Ecommerce order item volume increased by 18.7 per cent during the Republic Day sale in 2024, as compared to last year’s sale period, according to a report by Unicommerce.
The company analysed order items processed through its platform during the nine days (13 to 21 January) of the Republic Day Sale.
The growth of ecommerce during the Republic Day sale has been supported by attractive deals and nationwide marketing campaigns done by leading marketplaces. This has helped marketplaces record an impressive year-on-year (YoY) order item growth of 28.7 per cent, during the period.
Brand websites, on the other hand, reported a muted YoY growth of 1.7 per cent while average order value continued to showcase strong growth
As per the orders processed through Unicommerce’s platforms, Northeast states reported high growth rates, with Nagaland and Meghalaya taking the lead to become the top two states in terms of order volume growth.
Consumer familiarity with ecommerce was evident in the 20.6 per cent surge in prepaid orders, with cash-on-delivery (COD) orders growing by 16.2 per cent during the sale period, the report stated.
“After a strong performance in the last quarter of the calendar year, the Republic Day sale kicked off the new year on a high note for the growing ecommerce industry. In 2023, the Black Friday weekend saw a fantastic 23 per cent surge in e-commerce orders volume compared to the 2022 Black Friday sale weekend. The festive season sale of 2023 also rocked with a whopping 37 per cent growth in order volumes compared to the festive sale period in 2022,” it said.
Black Friday, traditionally an American retail tradition, has firmly cemented its place in the Indian market as a major ecommerce sale event, with consumers extending their post-Diwali shopping spree to benefit from Black Friday and related sales like Cyber Monday, etc.
While during the Diwali festive sales, marketplace growth outpaced D2C brands, the trend was reversed during the Black Friday weekend. During the Black Friday weekend, brand websites reported robust growth, with order volumes rising by 28 per cent during the weekend.
The marketplaces reported a relatively lower growth of 19 per cent. The growing popularity of Black Friday has made it a crucial sales period for both online marketplaces and individual brands in India.
