When ecommerce began taking off, mobiles and consumer electronics were the rock stars of the industry, as they brought the most sales. The trend appeared to change however, with more consumers shifting towards fashion and lifestyle goods. Bringing more focus to fashioncategories and private fashion labels.
But, a recent analysis by RedSeer Consulting, a research firm, revealed that the demand for mobile phones and consumer electronics came back in the month of May 2017. These categories reclaimed ground lost to online fashion retail in January, in spite of the 30% dip in online retail to $18 billion after demonetisation.
Online fashion sales patterns
The report claimed that sales for fashion commodities like apparel and shoes were at an all time high before demonetisation, but fell after the ban on Rs.500 and Rs.1000.
Rise and fall in sales
On account end of season sale discounts on major fashion platforms, in January, fashion sales online were 22% from 15% in October. The launch of new niche fashion portals like Voonik , Fabally and Stalkbylove also added to this surge in online fashion sales.
By May, fashion sales were recorded at 18%. This is because retailers were mainly worried about clearing off stocks of mobile and electronic products, as the roll out of GST was fast approaching.
Purchase trends point to mobile phones
The household electronics category sales surged to 20% in May from 18% in January. This was a result of 20% discounts on these products.
Mobile phones, on the other hand, accounted for 52% online retail sales in May, from 49% in January. The largest online retail category got even bigger with the push of discounts and new launches, the report stated.
From December, last year, Flipkart introduced 11 smartphone models like Samsung, Motorola and Lenovo, which are exclusive to its platform.
Amazon also introduced exclusive products like Xiaomi’s Redmi 4 and Redmi 4A, which are a big part of its flash sales. The company’s spokesperson mentioned that 2016’s smartphone sales rose by over 135%.
The annualised estimates from RedSeer show that online retail sales fell in January to $16 billion from $26 billion in October last year. But in May, they rose to $18 billion, on account of mobile phones and consumer electronics jumping back to the top.
But, will this trend remain once GST fully kicks in? What do you think online sellers?
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