E-Commerce Festive Sales to Touch ₹1.2 Lakh Crore; Quick Commerce Leads Growth

A significant surge in festive purchases across the country is being seen after the GST rate cut. The impact of festive demand is also evident on the Navratri economy, which is growing robustly under supportive buying conditions. Importantly, both the urban and rural markets are experiencing robust purchases across a broad gamut of products ranging from automobiles to two-wheelers, TVs, refrigerators, cosmetics, and premium and luxury watches.

Businesses say that sales across several categories have more than doubled due to the GST cut. Car sales for Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, and Tata Motors have increased by 100-133% during Navratri. Bookings for two-wheelers are also on the rise. Tractor sales are expected to increase by 30-40 percent, driven by strong billings over the past five days.

According to traders, due to a good monsoon and festive offers, customer inquiries are now turning into purchases. There's also an increased trend towards purchasing premium products in rural areas.

According to a report by SmallCases, e-commerce sales are expected to grow by 27 percent year-on-year during the festive season. E-commerce companies will sell products worth ₹1.2 lakh crore during this period, with Quick Commerce accounting for ₹14,000 crore.

Demand for loans from micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) during the festive season is expected to increase by 35-40 percent to ₹3.45 lakh crore.

Quick commerce orders saw an increase of more than 85 percent year-on-year in the first week of the festive season sales. Meanwhile, e-commerce order volumes grew only 21 percent. This trend reflects the growing preference of customers for faster delivery, making quick commerce a key growth driver during the festive season.