Snapdeal witnesses 50 pc growth in general merchandize category

Snapdeal, India’s largest online marketplace, has shared annual sales trends for its general merchandize category, for the period January 2016-2017. The company has reported a 50 per cent overall increase in the sale of GM products, with the maximum contribution coming from the home and kitchen categories.
One clear trend that emerges from the data is an increasing affinity for products that are not just energy efficient, but also that support a healthier lifestyle. In the metro cities for instance, the purchase of LEDs grew by 50 per cent. Likewise, the sale of Air Fryers, which allow one to fry food without any oil showed a 100 per cent spike over the last one year. Juicers/Mixers/Grinders showed 40 per cent growth in sales. However, the overall highest contribution to the kitchen category came from stove tops, with the sale of variants across price range registering a 200 per cent increase.
Sale trends suggest that customers choices/preferences of shopping from online e-commerce are moving to a wider set of categories. This is in line with Snapdeal’s aspiration to be a one stop destination for all shopping needs of our consumers. Categories like religion and spirituality, plants and gardening, pet supplies, painting and other home decor products grew by more than 2X in the last one year. Most of the growth in these categories is from Tier II and III regions, where Snapdeal is giving consumers a much wider array of choices than the retail stores in their region can provide.
Besides kitchen, furniture sales zoomed to 80 per cent. The other high selling products included home décor items like bed-sheets and wall decoratives, water purifiers, microwaves, power tools kids clothing and toys, men’s and women’s clothing and footwear.
Commenting on the sales trends, Senior Vice President (Business), Vishal Chadha said, “Our expanding general merchandize assortment ensures that we are able to provide for our consumers’ every need in this category. Coupled with the fastest delivery in the industry and a price range for every pocket, we are confident that this upwards trend will continue. Growth in this category is also strategic to our business — it ensures customer stickiness and more repeat purchases.”