Due to the COVID-19 scenario, the eCommerce companies were striving to accelerate growth during the first two phases of lockdown. Especially the eCommerce industries in India have been significantly affected by this. But the eCommerce companies have started their operations in the midst of the global crisis since the beginning of June. It has recovered 90 percent of the order value compared to its pre lockdown & hit the new 2020 record. According to Unicommerce 's report, India's leading eCommerce platform headquartered in Saas has been keeping an eye on customer e-commerce trends as economic activity resumes nationwide. The sector recovered 30 percent of its pre-lockdown order volumes during the lockdown 3.0. The steady growth in the eCommerce sector thus indicates how consumer's preferences are shifting in the direction of online shopping.

In the first two phases of lockdown, the sales of non-essentials items on eCommerce platforms were lower than expected. After eCommerce companies like Flipkart, Amazon, and Sanpdeal have been permitted to sell the products in non-containment areas, the volume of online order grew swiftly and the growth was certainly healthy.

Speaking about the report and the impact, Kapil Makhija, CEO, Unicommerce said, “The e-commerce sector continues to lead the growth for the overall economy of India. The increasing change in consumer behavior to prefer online shopping has come as a great surprise and relief for online sellers and marketplaces. This will lead to the rising adoption of omnichannel solutions by companies across sectors and focus on digital transformation to significantly improve customer buying experience with the help of relevant technology solutions. With the current pace and recovery rate, we are positive that the sector will fully recover in the next couple of weeks.”

Electronic Appliances Witnessed the Strongest Growth

As per the report, it ascertains that the consumer electronic appliances category (excluding smartphones) has seen the highest growth compared to other categories. The sector has not just recovered its pent up volume but also shown great improvement with over 45 percent growth in the overall order volume compared to pre-lockdown levels. However, the average cart size has decreased by around 5-10 percent, as people ordered more low value required to operate from home.

Whereas, if you analyze the data of 2019, smartphone shipments in India rose 8% year-on-year to 152.5 million units, making it the fastest-growing market among the top 20 in the world.

On the other hand, the Apparel sector has witnessed an overall 70% recovery rate compared to pre-lockdown levels. However, the average cart size has reduced by around 25%. This implies that the demand for high-value products is less as compared to affordable products.

Transformation in Consumers Behaviour- Online Shopping

Moreover, the CEO of Unicommerce- Kapil Makhija said that the e-commerce sector continues to increase the growth of the overall economy of India. Surprisingly, online shopping trends have never seen such a huge transformation in consumer behavior. It has come as a great surprise and relief for online sellers and marketplaces. This will lead to the rising adoption of omnichannel solutions by companies across sectors and focus on digital transformation to significantly improve customer buying experience with the help of relevant technology solutions. Apart from this, online shopping has also benefited the digital payments platform like Paytm, Amazon Pay, and Paypal who are potentially taking advantage of the current situation.

Nevertheless, people are still preferring online shopping instead of going out. Therefore, the overall e-commerce sector conferred a good sign of recovery in the post lockdown. It is also significant to remember that e-commerce players are allowed to continue operations in the green and orange zones.