Electronic products and gadgets have reigned supreme during the Republic Day sale 2024. Smartphones, PCs, and other such accessories have been flying off e-commerce shelves during this year’s sale events. Fuelled by heavy discounts and offers, market analysts expect smartphone and PC sales to surge by more than 10 per cent during the period.
Beginning January 13, e-commerce majors Amazon and Flipkart rolled out their Republic Day sale events in India, with various bank offers and discounts on gadgets and electronic items like smartphones, audio devices, laptops, etc.
Smartphones like the iPhone 15, Motorola G34, Poco M6, and Redmi Note 13 Pro+, were available at heavy discounts on these e-commerce marketplaces.
During its sale event, Amazon boasted discounts of up to 75 per cent on products like PCs, tablets, and smartwatches, while offering smartphones at a 40 per cent discount.
Other electronic products like smart TVs, home appliances including refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners could likewise be purchased with discounts of up to 65 per cent.
Flipkart, on the other hand, offered consumers discounts of up to 80 per cent on TVs, electronics, appliances, fashion accessories, mattresses, and furniture, among others. The recently launched iPhone 15 series was available on the platform for as little as Rs 45,000.
The attractive offers and discounts are expected to give a fillip to smartphone and PC sales during the period, say market analysts.
“This is the first sale of the year, so there will be an uptick in sales and consumer demand. We are expecting an uptick in sales of around 10 per cent, depending upon available inventory and discounts,” said Prachir Singh, Senior Analyst, Counterpoint Research.
“It has been a few months since the previous Diwali festival season sales. To get rid of the built-up inventory, we usually see a lot of offers and discounts for these products,” he added.
In line with predictions, Samsung’s flagship S24 series has witnessed record bookings during the Republic Day sale period. More than 250,000 customers in India ordered a Galaxy S24 smartphone since pre-bookings opened in the country on January 18. The company had secured 250,000 pre-bookings for its Galaxy S23 series over a three-week period in India the previous year.
The electronics category aside, e-commerce order volumes as a whole during the Republic Day sale events this year have witnessed a substantial uptick compared to last year.
According to Unicommerce – an e-commerce enablement SaaS platform, order volumes during this year’s Republic Day sale events increased 18.7 per cent compared to 2023 due to attractive deals and nationwide marketing campaigns.
This helped e-commerce marketplaces record a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) order growth of 28.7 per cent, during the period.
Starting January 26, Flipkart has also announced its flagship sale event ‘Crafted by Bharat’ to celebrate “India’s vibrant culture and rich heritage by showcasing an extensive array of handicraft and handlooms from culturally renowned brands made across the country.”
The event will involve the participation of over 1,750 artisans, weavers, NGOs, SHGs, emporiums, and women entrepreneurs, featuring 100,000 unique handicraft products.
Similarly, Amazon also launched ‘Local Shops on Amazon’ program bringing the local business from cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and Gujarat.
The strong Republic Day sales come on the back of previous well-performing sales such as Black Friday and the festival season 2023 sales.
Last year, the Black Friday weekend saw a 23 per cent surge in e-commerce orders volume compared to the 2022 sale weekend. Moreover, the festival season sale of 2023 also witnessed a whopping 37 per cent growth in order volumes compared to the festival sale period, according to Unicommerce.
First Published: Jan 25 2024 | 8:17 PM IST
