Part II
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In continuation of our previous newsletter (read here); we’re exploring where sales for e-commerce companies have come from. Which Categories are driving revenues and what products within these categories are responsible?
All Dressed Up and Nowhere to go?
It’s surprising that Lifestyle (read fashion) products have rebounded so sharply — especially since most people are still working from home, weddings are smaller or have got postponed. Personally, my work and workout wardrobe are now basically the same (call it ‘athleisure’). So where is the growth coming from? Children’s clothing, Men’s fashion & footwear…
Video Conferencing = Personal Care?
Books & General Merchandise (BGM) consists of everything from Auto Accessories and Baby Products to Food & Nutrition (anything that doesn’t fit elsewhere is thrown in here). The largest share of sales for the business unit comes from the personal care products (grooming, make up etc.). Sales for this category came primarily from 3 categories — Personal Care, Food & Nutrition followed by Baby Products and toys.
Electronics rebounded sharply– led by sales of audio products and mobile accessories. And while sales of laptops and desktops did see an increase from January levels — they are not great contributors to the volume.
In the pursuit of GMV — e-commerce companies have traditionally sold mobile phones (and other electronics). The good news is that sales have recovered to nearly the same as pre-lockdown levels. I wonder what future growth will look like for this category if border issues between India & China are not resolved.
Interestingly, the volume of sales in the ‘Home’ category has recovered and surpassed pre-lockdown levels. Seems like people just got tired of being stuck inside their houses and finally decided to make renovations.
As cities have been allowed to ‘unlock; sales volumes are nearing pre-lockdown levels across most verticals. This might make you wonder — what recession? I am not sure if that conclusion is so easily drawn since e-commerce is still a relatively under-penetrated industry. India is still a feature phone country and while that’s changing fast — people typically do not start by transacting online. They begin with content and make the journey to commerce over time. In the next edition of this piece, we’ll examine where these sales came from.
Thanks for your time,
— Aman
KalaGato.co
