As a growing number of consumers look to their smartphones while shopping, this week may break records.
A recent Criteo report has predicted that the Diwali m-commerce figures will be higher than ever before. In fact, this may represent the first time mobile shopping will overtake web browsers for this holiday.
Last year at this time, 40 percent of online traffic to major retail websites was generated by mobile devices.
This rapid increase in Diwali m-commerce use is a direct reflection of the expansion of use in India. A statement from Criteo said “Customers prefer buying new brands from upcoming shopping websites, where they are offered best prices as well as discounts. With the ease of m-commerce, they get the option to explore thousands of brands at the click of a button.”
This shift in consumer behaviors has greatly altered the nature of competition among companies in the country. At no time is this competition more fierce as the festive season provides the leading opportunity for Indian retailers to draw consumers.
Many online retailers took the chance to target Diwali m-commerce shoppers even before the season began.
There were a number of mega sales launched even before the festive period got started. This generated somewhat of a war between brands as massive marketing campaigns were launched. In this last week leading up to Diwali, consumers are being inundated with offers for products and services.
Last year’s peak season ran from October 8 to November 8 and the pre-Diwali shopping season saw a notable increase in traffic to Indian retail websites. Last year, there was an average increase of 35 percent to retail website traffic in India. During that same span of time, there was an increase of up to 87 percent in sales on those sites. This year, Diwali starts on October 30 and runs to November 3, which means that the season began earlier in the year and the leading trends are already becoming clear.
This year, consumers are even more tech savvy and are looking to Diwali m-commerce opportunities to allow them to save money and shop more conveniently for holiday gifts.
