Online shoppers shift from e-commerce to m-commerce this festive season says Criteo

Criteo, the performance marketing technology company, recently released seasonal data in anticipation of Diwali, to help e-commerce companies better understand their customers and their buying behaviour during the festive season. Based on consumer’s online browsing and buying activity during the peak season last year (8th October- 8th November 2015), the pre – Diwali period saw an upsurge in average visitors on key Indian retailers’ websites, leading to an increase of average sales of e-commerce companies.

With the rise of e-commerce companies and their growing popularity in India, the festive season has become a period of fierce competition for key Indian retailers. Various e-commerce platforms launch mega-sales before the festive period, thereby launching a brand war with high budget spending on advertising as well as sales offers on consumer durable products and services.

According to Criteo’s findings, which are based on an analysis of 6 million online transactions made in India last year, the rise in average online traffic on key retail companies’ websites reached up to 35 percent. Also, during the same period, the maximum sale on these websites was seen going up to 87 percent.

(8 th October- 8 th November, 2015)

Average Visitors Uplift

Average Sales Uplift

Week 1

17 %

30%

Week 2

23%

38%

Week 3

26%

40%

Week 4

22%

57%

When asked about this e-commerce trend, Dushyant Sapre, Commercial Director, Criteo India says, “India is experiencing the digital growth as Indian consumers are taking a leap forward with their readiness to experiment and shop online. The technology savvy users today want to explore new brands, and choose from the variety of product categories, services and e-commerce platforms. With easy return policies, various payment options, cash on delivery and quick delivery services, it is expected that online shoppers in India may reach 175 million by 2020”.

Sapre further affirms that “it’s a challenge for e-commerce platforms to understand the changing user behaviour and retain their users, because with such wide range of options available, the attention span of a user has reduced drastically. Criteo helps brands understand the user’s buying behaviour and spending patterns, ultimately leading to a personalised and customised strategy to tap online buyers.”

Mobile commerce to overtake web browsers in driving sales soon

With rapid increase in the number of smartphones and mobile data consumption, phones have become the first point of brand interaction with their users. The smartphone may represent the most personalised medium to reach India’s consumer audience.

According to the data gathered by Criteo, during the festive season in 2015, 40 percent of online traffic on major retail companies was generated by mobile phones . Clearly m-commerce is experiencing a tremendous rise in India. 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. Moreover, it reduces the effort of hopping from one shop to another, saving time, money and energy.

The in-app availability of e-commerce companies has further triggered the rise of m-commerce in India. It is crucial for retail companies to start the in-app interface as well, considering major buying behaviour changing from desktop to mobile commerce.

Cross-device surfing leading to final purchase

With increasing internet penetration expected to reach 650 million by 2020, a whole generation of consumers is moving from offline to online, experiencing e-commerce for the first time through mobile web or apps. Online transactions now involve the use of multiple devices during product search and purchase. E-commerce sales across the region are expected to increase in 2016. While these developments point to a huge opportunity for digital businesses across the region, engaging shoppers across multiple devices remains a major challenge for brands.

According to the data gathered by Criteo, 36 percent of buyers browsed retailers’ websites with a different device before making a final purchase . Therefore, it is necessary for retailers to realize the importance of reaching their customers across devices while understanding the users’ surfing and buying behaviour. Cross-device advertising today is helping brands build brand recall in the minds of the users.