With the onset of the festive season, more than 2 out of 5 consumers across the country have expressed their intent to shop online from Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) merchants, according to a survey conducted by Simpl.
The surge in consumer interest can be attributed to the growing number of individuals turning to D2C merchants in recent years to meet their evolving needs.
The consumer optimism remains high, as 41% of the participants said they have strong online shopping plans during this festive season, with 33% of the respondents planning to purchase fashion and accessories, followed by 23% for travel, and 11% for personal care. Food and beverages, as well as consumer electronics, were other popular categories that respondents plan to spend on.
Talking about the trend, Khanaz K.A., CXO – D2C business, Simpl, said, “The festive period is a much-anticipated season for consumers and merchants across India. As an organisation, we are committed to building consumers’ trust in merchants, D2C merchants in particular and increasing conversions and reducing returns for the latter through our AI-led checkout and post checkout solutions. Considering D2C merchants service the majority of their annual business during this period, we are focused on enabling these merchants to offer a better than marketplace experience on their platforms.”
Interestingly, Gen Y (between 1982 and 1994) and Millennials (between 1981 and 1996) constituted a majority of the responses, highlighting their strong preference for festive shopping online, including D2C merchants, to cater to their specific and unique needs.
“Over the last six months, we have been able to improve conversions up to 87% and reduce returns to the extent of 66% for hundreds of our merchants across fashion, footwear, travel, home decor and other categories, in a testament to our commitment,” Khanaz K.A., added.
Furthermore, nearly 70% of D2C merchants are also expecting a 2x-4x increase in sales during the festive season, revealed another survey by Simpl conducted with hundreds of merchants across the country. These merchants are significantly adding manufacturing and warehousing capacities, along with increasing manpower and spending on marketing, the survey stated.