The Indian festive season from September to October is crucial for any retail brand. Consumer shopping patterns reach an all-time high, and all marketplaces run the biggest and the most popular sale events.

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This report has presented data insights from the top 3P marketplaces during the festive season of 2021 and 2022. 

Objective‍

1. Comparison of trends is a good learning for brands to plan strategically for the festive season of 2023. 
2. Brands can also assess patterns and prepare suitable strategic approaches for sale events across the year on all marketplaces.

About source data

The following report is based on the omnichannel business numbers of brands we work with on different marketplaces. Brands considered for this festive season report are from Apparel, Footwear & Fashion Accessories categories.

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The period for consideration is from 30th September 2021 to 31st October 2021 & 15th September 2022 to 15th October 2022, based on the variable dates for sale events during both years. 

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Overall, an increase of almost 97% was observed in total sales made in the festive season of 2022 as compared to 2021. All the insights in this report have been represented in the same proportion. The rise is attributed not just to the overall increasing trends of ecommerce, but also to the new addition of brands and growth of existing brands taken into consideration.

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We have included the leading marketplaces in India, like Myntra, AJIO, Amazon, Flipkart, Fynd, Nykaa Fashion, Tata CLiQ, and Tata CLiQ Luxury. (Please note: Nykaa Fashion and Tata CLiQ Luxury data is included only in 2022 after Fynd’s integration on the two platforms.)

Sale period

The sale events were held on different dates based on major festival calendar for Dusshera, Diwali, and Durga Puja. 

Category-based insights

Top-selling categories 

Top-selling categories within our dataset for both years are Apparel, Footwear & Fashion Accessories, collectively contributing to roughly 75%. Hence, all data insights in this report will focus only on these categories to present an accurate analysis.

Top-selling styles in Apparel & Footwear category

Ethnic wear, Jeans, Sneakers & Sport Shoes, Shirts and Dresses remained among the most popular styles sold during both years, with a minor 1% to 3% variations in the contribution to total sales. However, the charts show higher sales of Winterwear in 2022. Also, a slight drop in Activewear in 2022 is seen.

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Since the trends look consistent for both years, brands can expect similar styles to be in demand in the coming year. Brands must take note of these top-selling categories, and suitably plan their inventory for the festive season of 2023.

Price-based insights

Average Selling Price (ASP)

Average selling price is the final price paid by the consumer, i.e. deducting discounts offered by the brands and marketplaces from the maximum retail price of the product.

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No major change was observed for ASP slabs above ₹10,000 and ₹2,000-₹3,000 during both years’ festive seasons. Around 8% jump can be seen in ASP slab ₹5,000-₹10,000, 5% in ₹3,000-₹5,000, and 4% in below ₹1,000.

A significant thing to note here is that almost 40% of sales came from ASP within ₹1,000-₹3,000 brackets during both years. Brands must consider this while planning their pricing strategy. More products from this price range can be listed during the festive season sales. Or, festive sale discounts can be planned such that the selling price falls under this popular ₹1,000-₹3,000 bracket.

ASP on different marketplaces

Each marketplace caters to different segments of users, varying in age, cities, categories, and so on. Hence, the following data insights will impart better clarity on discount planning and product listing for brands specific to each marketplace for Apparel, Footwear & Fashion Accessories category.

Myntra

The highest sales on Myntra are from ₹1000-₹2000 slabs. On average, ₹1000-₹3000 is the highest-selling slab on Myntra, accounting for almost half the sales made. 

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A general rise towards the higher slabs can also be observed. 2022 shows a 10% jump in ₹5,000-₹10,000 and 8% in ₹3,000-₹5,000 while dropping in the lower segments.

AJIO

For AJIO, the higher slab of ₹5,000-₹10,000 sells more, although showing a 27% drop in 2022. More sales started coming from ₹1,000-₹2,000 in 2022.

Tata CLiQ

The highest-selling ASP slab on Tata CLiQ is below ₹1,000-₹2,000. However, a major jump is seen in the higher segments—above ₹10,000 and ₹5,000-₹10,000.

Flipkart

The largest chunk of sales, almost 70%, on Flipkart are seen at the bottom range of ASP slabs, i.e. 1,000-₹2,000 and below ₹1,000. Flipkart remains popular in this segment. No major changes were seen in the trends for the upper range.

Amazon

Amazon shows the most balanced distribution across all slabs. A slightly higher concentration is seen at the bottom two slabs of ₹1,000-₹2,000 and below ₹1,000. Trends look consistent for both years.

Fynd

A 30% drop off is seen below ₹1,000 ASP segment in 2022, with 40% of products still sold in this slab. Fynd holds a good market for ₹1,000-₹3,000 ASP segment.

New channels in 2022

Nykaa Fashion

Nykaa Fashion looks like a prominent marketplace for ₹1,000-₹3,000 ASP segment. Even higher ASP slabs hold a good share on Nykaa Fashion.

Tata CLiQ Luxury

Tata CLiQ Luxury is seen as the biggest marketplace for the ₹5,000-₹10,000 ASP segment, with the ₹3,000-₹5,000 segment also doing well. 

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Based on the above trends, brands can use the following table as a guide to place their products on different marketplaces based on their ASP.

Volume of sales on different discount slabs 

Apparel & Footwear

Below 30% is the most used discount slab under Apparel & Footwear category, also showing a good jump in 2022. Maximum variation is shown in 40-30%, the next slab of discount for maximum sales.

Fashion Accessories

Below 30% is the most used discount slab for the Fashion Accessories category. Upto 50% discount slab drew the maximum sales in this category.

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Brands-based insights

Apparel & Footwear 

Based on the new entrants contributing to higher sales in 2022, a shift in trend is observed. With no COVID restrictions, 2022 finally shows a move back to 1) festive season and 2) formal wear. 

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Ethnic wear, festive wear, and even formal-wear brands should plan marketing on all online platforms as well as offline channels. Syncing offline discounts with 3P marketplaces, especially for these categories during festive season sales is a good move to liquidate stock. 

Location-based insights

Top states for order shipments

A 10% jump can be seen in within-state deliveries during the festive season in 2022. 

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Within-state delivery is when an order is shipped from a store or warehouse in the same state from where the order was placed. When the order is shipped to a different state, it is inter-state delivery.

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An interesting insight comes out when within-state deliveries are compared to the top order-fulfilling states. For example, Maharashtra shows a jump of 20% to 32% for within state deliveries in 2022. This increment could mean brands are saving costs on logistics while fulfilling more orders within a state. Brands need to identify their top order-placing states, and plan more store deliveries from the same state.

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Brands must either activate more stores for deliveries or open new stores in that region. Or if maximum orders are placed from one state, brands can also consider relocating or opening new warehouses or dark stores, if logistically profitable.

Top ordering states

Rise in order-placing states

The fastest growth in orders during the festive season 2022 was seen coming from many north-eastern states of India. Haryana and Chattisgarh too ranked in the fastest growing list, also indicating more orders coming from Tier 2 & 3 cities.

Split of Tier 1 & Tier 2 & 3 ordering cities

Based on our dataset, a rise in Tier-1 city orders is seen, as different brands have different target audiences. However, 60% of sales in both years still came from Tier 2 & 3 cities.

Mode of payment-based insights

A 10% jump can be seen in cash on delivery (COD) payment choices from 2021 to 2022. Prepaid orders are high in number, but COD share is also significant. Brands should not disable COD as an option as it still remains a popular mode of payment.

Old Season Merchandise (OSM) vs New Season Merchandise (NSM)

While sales events may seem synonymous with heavy discounts, or an opportunity to liquidate old stock, this is not 100% true. The data here shows on average 30% of sales come from new season merchandise (NSM). On average, brands maintain a 40:60 NSM:OSM ratio.

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What is important to note here is, 65% of NSM was sold at no discount in 2021, and it jumped to 76% in 2022.

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‍Brands must look at these sale events as a platform to expose new season inventory since this is when the traffic is highest, discount or no discount.

So, these are a few insights captured by Fynd during the festive seasons of 2021 and 2022. These trends are a representation of the top-performing brands on Fynd, and hence the data set may not extensively cover all categories. However, a few key takeaways as learnings for brands:

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• Stock up your inventory based on the best-selling styles ahead of time for each sale event.
• Choose the best marketplace for your products based on the Average Selling Price (ASP). 
• Plan discounts based on the most popular ASP on each marketplace.
• Keep track of the highest order-placing regions and activate more stock-points in these regions to reduce logistics costs and ensure faster deliveries.
• COD is still a prevalent mode of payment, keep your options open.
• Sales events are not just for old stocks on discount. Present your latest styles on 0% discount and achieve high sales and new customers.

Hope you found the report useful. Our Growth Managers actively follow these trends and guide our brands on such insights. Brands like Spykar, Celio, Pepe Jeans, W, Aurelia, Clarks, Ruosh, Da Milano, Globus, Neerus, FILA, Vans, Proline and many others are already taking advantage.

‍Talk to our experts and Fynd out how to soar your sales on India's top ecommerce marketplaces all year round.

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