Festive Season 2020 Sees Around 40% Rise in E-commerce Volumes Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, Growth Similar to Last Year

New Delhi, November 26: We have seen how COVID-19 has been a major roadblock to every category this year. The world saw the adoption of online technology and sales amid the coronavirus outbreak. A report by financial services major, Bernstein said that the festive season has seen a 30 to 40 percent growth in e-commerce volumes with overall growth similar to that witnessed last year.

The report further mentioned how in the festive season some categories seeing the strength and some others still down year on year. Another interesting read was that there were no major supply constraints this season suggesting adequate channel re-stocking.

Another interesting trend in the report was that tier 1 and 2 mainly comprised of existing shoppers who are buying more, while Tier 3 and 4 reflected new online shoppers. Apparel (including footwear and sportswear) continued to be the largest category in e-commerce. The number 2 category was filled by consumer electronics like mobiles, laptops and others.

Another positive factor highlighted in the report was that people have been increasingly comfortable buying things online. The sharp reduction in return orders which declined by over 25 per cent, and is a good indicator of increased consumer engagement with the online platform and also reflects the quality of growth.