Direct-to-consumer brands in categories like jewellery, apparel, footwear and travel posted higher sales so far from a year earlier during the week-long Republic Day sale across ecommerce platforms. They expect further boost this time with quick commerce apps also running sale events.
Industry experts said customer demand—typically high during the festive season in October—is currently driven by discounts, festivals like Makar Sankranti, the wedding season and end-of-season sales.
“Initial days of the Republic Day sales saw more traction on ecommerce. However, the momentum will continue through the long weekend via quick commerce which is expected to see a 15-20% increase in sales compared to business-as-usual since they have also increased their dark store count,” said Ashish Dhir, senior director of consumer and retail at market intelligence firm 1Lattice.
In the sale that began on January 16, Amazon India posted a twofold year-on-year increase in precious jewellery and ethnic wear, driven by the ongoing wedding season, according to Amazon India vice-president Saurabh Srivastava.
"The Amazon Great Republic Day Sale saw customers going premium, investing in healthier products and enjoying value selection. We saw customers upgrading their homes beyond basic models to feature-rich variants for washer dryers, refrigerators and more,” Srivastava said, responding to ET’s queries.
Jewellery brand Palmonas saw a 133% increase in sales during this year's sales period compared to the same time last year. “With more consumers shifting towards online shopping, smaller sales moments like Republic Day are gaining increasing traction, as shoppers now look forward to multiple deal periods throughout the year,” said chief executive Pallavi Mohadikar.
Ethnic wear brand Suta, which saw a tenfold YoY jump in offline sales, is expecting a similar surge in online sales. “January is not a festive-heavy month, but because of festivals like Makar Sankranti as well as the wedding season, people tend to buy Indian wear more,” said cofounder Sujata Biswas, noting that the average discounting was around 25-30% during this period.
Republic Day sales was the first relatively large sale event since Diwali and came at a time when brands were running end-of-season sales to clear older stock to make room for new inventory.
“Our warehouse will have quite a few empty racks waiting to be restocked. We are already planning February and March influx because of a lot of stock flushing out during the sale,” Biswas said.
New-age luggage brand Uppercase is expecting a 30-40% increase in sales compared to last year, driven by higher demand for travel essentials as consumers plan short getaways during the long weekend.
“This period is also marked by the end-of-season sale so the discounting was in the range of 20-30%,” said Sankar Bora, cofounder of footwear startup CHK. The New Delhi-based startup, which went live with its products last year, saw around an 20-25% uptick in sales as compared to business-as-usual.
Flipkart, Instamart, Blinkit and Zepto did not respond to ET's queries until press time Sunday.
Quick commerce gets ready
Quick commerce players are offering discounts as high as 85% during the long weekend across fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) products, winter apparel, appliances, electronics, personal care and household cleaning categories.
These platforms are increasingly creating occasions around events, from cricket matches to festivals like Diwali and Christmas, to drive consumer spending. For Republic Day, they have also merchandise like flags, badges, ribbons, tricolour face paint and bangles.
Eco-friendly home essentials brand Beco has seen a 23% increase in sales during the weekend on quick commerce compared to usual weekends. “Quick commerce’s display-led banners featuring event-specific limited temporary assortment see the most spike (during such sales),” said Sourabh Narula, head of ecommerce marketplace at Beco.
Quick commerce platforms like Blinkit, Zepto, Instamart, Amazon Now and Flipkart Minutes have launched dedicated pages on their apps featuring Republic Day essentials and discounted items.
Industry experts said customer demand—typically high during the festive season in October—is currently driven by discounts, festivals like Makar Sankranti, the wedding season and end-of-season sales.
“Initial days of the Republic Day sales saw more traction on ecommerce. However, the momentum will continue through the long weekend via quick commerce which is expected to see a 15-20% increase in sales compared to business-as-usual since they have also increased their dark store count,” said Ashish Dhir, senior director of consumer and retail at market intelligence firm 1Lattice.
In the sale that began on January 16, Amazon India posted a twofold year-on-year increase in precious jewellery and ethnic wear, driven by the ongoing wedding season, according to Amazon India vice-president Saurabh Srivastava.
"The Amazon Great Republic Day Sale saw customers going premium, investing in healthier products and enjoying value selection. We saw customers upgrading their homes beyond basic models to feature-rich variants for washer dryers, refrigerators and more,” Srivastava said, responding to ET’s queries.
Jewellery brand Palmonas saw a 133% increase in sales during this year's sales period compared to the same time last year. “With more consumers shifting towards online shopping, smaller sales moments like Republic Day are gaining increasing traction, as shoppers now look forward to multiple deal periods throughout the year,” said chief executive Pallavi Mohadikar.
Ethnic wear brand Suta, which saw a tenfold YoY jump in offline sales, is expecting a similar surge in online sales. “January is not a festive-heavy month, but because of festivals like Makar Sankranti as well as the wedding season, people tend to buy Indian wear more,” said cofounder Sujata Biswas, noting that the average discounting was around 25-30% during this period.
Republic Day sales was the first relatively large sale event since Diwali and came at a time when brands were running end-of-season sales to clear older stock to make room for new inventory.
“Our warehouse will have quite a few empty racks waiting to be restocked. We are already planning February and March influx because of a lot of stock flushing out during the sale,” Biswas said.
New-age luggage brand Uppercase is expecting a 30-40% increase in sales compared to last year, driven by higher demand for travel essentials as consumers plan short getaways during the long weekend.
“This period is also marked by the end-of-season sale so the discounting was in the range of 20-30%,” said Sankar Bora, cofounder of footwear startup CHK. The New Delhi-based startup, which went live with its products last year, saw around an 20-25% uptick in sales as compared to business-as-usual.
Flipkart, Instamart, Blinkit and Zepto did not respond to ET's queries until press time Sunday.
Quick commerce gets ready
Quick commerce players are offering discounts as high as 85% during the long weekend across fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) products, winter apparel, appliances, electronics, personal care and household cleaning categories.
These platforms are increasingly creating occasions around events, from cricket matches to festivals like Diwali and Christmas, to drive consumer spending. For Republic Day, they have also merchandise like flags, badges, ribbons, tricolour face paint and bangles.
Eco-friendly home essentials brand Beco has seen a 23% increase in sales during the weekend on quick commerce compared to usual weekends. “Quick commerce’s display-led banners featuring event-specific limited temporary assortment see the most spike (during such sales),” said Sourabh Narula, head of ecommerce marketplace at Beco.
Quick commerce platforms like Blinkit, Zepto, Instamart, Amazon Now and Flipkart Minutes have launched dedicated pages on their apps featuring Republic Day essentials and discounted items.
