New Delhi: E-commerce marketplace Snapdeal is witnessing strong demand from tier II and III cities, with nearly 92 per cent of its orders coming from non-metro locations.
The trend is in sync with other larger platforms like Amazon.in and Walmart-owned Flipkart that are seeing strong traction from smaller towns in the country.
During the first three days of eight-day 'Snap-Diwali' Sale, nearly 92 per cent of the orders received so far are from non-metro locations, Snapdeal said in a statement.
There has been a multi-fold increase in orders received from smaller cities like Bharuch (Gujarat), Pali (Rajasthan), Tezpur (Assam), Paradip (Odisha), among others, it added.
"The trends from the Diwali sale are an unequivocal confirmation that e-commerce is now a strong channel for buyers in smaller cities. Through Snapdeal, we are effectively bridging the gap between the aspirations of the buyers and what is available in the local bazaars," Snapdeal CEO and co-founder Kunal Bahl said.
Interestingly, digital gift cards seem to be a popular choice among metro shoppers on Snapdeal.
Snapdeal said it has witnessed 300 per cent increase in the sale of digital gift cards like Uber, MakeMyTrip, Google Play, Levis, Gap, Nautica, Aeropostale, 3M, Urban Ladder, VLCC, Dominos and KFC as compared to 2018 festive sale season.
A Snapdeal spokesperson said these gift cards are a popular choice with metro buyers who use them both for themselves and also as gift options.
"Young adults prefer gift cards to cash gifts. The purchase of gift cards is expected to increase with festivals like Karva Chauth, Diwali and Bhai Dooj happening later this month," the spokesperson added.
Earlier this week, Amazon.in had said that 91 per cent of its new customers for its ongoing festive sale are coming from tier II and III towns, and fashion and smartphone categories are the top shopping segments for these new customers.
Flipkart, too, had said the number of transacting customers from tier II cities and beyond had doubled over last year's Big Billion Days sale on day 1.
According to Redseer, overall e-tailing is expected to clock gross sales of USD 3.7 billion (Rs 24,000 crore) between September 29 to October 4, a year-on-year (y-o-y) growth of 60-65 per cent.
Total online shoppers during the event are expected to be 32 million, up 60 per cent y-o-y, primarily driven by shoppers from tier-II and III cities, it added.
E-commerce companies, which see a large chunk of their sales during the festive season, start preparing for festive sales months in advance, ramping up logistics and hiring thousands of temporary workers to ensure timely delivery of products.
Read more:India shows remarkable resilience amid global slowdown: WEF President
