The festive shopping season in India occurs during the latter half of the year, usually starting in August and peaking by October-November. Owing to the higher frequency of various holidays and religious festivals, purchases of apparel, consumer electronics, gifts, vehicles, furnishings, and other household items see a sharp rise. According to Financial Express, sales of consumer durables and electronics are likely to see a 30-40% increase in the months leading up to Diwali.
While festive shopping used to be an offline and online activity till just a few years ago, the pandemic and the rise of eCommerce have tilted the scales. The Trade Desk conducted its Festive Pulse Survey and revealed that 68% of Indian shoppers are excited about festive shopping, with two-thirds planning to spend the same amount or more in 2022 as compared to the previous season. It’s not farfetched to claim that a majority of these consumers will use eCommerce platforms as their primary channel for product discovery and shopping.
Here are a few salient points that should be considered ahead of the festive shopping season.
- D2C brands are gearing up for a 200% boost: Given the growing momentum in the direct-to-consumer segment as well as the projected 21.5% increase in eCommerce sales in general, many brands are increasing their ad spends to augment sales. Many D2C brands are hoping to capitalize on the season’s revenue that can add up to beyond $9 billion.
- Rapid adoption of eCommerce shopping: According to RedSeer’s report, there are two main reasons behind this – the accelerated adoption of online purchasing in the post-COVID era as well as the rapid growth of shoppers from tier-II cities across the country, accounting for almost 60% of the total consumer base. The report also estimated that the overall merchandise value could touch $52 billion.
- The prominence of mobile-first journeys: RedSeer’s study also reported that smartphones will likely remain pivotal in eCommerce sales. Purchases on mobile phones are likely to contribute about $4.8 billion of gross merchandise value during the first week of sales.
- Affordability and flexibility will spell growth: Due to the long-standing effects of the pandemic, consumers are more likely to be on the lookout for convenient and affordable schemes such as EMIs and buy now pay later (BNPL).
The role of data analytics in ensuring a successful festive sale
In an ever-competitive eCommerce market, it is vital to gain a competitive advantage and stand out. Discount pricing and offers alone will not cut it. Thankfully, the mountain of data generated by eCommerce companies can be leveraged to discover business opportunities, manage increasing demands, fine-tune operations and marketing campaigns, and give consumers a seamless and hassle-free experience. And data analytics can do all the heavy lifting.
A detailed analysis of customer and transactional data can show eCommerce brands how to:
- Identify best-selling and in-demand products and promote them
- Predict customer purchase patterns to boost sales
- Target the right consumer base and expand to potential customers
- Deliver personalized shopping experiences
- Leverage the power of predictive modeling and optimize pricing and eliminate glitches
- Plan and expand infrastructure to handle larger than normal user traffic
- Forecast demand, plan inventory, and anticipate additional logistics or operations needs
- Organize the supply chain and prevent stock-outs and delays
- Automate operations in the pipeline to lessen the burden on employees
- Check the readiness of the website and mobile app with A/B testing
- Improve the payment success rate and convert abandoned shopping carts
- Use past experiences to inform planning and strategy in the next season
With the right steps, data analytics can increase customer satisfaction and retention and ensure sustainable growth.
Taking control of eCommerce analytics with Tensight
Tensight is a central eCommerce analytics dashboard that collects data from all major marketplaces and provides smart and actionable insights. A majority of eCommerce businesses in India are still dependent on manual spreadsheets, which could leave them slow to adopt and keep pace during the chaotic festive season. That’s why a centralized platform can change the game by helping brands achieve higher revenue and profitability.
Tensight tracks and publishes over 180 metrics across functions and offers a detailed insight into pain points, bottlenecks, as well as action points. The dashboard offers data analytics across vital KPIs such as:
- Marketing
Tensight’s unified marketing platform offers a plethora of information such as a brand’s share of voice (SOV), orders gained through paid traffic, competitor tracking, website performance, and the efficacy of coupons and offers.
- Products
Targeting omnichannel cross-platform marketing and accurate targeting, Tensight provides an understanding of stock positions, product availability, product ranking, reviews, and ratings, as well as purchase patterns. It also offers cross-channel product ratings, customer sentiment analysis, and discounts analysis.
- Pricing and promotions
In addition to promotion insights, Tensight offers competitor tracking, pricing analytics, as well as price monitoring to avoid disparity in pricing and discounts.
- Supply chain
With Tensight, eCommerce companies can gain valuable insight into various metrics such as regional demand vs supply analysis, loss of sale, inventory health, forecast demand, stock replenishment, and warehouse out-of-stock percentages.
- Sales insights and forecasts
Tensight displays top sellers by channels, categories, units, and sales. It also helps set and measure monthly targets, forecasts sales trends, projects out-of-stock scenarios, and provides timely intervention measures.
With its rich 15-year experience in eCommerce, Tenovia’s Tensight has worked with over 20 national brands such as Paragon, Raymond, Soch, Tata International, Health & Glow, Indian Terrain, Specsmakers, and more.
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