Unicommerce, one of India’s leading e-commerce enablement SaaS platforms has unveiled the analysis for the 2024 Republic Day Sales compared to the sale in 2023. The analysis of orders processed through Unicommerce’s platform reveals that e-commerce order item volume increased by 18.7%, during the Republic Day sale in 2024, as compared to last year’s sale period. The company analyzed order items processed through its platform during the nine days (13th to 21st January) of the Republic Day Sale. This surge reflects the shopping enthusiasm among consumers at the very start of the year.
The growth of e-commerce during the Republic Day sale has been supported by attractive deals and nationwide marketing campaigns done by leading marketplaces. This has helped marketplaces record an impressive year-on-year (YoY) order item growth of 28.7%, during the period. Brand websites, on the other hand, reported a muted YoY growth of 1.7%, while average order value continued to showcase strong growth. As per the orders processed through Unicommerce’s platforms, Northeast states reported high growth rates, with Nagaland and Meghalaya taking the lead to become the top two states in terms of order volume growth. Consumer familiarity with e-commerce was evident in the 20.6% surge in prepaid orders, with Cash-on-Delivery (COD) orders growing by 16.2% during the sale period.
After a strong performance in the last quarter of the calendar year, the Republic Day sale kicked off the new year on a high note for the growing e-commerce industry. In 2023, the Black Friday weekend saw a fantastic 23% surge in e-commerce orders volume compared to the 2022 Black Friday sale weekend. The festive season sales of 2023 also rocked with a whopping 37% growth in order volumes compared to the festive sale period in 2022.
Black Friday, traditionally an American retail tradition, has firmly cemented its place in the Indian market as a major e-commerce sale event, with consumers extending their post-Diwali shopping spree to benefit from Black Friday and related sales like Cyber Monday, etc. While during the Diwali festive sales, marketplace growth outpaced D2C brands, the trend was reversed during the Black Friday weekend. During the Black Friday weekend, brand websites reported robust growth, with order volumes rising by 28% during the weekend.
The marketplaces reported a relatively lower growth of 19%. The growing popularity of Black Friday has made it a crucial sales period for both online marketplaces and individual brands in India. Commenting on the Republic Day trends, Kapil Makhija, MD & CEO of Unicommerce, said, The consistent e-commerce growth affirms the strength and potential of India’s e-commerce industry. E-commerce continues to become a larger part of the retail ecosystem and sellers are focusing on both online and offline sale channels, in tune with the evolving shopping habits of buyers.”