Shopify releases report: Home and electronics become Indians' new favorites

Diwali is one of the most important annual festivals in India and the country’s largest shopping festival. With the arrival of Diwali, in order to understand the current consumption habits of Indians, Shopify India conducted a relevant survey from September 15 to October 20 and released the "2021 India Festival Shopping Outlook Report".

The report revealed several major consumer trends. In terms of shopping channels, the online shopping boom will continue. Although traditional festival shopping is an offline retail activity, restrictions to curb the spread of the epidemic have forced most retail activities to move online, and many consumers are accustomed to and appreciate the benefits of online shopping. Therefore, after India lifted most of the restrictions this year, 76.9% of consumers still said they would shop online during this festival.

The increased confidence of consumers in online retailers has also weakened the previous trend of early shopping during the festive season. Last-minute discounts and fast delivery offered by online retailers have greatly boosted the confidence of online shoppers during the peak season. According to the report, two-thirds of Indian shoppers had not started festive shopping at the time of the survey. This is in stark contrast to the traditional behavior before the epidemic, when festive shopping would be fully launched nearly a month in advance.

In addition to focusing on discounts, Indian consumers also prefer small retailers. Nearly 58% of respondents said they would prefer to support and shop from small online businesses during this year's festive season. This is in stark contrast to the high-end brands that are usually purchased during the festive season. As for why the shift occurred, respondents said it was because smaller retailers offer a range of value-for-money options as well as a personalized experience.

Another point to note is that Indian consumers now tend to choose gifts with high functional and practical value. Precious metal jewelry, which is a traditional holiday gift, has greatly reduced its popularity during this year's holiday season. In addition, holiday candies or dry fruits have also begun to "fall out of favor." Home decorations and furniture are at the top of this year's holiday shopping list, with more than 50% of respondents saying they prefer to buy gifts under this category. In addition, electronic devices will occupy a large part of consumers' gift-giving budgets, with nearly 42% of respondents saying they will buy this category.

Finally, Shopify has another new discovery, that is, small cities in India have become major e-shopping growth centers. A variety of factors, such as the growth of mobile phone penetration across India, the brand's shift to the D2C model, the strengthening of last-mile delivery and customer-friendly return policies, have helped consumers in small and medium-sized cities and small towns choose online shopping. The report shows that 53.5% of millennial consumers from these regions show a strong preference for online shopping.

Shopify

India

Shopping Trends