Growing preference for e-com in festive shopping

As the most preferred channel, e-commerce is being opted by 76 per cent of the festive shoppers this time. Similarly, credit card is the most preferred and growing mode of payment.

Adoption of e-commerce has been growing yearafter-year. The Festive Shopping Index by Retailers Association of India and Litmus World found that 89 per cent customers were willing to make some purchases during this festive season. Of this 89 per cent, a whopping 76 per cent found online as the preferred channel.

Last year also e-commerce was the most preferred channel, but the share of customers was lower at 65 per cent. In 2017, it was much lower at 53 per cent. Festive season sales have become major shopping events on the online platform with huge discounts, offers and credit facilities. The event has been growing in size year-after-year with new customers coming in.

Similar to e-commerce, malls too have been growing their share of customers. In 2017, malls had a share of 49 per cent, which grew to 64 per cent in 2018. By 2019, this has further gone up to 71 per cent.

Shops have a smaller share of 41 per cent, which has grown from 37 per cent last year. However, their share was higher at 48 per cent in 2017.

Meanwhile, the widespread adoption of e-commerce has helped the growth of credit cards and debit cards as preferred payment modes. Additional offers like cash-back and loyalty points available for card purchases too have led to their increased use during festive sales.

Credit cards are preferred by 55 per cent customers and this share was 42 per cent in 2018. In 2019, debit cards are being used by 28 per cent, up from 26 per cent in 2018. Cash has lost its share significantly from 19 per cent in 2018 to 9 per cent in 2019. Mobile Wallets and Net Banking modes of payment also show a downward trend with 5 per cent and 3 per cent respectively this season as compared to 8 per cent and 6 per cent respectively last year.

“Product features followed by discounts are the most influencing factors for purchase decisions this festive season. However, consumers are also looking at unique experiences and cashback offers, followed by attractive EMI offers and the opportunity to redeem their kitty of loyalty points,” said Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India.

The survey was conducted on a sample size of 50,000 consumers across metros, tier II and III cities.