Top online sales didn’t boost demand in the first two days; Marketers are paying attention to Navratri bounce

Kolkata: The first two days of the year’s biggest online discount sale failed to see a significant pick-up in demand, prompting some marketers to increase discounts in the hope of a rebound next week with the entry of salaries and the start of Navratri. Smartphone sales are down 2-3% in terms of units sold compared to the first two days of sales last year, four industry executives said. Sales of televisions, refrigerators and washing machines did not increase either. They found that even older-generation Apple iPhones, which have always been the biggest e-commerce earners, fell short of targets on some platforms.

Saurabh Srivastava, vice president of categories at Amazon India, however, said the e-commerce company had its “biggest ever opening” during the Grand Indian Festival thanks to “enthusiastic customer response during Prime Early Access.”

The company said that premium smartphones above Rs 30,000 saw the highest year-on-year growth, along with luxury beauty and premium watches. Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart started selling its flagship products on Friday midnight, providing early access for registered or paid members from Thursday midnight.

Other online platforms have also joined this trend with their sales. Industry executives said there was no current improvement in volume drivers such as entry into the mid-market segment and premium products continued to drive sales. For TV, the largest sales category – the 32-inch screen – fell almost 10% in the first two days of online sales, wiping out a 20% increase in sales of premium 4K TVs, according to industry estimates. Smartphones and electronics account for 65-70% of the total sales of e-commerce platforms during the festive season. “Online smartphone sales on e-commerce platforms have started modestly across all price points. Preliminary numbers suggest this is slightly lower than last year, said Tarun Pathak, director of market tracker Counterpoint Research. “Consumers are definitely in a wait-and-see mode at the moment,” he said.

Pathak said brick-and-mortar stores took a bite out of the online pie as brands matched online offerings at retail stores. He said sales could pick up next week when consumers receive their salaries. “Consumers are definitely in a wait-and-watch mode at the moment,” he said.

Some brands have gradually started providing additional discounts to increase sales. For example, the iPhone 13 (128GB) was priced at Rs 42,999 on Amazon, but on Saturday afternoon the price briefly dropped to Rs 41,999 and the red color even dropped to Rs 40,999. Flipkart has priced all color variants of the model at Rs 40,999 with the note “coming soon”. Executives say Samsung TVs were also briefly included in similar additional offers, especially in the 32-inch segment.

Brands and retailers periodically resort to higher discounts to meet their sales target, which fell short of expectations until late Saturday afternoon, industry officials say.

Avneet Singh Marwah, chief executive of online TV maker Super Plastronics, said the decline in sales of 32-inch TVs – which account for almost 60% of total online unit sales during the festive season – “has wiped out the growth in the premium segment.” Super Plastronics has an Indian license for such brands like Kodak, Thomson and Blaupunkt. “We expect Navratri sales to pick up next week,” Marwah said.

E-commerce platforms started selling earlier than usual this year due to pressure from larger-than-usual unsold inventory. Brands are betting that the holiday season will revive sales, with consumers purchasing solely based on need due to inflation and higher spending on other opportunities such as travel.