Usually, during marketplace sales such as the Big Billion Days sale by Flipkart, direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands see a dip in order volumes on their websites. However, this year, brands on the GoKwik network saw a reverse trend. There was a massive surge in order volumes on their platforms during the peak marketplace sale period this year, a unique turnaround in the eCommerce industry from the past few years.
During the marketplace sale period last year, brands on the GoKwik network saw a 7% decrease in order volumes and a marginal jump of 6.5% in the gross merchandise value (GMV). Brands would, therefore, prefer to hold their sales before or after marketplace sales.
This year, however, brands took a bold bet and held their own sales during the marketplace sale period. The bet paid off as order volume and GMV surged by 43% and 52%, respectively, around the same time as marketplaces also grew their order volumes. During the 7-day marketplace sales, the GMV for D2C brands on the GoKwik network grew 1.5X in 2023 over the year before.
Chirag Taneja, Co-Founder and CEO, GoKwik, said, “This reversal in trend is a sign of natural progression of the eCommerce market. It means that the market is deepening. It shows that D2C is rapidly gaining popularity among shoppers, who are looking out for best offers and shopping experience.”
Taneja, however, added that the trend reversal did not imply that shoppers preferred D2C over marketplace or vice versa.
“Rather, people are more willing to shop online, be it on marketplaces or on D2C websites, especially if the brands are well established. With better customer experience, D2C is becoming equally popular during festive season shopping,” Taneja added.
The festive season sees a massive uptick in sales as during this time shoppers are high on the intent of making purchases. Traditionally, marketplaces have been able to tap into the potential in the festive season by launching massive sales. D2C brands had shied away from launching sales during this time for fear of high return to origin (RTO) orders and customer acquisition costs.
However, not all brands in the same category get the same traction during marketplace sales. Armed with GoKwik’s suite of solutions to reduce RTOs and improve GMV, many digital-first brands have taken the challenge head on.
This trend is likely to continue at a larger scale in December as well. Last year, the Black Friday Sale weekend (celebrated on the last Friday of November) saw a surge in sales for D2C brands. This trend may also continue this year.
GoKwik’s suite of solutions help brands offer COD intelligently to their consumers, thereby reducing the risk of RTO. It also enables brands to offer COD across pincodes while safeguarding against RTO. GoKwik houses 1000+ eCommerce brands in its network including Lenskart, Neemans, Man Matters, Mamaearth etc, ranging from fashion, beauty, health and nutrition, electronics and other key categories of the online shopping space.
