As the pandemic pushes the needle towards digital, online festival sales are expected to reach $ 7 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) as shoppers flock, leading to the creation 3 billion jobs, according to consultancy Redseer.
Daily e-commerce shipments in the country have also grown from 3.7 million during the months prior to the covid to 5.1 million, after the virus outbreak. Now, this number is expected to rise to 22 million daily shipments during the holiday season, RedSeer data shows. Last holiday season, daily e-commerce shipments averaged about 12 million.
Preparing for this demand, e-retailers are stepping up hiring, particularly in logistics and supply chain functions, as they expect extraordinary sales.
Walmart-owned Flipkart recently said it will hire 70,000 people across its supply chain operations ahead of holiday season sales and its flagship Big Billion Days sales event, expected in October.
Flipkart is already conducting digital training for these new hires, educating them on customer service, delivery, installation functions, as well as safety and sanitation measures. Flipkart’s rival Amazon India is also increasing its hiring in supply chain functions.
To speed up deliveries, Amazon India has also established 200 new delivery stations across the country ahead of holiday sales.
RedSeer Consulting estimates that 60% of new hires will now be in deliveries and logistics, and the remaining demand will be driven by warehousing and customer service functions. E-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart will account for 70% of total hiring this holiday season, while logistics companies like Delhivery, Ecomm Express and Shadowfax will drive the rest of job creation.
“E-commerce logistics will need to adapt to changing customer expectations. For one thing, metropolitan area buyers don’t mind paying premiums for faster deliveries; while value buyers in Tier 1 cities focus on the good deals and are ready to wait another day or two to deliver. Therefore, e-commerce companies through external logistics partners will have to balance these expectations, while testing for hyperlocal deliveries, “said Mrigank Gutgutia, director of e-commerce at RedSeer Consulting.
Gutgutia added that the proportion of hyperlocal deliveries could constitute 10% of total e-commerce shipments, after the festival sales season.
Ecommerce marketplaces generally host up to 3 festival sales events leading up to Diwali, and generally the first sales event generates almost 60% of your total sales during this period.
According to RedSeer estimates, nearly 50 million shoppers are expected to go online during the first holiday sale, which includes Flipkart’s Big Billion Days sale event and Amazon’s Great Indian festival sales.
“… Earlier this year, we announced more than 70,000 seasonal opportunities in our fulfillment and delivery network and for roles in our customer service teams. We will continue to create thousands of additional opportunities across the network to support customer demand across the country this upcoming holiday season so customers can stay safe, “said an Amazon India spokesperson.
“Our logistics partners are in the process of increasing their delivery capacity through additional recruiting and expanding their delivery fleet to ensure the collection and delivery of our shipments within a specified time frame,” said a Snapdeal spokesperson.
Gutgutia added that the disruption of offline commerce (due to the pandemic) coupled with e-commerce companies offering value deals will lead to many first-time buyers connecting to the internet, especially from Tier 2 cities.
“The holiday season could also see the return of inactive shoppers, as e-commerce companies continue to add low-cost categories to their assortment list. Therefore, this holiday season will lead to the diversification of the e-commerce market, “he said.
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