Stay-at-home products lead e-commerce sales pick-up in India

Convenience products and those that aid the stay-at-home economy dominated online sales during India’s festive season, between October 15 and November 13, according to data from market researcher Nielsen.

In a nutshell

Mobile phones and accessories made up over half of online sales by value during the period. And electronics such as laptops and printers grew their share of sales to 10% compared to 7% during the same period last year – a consequence of people working from home and home schooling.

Consumers continue to move beyond electronics and fashion buys, with fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) making up 35% of online sales by volume (up from 30% last year); 20% of online shoppers bought FMCG this holiday season, up from 13.5% last year, LiveMint reported.

Nielsen found that every fifth order was cancelled or returned among the 160,000 online shoppers whose behaviour they studied.

Key quote

“Triggered by the desire to make life and work easier and more convenient at home, we see a significant increase in shopper spend in categories that are perceived to cater to homebody needs on account of the pandemic” – Kunal Gupta, Head, Consumer Intelligence, Nielsen, South Asia.

Sourced from LiveMint, Branding in Asia