Flipkart has unveiled FlipTrends 2023, a view into India’s online shopping landscape. The report offers insights into the evolving preferences and behaviour of Indian online shoppers, based on Flipkart’s understanding of over 500 million registered users. As per the report, shoppers spent an average of seven hours on Flipkart this year, which is no less than watching the iconic movie Sholay twice over. The platform also witnessed over 41 million new customers up until November 2023.
The report further unveiled that the technology continues to create new and exciting shopping experiences as over four million users engaged with ‘Flippi’, the chatGPT-powered shopping assistant in the month of October at the time of its launch. Moreover, Flippi uses generative AI, acting as an expert to guide such users on the product that suits their needs best.
While metropolitan hubs such as Bangalore and New Delhi topped the list of metro city shoppers’ chart, Trivandrum, Patna, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Varanasi, Ernakulam, Guwahati and Cuttack, Medinipur, and Bankura were some of the top tier-1, 2 and 3 cities that had the busiest shopping carts this year with many of them sharing shopping preferences.
Furthermore, e-commerce continues to grow as a trusted resource for many parents, for whom the ease of online shopping has become a saviour. This was evident as Flipkart witnessed 100% growth in infant formula and premium skin care baby products which saw 50% growth in 2023. However, shoppers across India are swiftly adopting gift cards, recognising their inherent value for both gift-givers and recipients.
Additionally, the third-party brand gift cards on Flipkart grew by 40% in 2023 as compared to 2022, especially for the gold and diamond jewellery and gaming categories. Meanwhile, the Big Billion Day sales saw a 31% increase in Flipkart gift cards, as compared to the last year.
Talking about the report, Ravi Vijaya Raghavan, senior vice president – analytics and data science, Flipkart, said “The FlipTrends report 2023 shows consumer behaviour in a country that is possibly the most diverse when it comes to shopper profiles. This trend report is based on shopper behaviour throughout this year, unveiling the pulse of purchase and search behaviour. Flipkart has continued to play an important role in providing access and being a ‘trends equaliser’ in many ways. Metros and smaller cities have shared preferences for gadgets and grooming products, while certain styles such as sarees remain a classic choice.”
In 2023, premium styling products on Flipkart saw a 3X growth over 2022. Face care products were the most shopped under the grooming category, followed by hair care and body care. The most popular face-care product was face wash, specifically searching for face wash with glycolic acid and salicylic acid, followed by shampoo under the hair care category and moisturisers under body-care category. In addition to this, an increased awareness on the importance of staying fit has led to cycles emerging as the most shopped product under the fitness category, followed by treadmills and dumbbells in 2023. Berhampore, Puri, and Medinipur were the top tier-3 cities that shopped for these products in 2023.
While oversized and unisex fashion wear were some of the most popular lifestyle searches this year, saree was the most shopped product in 2023 on Flipkart. However, within the fashion category, women’s clothing across ethnic, contemporary, and western wear remained at the top of shopping lists. Coming to gadgets, wireless or bullet headphones topped the list as it became the perfect companion for the busy lifestyles of the hybrid working generation, allowing for seamless transitions between work, leisure and travel. Flipkart also witnessed a 3.2X growth in premium laptops and a 100% surge in tablet demand in 2023, reflecting the desire to upgrade for many.