekumar, Managing Director, Media Moments is looking forward to seeing some creative storytelling made from the inside of four walls on digital mediums this year. "We feel this new phase will bring in new opportunities for the brands to showcase exceptional creativity and storytelling by integrating messages like social distancing, and work from home into their ads.” Sreekumar thinks digital will lead the game as advertisers have been shifting their monies from traditional to virtual platforms. “Digital platforms like Instagram Shop along with other channels including Facebook, Google and OTT platforms are likely to garner the advertiser’s attention across categories which will eventually lead to a significant upsurge in the digital ad revenue. Though, the consumer might still be a little skeptical about spending, the arrival of festivals and the announcement of IPL are likely to change their mindset for the better. We are excited to witness the trends unfold and see the new normal for the advertising industry that will lend an engaging experience to the customers through wit, humour and emotions,” said Sreekumar. Murthy is hoping that print will also see an increase in advertisers’ volume this festive season. “Digital and Print will definitely see an influx during the festive period, and OTT will be the new arena that will see more brands coming in. Also, TV will witness a spike due to IPL being held at the same time.” Khemka pointed out that brands will not go too big on media spendings as they have become cautious of what they are spending on. He said, “Due to the pandemic, TV &amp; Digital will be the biggest gainers. They will grow at the expense of the other mediums. There is cautious optimism with brands. Given the state wise lockdown is affecting sentiment, brands will be cautious before they commit big monies on media.” Auto industry, e-commerce and other virtual brands to lead the growth Experts opined that auto will see a boom because consumers are now avoiding public transport. Other categories that popped up in our discussion were EduTech, E-commerce and OTT. “Auto is likely to bounce back because people are looking for private transportation. E-commerce, EduTech, telecommunications will all bounce back first because data consumption has gone up but the market has been pretty depressed for them also. So hopefully that will pick up. FMCG demand is quite stable, one category that continued to advertise despite the lockdown because they were under the essential category, they will be steady. Once the feel-good factor starts, entertainment will start coming back. Film, digital and TV production starts, they will come back. Real estate will continue seeing a slump unless there is a big economic pick-up. So overall, it will be a mixed bag,” said Bhasin. Murthy also shared her optimism about spends from the auto and IT industry. “Auto has already begun seeing this trend as personal mobility is a higher need in the COVID and post-COVID era. Seeking a digitally enhanced and technologically superior experience across business verticals, IT is an area that showcases an enormous potential, too. Additionally, OTT platforms are also slated to bounce back with all their diverse content.” Consumers to continue being wary about their spendings With the economic downturn and uncertainty still looming around, consumer sentiment might suffer this festive season. Sharing what consumers are likely to spend on, Khemka said, “Given the pandemic I think the consumer has now become more rational. They are spending more on technology, equipment, health &amp; immunity boosters on one hand. However, they have also become cautious on discretionary expenses that can wait for some more time given the tough economic scenario. Also, the list of essentials and non-essentials is being redefined. Murthy said that the trends so far have only indicated that consumer sentiment is improving, which is more likely to continue growing during festive. “According to our OMG study, an average daily time spent across OTT platforms is over 95 minutes. Besides, online video and social media have emerged as the top entertainment mediums among Indians, allowing for a great scope of ad spend to be incorporated. It’s definitely an optimistic picture,” said Murthy.

A lot of hope rests on the festive season this year, but will it bring cheer?

<ul><li><keyword id="12297640" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shopify-india" source="Orion">Shopify India</keyword> launches Festive Shopping Outlook Report 2021. </li><li>The Indian Retail Sector can expect to cater to smarter, savvier shoppers this Diwali.</li></ul>Shopify India has released an exclusive industry trend report based on their 2021 Consumer Insights Survey. The Festive Shopping Outlook Report 2021 has been put together against the background of the pandemic, even as the Indian retail sector continues to witness radical changes when it comes to consumer behavior and buying patterns. The survey, conducted between September 15, 2021 to October 20, 2021 amongst 800 metro and non-metro Indian shoppers, reveals changing consumer shopping preferences heading into the <keyword id="36208" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="festive-season" source="Orion">festive season</keyword>. These trends will ultimately determine the course that the Indian retail sector will follow, by elevating consumer strategies and aligning themselves to the new order. The survey by Shopify India has been released to decode changing consumer trends and sentiments in the run-up to Diwali – one of India’s most important annual festivals, that also results in the largest shopping period in the country. At its core, the report is aimed at studying the impact that multiple lockdowns, shifting retail landscapes and a struggling economy have had on consumer pockets and mindsets. The Festive Shopping Outlook Report 2021 published nine major trends that emerged from the Consumer Insights Survey. Heightened confidence in e-tailers waters down traditional advance festive shopping The pull of last-minute discount deals along with short-lead/express delivery advantages offered by e-retailers have been instrumental in gaining consumer confidence. According to the report by Shopify India, 2 in 3 Indian shoppers had not started shopping for the festive season at the time of taking this survey. This is in sharp contrast to pre-pandemic traditional behaviors where festive shopping in India would kick off in full swing nearly a month in advance. Smaller Indian cities emerge as key e-shopping growth hubs Multiple factors such as India’s nationwide mobile penetration, brands opting to shift to a D2C model, enhanced last-mile delivery and customer-friendly return policies have been instrumental in bringing the millennial, non-metro shopper to opt for the digital medium. While online shopping – in the last decade – has largely been prevalent amongst consumers in tier-I Indian metropolitan cities, the pandemic has accelerated and driven this growth up the charts in tier-II cities and non-metros as well. According to Shopify’s Festive Shopping Outlook Report, 53.5% millennial shoppers from non-metros have displayed a strong preference to shop online. Health &amp; safety concerns push customers to adopt tech-enabled, family shopping experiences Even with increased vaccinations, consumers are wary of offline/physical shopping and in-person interactions. Convenience, value for money and personalization offered by online players has enhanced e-purchasing’s appeal. However, one thing remains the same – Indian shopping still continues to be a family affair! Half the respondents of the survey indicated that they will prefer involving their families even when shopping online during the festive season. Local businesses to win big as consumers wake up to the advantages of shopping locally Close to 58% respondents stated that they would prefer to support and shop from small online businesses during this year’s festive season. This is in sharp contrast to the usual skew towards high-end brands when it comes to gifting and festive shopping. Smaller retailers have managed to capture consumer attention and loyalty by offering a range of value for money options, along with individual attention and personalized experiences. These benefits, combined with the emotional pull that consumers feel towards extending support and encouragement to businesses that are fighting to survive, have been instrumental in driving e-sales at these small, local establishments. Festive gifting gets utility-focused Consumers are now leaning towards gifts with high functionality and utility value, as opposed to standard festive sweets or dry fruit tokens. Home confinements have led to consumers realizing the need to constantly upgrade or enhance their abodes. It comes as no surprise that home décor and furnishings topped this year’s festive shopping lists with over 50% respondents displaying preference to spend on gifts under this category. Big budgets parked for electronics, dimming the spotlight on jewellery Despite being considered auspicious as well as status symbols, gold and precious metal jewellery which have been traditional festive gifting favorites seem to have fallen out of favor with Indian shoppers this year. The pandemic has inspired consumers to put their money where major dependencies lie; in tech gadgets. This festive season, electronic gadgets are all set to command maximum consumer gifting budgets with close to 42% respondents to Shopify’s survey showcasing increased propensity towards it. High-speed internet connections and a heightened need to stay connected have increased consumer reliance on gadgets. This has translated onwards onto a large proportion of downsized festive budgets being allocated to electronic products this year. Consumer sentiment confirms that the online shopping boom is here to stay According to Shopify India’s Festive Shopping Report 2021, 76.9% Indian consumers show deep inclination towards online shopping this festive season because of the convenience it offers. While traditionally festive shopping has been an offline retail activity, pandemic-induced restrictions put in place to contain the virus forced most retail activity to move online. A practice that many consumers have got familiar with and also appreciate for the bouquet of benefits it has to offer. However, this year, even with the lifting of most restrictions, high vaccinations rates and a lower covid caseload in India, Shopify India has witnessed a continued preference for virtual retail. Contactless spending set to dominate the future of payments in India and in ‘Bharat’ With the pandemic necessitating contactless payments and boosting cashless transactions, cash is no longer king in an economy which was previously heavily reliant on cash. Armed with the second-largest mobile-user base globally, India has transitioned into the e-payments era on the back of easy, convenient and accessible UPI payment options. Nearly 50% respondents surveyed by Shopify stated that they preferred to process payments via UPI as opposed to any other form of transaction. Interestingly, the preference remains consistent across both, online and offline shopping experiences. Conclusion Diwali 2021 is set to witness the rise of a smarter, savvier Indian consumer generation which is highly dependent on technology and mobile connectivity. They now seek convenience and value over all else and have broken away from traditional token gifting. It can safely be said that this year, Indian consumers are planning their Diwali shopping with an eye on the future. A future which they are already scripting; one Rupee at a time.

Local businesses to win big as consumers wake up to the advantages of shopping locally: Shopify report

<ul><li>While festivals will still be celebrated either virtually or in small groups this year, consumer sentiment has already shown early signs of improvement due to recently concluded Ganesh Chaturthi.</li><li>With a steady monsoon, plump harvest so far and IPL returning, <keyword id="34612" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="advertising-industry" source="Orion">advertising industry</keyword> is hopeful that the ongoing <keyword id="36208" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="festive-season" source="Orion">festive season</keyword> will bring in cheer and serve as a respite from the pandemic-associated slumber. It will help the ad world bounce back to normalcy.</li></ul>India is the land of festivals and every festival is celebrated with great pomp and joy in this country. While the recently concluded festival of Ganesh Chaturthi, which is otherwise known for its fanfare and grand celebration, was affected due to the pandemic, it has brought in early improvement in consumer sentiment. According to Axis My India report, 42% of families said they will shop more or the same as compared to last year. This gives an indication that there is a sense of cautious optimism and the pent-up demand or degree of revenge shopping that happened last year might not be the same this year. This expected increase in spends is higher among private and government service employees. The spends increase on essentials like personal &amp; household care is at 47%, an increase of 4 percentage point over last month. Consumers are spending a little extra money to spruce their homes now to welcome Maa Durga and then prepare for India’s biggest festival, Diwali. Ergo, brands are pinning a lot of hopes on the festive season this year to help them bounce back. They have started working on their advertising campaigns in full swing to win back consumer trust and help shape the market sentiment. The progress of the advertising industry has always been in tandem with consumer sentiment and about 40-45% of the annual ad spends in India happen between Raksha Bandhan and New Year. In many ways, advertising is a lag and lead indicator for our country -- if the country's GDP is growing at 8%, advertising grows at 12%. If GDP falls, ad revenue falls even lower. In 2020, when ad revenue had reached as low as -60% in April, a lot of hopes are banking on the festive season this year for industry’s overall revival. Mohit Joshi, CEO, Havas Media Group India said, “With the increase in the vaccination numbers and positive market sentiments, the festive period is poised for a stronger, and better recovery from 2020. It is estimated that the festive season will generate advertising upwards of INR 7000 Crore, which is approximately 12-15% higher than last year’s festive season and is expected to provide big support to the growing economy.” This Indian festive season is coupled with IPL, which is a gigantic festival in itself that drives advertising industry’s revenue and holds the power to alter market sentiment. Joshi said that the return of IPL 2021 and a slew of high-impact properties like the ICC T20 World Cup coupled with reality shows like the KBC 13, Bigg Boss 15, Dance+6, and several mega OTT releases will make it a festive bonanza for all stakeholders. Hari Krishnan, CEO, Mullen Lintas is also optimistic about seeing a better recovery than 2020. He said, “Last year, it was cautious optimism. This time around, there seems to be a lot more confidence post-vaccination and the optimism appears to be a lot more reassured. That apart, there are two big cricketing events and that’s definitely going to bring a lot of eyeballs back to television. It’s a great reach platform and something that brands would be eager to be a part of. There’s every chance that this festive season could see a lot of pent-up shopping happening which different categories could benefit from.” Experts said that digital will lead the game as advertisers have been shifting their monies from traditional to virtual platforms. Sahil Shah, Managing Partner, WATConsult said, “I reckon it will be a 60-70% jump in certain categories who will go even more aggressive. And compared to pre-covid levels, overall spends should be 15-20% higher. I think digital invariably will see the maximum percentage-wise growth followed by TV and then other mediums. From a marketing point of view, data-led communication will gain more importance and so will eCommerce investments. Also, marketers are experimenting with newer ways of reaching the consumer through innovative content and experiences which is an area that the overall <keyword id="618493" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-marketing" source="Orion">digital marketing</keyword> industry will surely move towards.” <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Digital media to take lead, followed by TV and print" text="Digital media to take lead, followed by TV and print">Digital media to take lead, followed by TV and print</cmsannotation> Rishabh Mahendru, AVP, Client Servicing, AdLift is expecting to see ad revenue grow by 10%-15% this year. While digital is likely to get the bigger chunk of the pie, he said that Facebook (Instagram), OTT and YouTube will be in lead within that sector. He also said if there’s another lockdown, e-commerce will still continue to flourish. “Time was more uncertain last year, still the e-commerce industry saw a growth of more than 50% festive orders. This year, we should see same or better results,” said Mahendru. On the other hand, Unmisha Bhatt, Chief Strategy Officer &amp; Director, India and MENA Region at Tonic Worldwide said that brands will explore LinkedIn this year. She said, “Innovative campaigns will be seen by brands on LinkedIn considering the rise in engagement by professionals on LinkedIn. High Reach/Awareness platforms like TV and Outdoor will remain a part of the integrated pie and will see the same demand as earlier. However, the platform which will see the most growth over the previous years is digital since its gained relevance.” Sharing a few other trends which we could see in digital marketing, Bhatt added, “Video commerce and live stream shopping is one of the new trends that we will see coming up soon. And remember teleshopping? We will soon see the rise of that on digital too! Seamless user journey and functionalities will emulate the retail environment to ensure consumers don’t miss the retail experiences. This means, technology-based experiential marketing with AR/VR and Mixed reality to ensure consumer recall, as well as engagement, will see a rise too along with experience commerce which enables sales. Conversation commerce will also pick up in the form of chatbots as it leads to faster responses for the impatient consumer.” Digital adoption accelerated by the pandemic has drastically changed the way audiences consume media. This has also paved the way for content creators, bringing them into the spotlight. Prachi Bali, National Head Client Partnerships &amp; Business Head (North), FoxyMoron (Zoo Media) said, “Besides the usual engagement platforms of FB, IG &amp; YT, regional and nano influencers are seeing a great deal of interest. Also, regional and smaller content/publishing platforms are finding their way into media plans. Brands want to build a stronger consumer connect by making the content work harder, multiplied by language and platform, rather than making stand-alone traditional pieces of content. Consumer-facing technologies that drive engagement such as filters, interactive ads, shoppable videos are the trends we will see brands adopt as they all encourage social commerce. ” While brands and advertisers are extra cautious this year to commit big monies on media after 2020 and will be looking at ROI from their media investments, they still want to make hay while the sun shines. Prasad Shejale, Founder and CEO, Logicserve Digital said, “Advertisers will tend to focus on all the possible mediums and attract more and more audiences. I am positive that they will scale up equally across different mediums now and hence, all the mediums are sure to grow. With such a focus, I foresee even the bottom-funnel channels to grow. Looking at consumer behaviour and preferences over the past few months or years, I feel video channel will witness a huge growth as there is a dire need to break the clutter nowadays. When I say video, it will be video in every way whether it is video on demand or on social media or OTT. Having said that, while we know that the advertisers will try to make the most out of the festive season and explore different formats or platforms, a lot of them are also focusing on the right measurement infrastructure that helps them understand the impact properly and also provides useful insights to plan for future activities.” <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Auto industry, e-commerce and travel to be the big spenders" text="Auto industry, e-commerce and travel to be the big spenders">Auto industry, e-commerce and travel to be the big spenders</cmsannotation> As per the data from Gipsi, (Tonic’s AI and HI research arm), search queries have risen by 3x across categories like online shopping, travel, automobile (specifically SUV’s segment), fashion, and gadgets over 2019. Experts also opined that auto will see a boom because consumers are now avoiding public transport. Other categories that popped up in our discussion were EduTech, E-commerce, OTT and travel. “People have begun travelling, offices are slowly opening up. Traffic is back on the roads and the restaurants are filling up slowly. This year, fashion &amp; accessories, FMCG, Durables, EdTech, FinTech and most of the new e-commerce/online brands should be active. We could see some action from auto sector as well,” said Krishnan. Joshi also shared his optimism about spends from the auto and e-commerce industry. He said, “Automobile, gaming, education, beverages, FMCG, cement, tyres &amp; consumer durables are some of the categories that will re-activate their marketing plans in H2. Given the advertising clutter during the festive period, brands will need to drive awareness and stay top-of-mind throughout the consumer’s purchase and consumption journey.” Apart from these obvious ones, Shejale highlighted that the travel industry, which suffered the most during 2020, has finally started picking up. He said, “Firstly, I am sure travel will revive and has already started picking up. As the travel industry flourishes, the hotel and hospitality will grow too. Apart from these, retail (online as well as offline) will also recuperate and continue to grow.” Trends so far have only indicated that consumer sentiment is improving, which is more likely to continue growing during the ongoing festive season.

Experts are hoping to see the advertising industry generate around Rs 7000 crore, 12-15% higher than last year’s festive season

<ul><li>This survey by <keyword id="6414960" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zestmoney" source="Orion">ZestMoney</keyword> reveals insights on consumer spending and saving habits.</li><li>78% of respondents say they have saved up to spend this year.</li></ul>According to the pan-India survey conducted by ZestMoney, a Buy Now, Pay Later platform, 78% of the respondents say they have been saving up to splurge in the coming months. Indicating a strong revival in consumer spending habits, 62% of them said they have planned to increase the festive budget compared to last year. The consumer survey was conducted to understand consumer shopping habits and preferences for the ongoing <keyword id="36208" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="festive-season" source="Orion">festive season</keyword>. The pan-India survey saw participation from 3,800 respondents, the majority of them being millennials. Smartphones, electronics, and fashion have emerged as the top categories where people planned to splurge in the coming months. A whopping 72% choose smartphones and consumer electronics as their preferred choice to shop. Home decor, jewelry, automobiles, personal care products are the other popular categories. The Indian festive season is a crucial time as consumer demand is at its peak with many planning several small and big-ticket purchases. With increased vaccination and the general opening of the economy, the survey has witnessed a positive sentiment around budgets and shopping at physical stores. 75% of the surveyed respondents said they were more comfortable shopping at physical stores than last year. While online shopping continues to be popular among people, 53% said they would shop at both online and offline stores for their needs this year. Indicating an increase in discretionary spending and budgets, 67% of people say they plan to spend on gifting family and friends. It is interesting to note that 59% of them revealed that they plan to use Buy Now, Pay Later/EMI options for their shopping needs. UPI, Credit Cards, and cash payments were other popular options. Affordability solutions continue to play a crucial role in these times as people look at ways to plan their finances better. Commenting on the survey, <keyword id="6632662" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lizzie-Chapman" source="Orion">Lizzie Chapman</keyword>, CEO &amp; Co-founder of ZestMoney said, “We expect this to be a dhamaka festive season and the signs are already visible. People have started spending and the consumer demand is very upbeat for the next 3 months. We have seen customer applications go up by 10X on our platform and we have had to increase credit limits for select customers as many reach out asking for it. It’s interesting to see the survey suggesting people want to spend more this year compared to last year.” “One noticeable difference is people are more comfortable shopping at retail stores and the footfalls are promising. We are seeing massive interest from retailers wanting to enable Buy Now, Pay Later at their stores. We will soon have a network of 1 lakh physical stores across the country owing to the festive demand. Overall we expect a 3X YoY growth this festive season with demand across categories from electronics, home appliances, smartphones, and electric bikes”, added Chapman.

72% of Indians plan to splurge on electronics and gadgets during the festive season: Report

<ul><li>Around 4,000 jobs were posted every day during the <keyword id="36208" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="festive-season" source="Orion">festive season</keyword> this year, says the <keyword id="198540" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="apna" source="Orion">Apna</keyword> report. </li><li>Cities including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai and Indore witnessed a massive increase in the employer base. </li><li>Hospitality and beauty &amp; wellness industries witnessed a 65% growth in the number of employers this year as compared to the same period last year.</li></ul>The Covid-19-free festive season this year saw the creation of over two lakh jobs especially by the small and medium-sized businesses (<keyword id="417894" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="smbs" source="Orion">SMBs</keyword>) and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), according to a new report by jobs platform Apna. “Festive season is the time for Indian companies to hire professionals in order to maximise their business, creating a pool of opportunities for professionals across the industry. The season’s data reflects how the Indian economy is getting back on track,” said Manas Singh, chief business officer, Apna. The report further said that there was a massive increase in the number of employers looking out for the right talent pool across job roles like telecalling, <keyword id="6380915" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="bpo" source="Orion">BPO</keyword>, telesales, receptionist, front office, help desk admin and office assistants between September 1 to October 27 this year. Roles such as business development, telemarketing and sales also witnessed a growing demand in metro cities like Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru. In fact, during the festive season, on an average, 4,000 jobs were posted everyday, said the report. Cities including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai and Indore witnessed a massive increase in the employer base during the festive season this year. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Sectors recording the most number of jobs" comment="subhead" text="Sectors recording the most number of jobs">Sectors recording the most number of jobs</cmsannotation> According to the report, the hospitality and beauty &amp; wellness industries witnessed a 65% growth in the number of employers this year as compared to the same period last year. The logistics and delivery industry recorded a 21% increase in the number of job applications during this period as the sector offered higher pay and better perks due to higher demand for professionals in the festive season. Delivery jobs were most popular in metro cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi this season. E-commerce, food and hospitality sectors hired the maximum number of gig professionals this season. <keyword id="6358977" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="swiggy" source="Orion">Swiggy</keyword>, Zomato, Zepto, and Licious were the top recruiters during the season, the report added. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/hardika-shah-is-the-founder-and-ceo-of-fintech-company-kinara-capital/slidelist/95200480.cms">A mother’s struggles as a kirana-store owner drove her daughter to help small biz owners access loans</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/hearts-from-covid-positive-donors-appear-safe-for-transplantation-study/articleshow/95202521.cms">Hearts from Covid-positive donors appear safe for transplantation: Study</a>

Over 2 lakh jobs created this festive season, says report

<ul><li>The <keyword id="36208" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="festive-season" source="Orion">festive season</keyword> has always been important to brands, especially to e-commerce players who line up big bumper discounts, look for more retail brands to partner and ramp up their product offerings.</li><li>This festive season, e-commerce platforms are focusing on bringing more personalisation and curation to customers shopping online through greater tech and marketing integration.</li><li>More and more e-commerce platforms are also exploring social commerce, turning their apps into super apps by bringing content, products and trends under one roof for consumers to watch and shop at once.</li><li>With increasing internet penetration, e-commerce players are expecting new growth from Tier II, III and beyond this festive, which will cumulatively contribute to $150 billion of e-commerce as per RedSeer Consulting’s report.</li><li>We speak to India’s leading e-commerce players to find out more about their festive plans and revival expectations.</li></ul>The year 2020 accelerated e-commerce industry, perhaps by a decade, revolutionising the way brands operate, run, and grow their businesses, as well as how consumers choose to shop and pay. In the initial months of the lockdown, businesses witnessed a clear shift in consumer behaviour. Historically offline shoppers also came online due to convenience and safety. Consumers are still hesitant to return to in-store shopping completely and audiences from Tier II and Tier III are also preferring to shop online. The pandemic has evidently caused an inflection point for e-commerce in the country. With the second-largest internet user base, India has emerged as one of the most prominent markets globally. Around 480 million people in India have access to the internet out of which 90 million are online shoppers, according to estimates from management consultancy RedSeer. Shoppers from India’s small towns and cities will cumulatively contribute to $150 billion of e-commerce GMV in the coming decade, until 2030, revealed RedSeer. <div type="image" title="redseer - ecomm report" msid="85901903" hostid="261"></div> After spending a glum year and a half, consumers are excited to celebrate the festive season with upcoming shopping sales for Diwali, Dussehra and Christmas. IPL and ICC T-20 World Cup will further improve consumer sentiment this year. According to a survey conducted by The Trade Desk and YouGov, 82% of consumers shopped online at least once a month in the past six months, and nearly one in four made online purchases several times a week or more often. Titled ‘<a href="https://pages.thetradedesk.com/rs/527-INM-364/images/TheFestiveSeasonPulse2021.pdf">The Festive Season Pulse 2021</a>,’ it further said that 91% of Indian consumers are planning a purchase during the upcoming festive season and six in 10 are interested in learning about new brands during festive season sales. To leverage this uptick in consumer sentiment, the e-commerce category is all set to begin its festive marketing blitz and is preparing to line up big discounts for the season in a few weeks. For this 30-day period leading up to the festive season, leading fashion e-commerce platform <keyword id="319719" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="myntra" source="Orion">Myntra</keyword> has planned ‘Big Fashion Festival,’ which will be followed up with Myntra Diwali Sale, with a focus on ethnic wear. It will also be focusing on emerging categories like Beauty and Personal care, kidswear and categories such as innerwear and essentials which have experienced tailwinds post-Covid. Myntra’s Chief Business Officer, Ayyappan Rajagopal said, “We are expecting this festive season to be bigger than last year with more customers using online channels to make their purchases. Demand usually peaks in the 30 days leading to Diwali and we expect this year to be no different. In fact, the demand in the 2 months leading to the festive season is expected to be far more than last time (because people have learnt with time to adapt to a pandemic world). We expect high demand from across geographies and markets - metros, Tier 1, Tier 2, T3 cities and beyond. To cater to that, we have built the right ethnic wear, beauty, and home selection, and have partnered with brands on best deals. Hence, to leverage this demand and provide best value to our customers, we are organizing Big Fashion Festival and Myntra Diwali Sale to make this season a resounding success.” Right on the heels of the festive season, Myntra ramped up its marketing game by onboarding Hrithik Roshan, Vijay Deverakonda and Dulquer Salmaan as its newest brand ambassadors, alongside the existing celebrity ambassadors Kiara Advani, and Samantha Akkineni. Now, it is hoping to double its customer base and cater to Gen-Z shoppers with its high-decibel marketing. “With the optimism coming from recovery from Covid and revival in shopping sentiments along with the habitualisation of digital foray across all customer segments, we see a lot of new customers shopping during this festive season. We have also seen trends in Metro/T1 markets where Myntra has been traditionally strong, pointing towards such a revival. With a positive overall sentiment, we will be looking at doubling our customer base during this period. There will also be an added focus towards expanding our footprint in southern markets, deeper penetration into Tier 2 / 3 towns and exploring customer addition through emerging categories like Kids wear, Inner wear, fashion accessories, Beauty and persona care, etc. The greatest focus will be on Gen-Z cohort of shoppers,” shared Rajagopal. E-commerce platforms are also focusing on bringing more personalisation and curation to customers shopping online through greater tech and marketing integration. More and more e-retailers are exploring social commerce, turning their apps into super apps by bringing content, products and trends under one roof for consumers to watch and shop at once. D2C fashion platform Bewakoof.com that recently raised Rs 60 crore in an investment round led by InvestCorp, IvyCap and Spring Marketing Capital, is expecting to Rs 120 crore in brand sales this quarter. It recently rolled out celebrity-led digital campaigns with Rajkummar Rao, Sanya Malhotra and Farhan Akhtar. It plans to further build its market presence by signing more A-list celebrities to its roster and launch a 360-degree campaign by October. On the technology side, the company intends to launch a gamification-led loyalty program as it upgrades its Bewakoof Tribe with new and exclusive launches for the club members. Sharing the platform’s festive plans further, Prabhkiran Singh, Founder CEO, Bewakoof.com said, “Post pandemic, we saw a strong recovery and growth in certain categories like casual wear and leisurewear because of customers staying at home and with the pandemic slowing down, we expect a strong recovery in categories like ethnic wear, bags, accessories, etc in the festive season ahead. We’re also looking to capitalise on winter wear more this year than usual with winter around the corner and have put in investments accordingly. We expect our brand sales to be Rs 120 crore for the festive quarter.” For Bewakoof, the northern and western markets see the highest demand, followed by West Bengal and Assam because of Durga Puja. Currently, over 6 million customers visit Bewakoof.com every month. Singh told us that the festive season serves as a crucial window in the year for new customer acquisition and bringing back customers that haven’t shopped again for a while. The platform is also planning on increasing its marketing spends this festive. “For this year, 15% of our total marketing budget will be spent for the upcoming festive season.” We’re in the process of rebranding Bewakoof in the next 1-2 months and we’ll have a new look, logo, tagline along with a new set of celebrities that will endorse Bewakoof so we’re excited to roll this out and create buzz around it along with backing it up with top-funnel marketing investments. We plan to go heavy on top-funnel marketing investments starting October,” said Singh. E-retail platform OLX has upped its UI to woo its customers, digitising the entire process of online retailing, including verification of all its premium items. OLX Autos launched a verified inventory of cars with a new interface, which provides a detailed history of the car right from the ownership period all the way up to the service history of the car, and access to a host of financing options and after-sales products like insurance and warranty. As a result, OLX has witnessed a surge in demand for pre-owned cars. Sapna Arora, CMO, OLX India said, “Green shoots are already visible in the used car retail segment. The demand for pre-owned cars has been 25% higher than the pre-Covid levels while there has been an 82% plus growth in demand for pre-owned smartphones. Our goods category has also witnessed a strong rebound, as demand and supply have gone up by an average of 68% and 25%, respectively, compared to pre-Covid levels. The upcoming festival season is important for us as we expect the gap to be narrowing down between pre and post-Covid levels. There has been a strong uptake of e-commerce across regions, especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, with consumers there making the greatest shift to online shopping. We will continue to focus on the pre-owned auto segment and are expecting to surpass the demand this festive season.” At an industry level, Arora told us that e-commerce players are leveraging on hyper-personalisation to create individualised experiences on the platform and AI-powered chatbots are being implemented by the online retailers to bring customers close to an offline retail experience with a high engagement rate. Sharing OLX’s plan, Arora added, “This festive season we plan to use innovative solutions via relevant messaging at different levels of the retail journey. Our consumer base is growing organically. During this year’s lockdown, a lot of people moved online and we saw growth, about 30% more daily active users (DAUs) from our previous pre-Covid peak. In the festive season, our huge inventories across segments will contribute to increasing the DAU’s on the platform.” As per Nielsen India’s E-commerce Consumer Panel (E-Analytics Solution), there was a double-digit increase in average spend of online shoppers for electronics and accessories (39%), mobile and accessories (12%), and fashion, including apparel, footwear, and accessories (10%) after the pandemic. Appliances (e.g.TV, WM, refrigerators, etc.) also saw notable shopper spending increase at 9%. E-commerce giant Amazon is also ramping up its product range for the festive season. “Together with thousands of small &amp; medium business and brand partners, we continue to offer our customers the widest selection, convenience, and fast delivery. We are humbled by how millions of Indian customers have made us a part of their daily lives. Also, customers continue to believe that online shopping is the safest way to shop which has been reflecting in all the recent events of Amazon like Prime Day 2021, Great Freedom Festival, Rakhi Store, Onam store and so on. This festive season is not a normal one for reasons we all know and our success metric would be focused on how we can make our sellers successful. Customers can look forward to shopping from a wide selection of products across categories like Home &amp; Kitchen, Fashion &amp; Beauty, Appliances and Smartphones, Grocery essentials and more from the comfort and safety of their homes," said an Amazon India spokesperson. This growth trajectory of e-commerce platforms in India testifies how customers are increasingly recognising the importance of comfort shopping within closed doors, and after seeing their businesses take a plunge in the first three months of the lockdown, more and more sellers are also coming online.

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