During the festive season – one of the biggest which spans from Dussehra to Diwali – people go on gifting sprees and often tend to overspend. While overspending on cash purchase is difficult, advancements in digital technologies have made overspending easier by making options like EMI, digital loans, buy now pay later (BNPL) etc easily accessible.
As a result, the hyped demand has not only fuelled festive buying, but has also helped businesses increase their festive sales.
“Digital payments have grown massively over the last few years as the preferred payment method for consumers. The impact can be seen especially when the festive sales hit the market, with transaction volumes going way higher than the rest of the year. Adopting digital payment methods such as UPI, ePOS, mobile wallets, prepaid cards,internet banking, and fintech facilities, etc. act as a great sales booster for businesses during the festive season, largely due to the convenience it offers,along with added benefits in form of cashbacks and exclusive discounts,” said Shatrughan Sharma – Global Head – Payment Security, Wibmo – A Payu Company.
Data from various surveys show that digital transactions went up by 52 per cent during last year’s festive season sales. Also, about 41 per cent of people preferred to make their festive purchases using digital payment methods, according to a study conducted by YouGov and ACI Worldwide.
These figures highlight the immense trust consumers are holding in digital payment methods for higher value payments, and the scope that secure, tech-enabled payment methods have as sales enablers for businesses.
“Digital payment systems are fueling festive sales for online businesses. They are also offering convenience and affordability for customers. While this increase in consumer demand is a reason to celebrate for businesses, there is a checklist of things that businesses should take care to maximise the revenue in this peak season. This checklist includes ensuring availability of stock, efficient supply chain and distribution, seamless payment infrastructure for online payment collections. Among these, having a strong and efficient payment workflow is a factor that will dramatically improve the festive sales. Businesses can easily opt for digital payment services, like Payment links, that can easily help accept payments online,” said Rohit Katyal, Group Head – Business, Easebuzz.