Smartphones, fashion to dominate shopping in festive sales: Report

As India enters the festive sale season with Flipkart and Amazon sales from Friday, smartphones and fashion will remain the largest shopping categories while grocery is growing the fastest, a new report said on Thursday.
Smartphones and consumer electronics will grow at 26 percent and 43 percent, respectively.
During the festive month (October15-November 15), smartphone and fashion will account for 50 per cent of total sales, allowing Flipkart to maintain the lead.
“Grocery will emerge as the fastest-growing category, as most of the festive-themed categories within grocery move online, aided by the increase in basket size during this period, as well as the buzz created by JioMart,” said Satish Meena, Senior Forecast Analyst at global market research firms Forrester.
Fashion, the third-largest category, is expected to contract by 9 per cent this holiday season compared to last year.
Flipkart will play on its lead in smartphone and fashion categories while Amazon will rely on Prime members.
“This year, Flipkart has also launched 22 smartphone models since mid-September to maintain the lead. Meanwhile, Amazon is focusing on its Prime members to buy in more categories and buy more frequently during this month,” Meena said.
Hence, the Great Indian Festival will run for the whole month until Diwali.
Since its launch in 2014, Flipkart has led spending during the festive month due to its strength in the smartphone and fashion categories, which account for around 50 per cent of total online retail sales in India. ape, showcases the opportunities driving the industry in India forward.