The report ‘Digital Commerce in India - Festive season shopping’ provides consumer and business insights to its audience and explores the components of digital commerce in India.

1. Digital Commerce in India
Festive Season Shopping

2. Table of Content
02
Executive Summary 03
Key Insights 05
Indian Online Shopping 06
Online Shopping During
the Festive Season
13
Case Studies 18
Research Methodology 21

3. Executive Summary
03
Customers are changing their behaviour of what, where and how they
purchase, by shifting from conventional buying to online shopping. Due to the
pandemic, customers are avoiding public places, which has led to increase
in online shopping behaviour. With improved data affordability, consumption
growth and boom of digital payments, the e-commerce market is set to grow
across consumer services, e-tail, etc. The number of Indian online shoppers is
estimated to grow by 25% from 297 million in 2021 to 372 million by the end of
2022. In addition to the number of users, their frequency of online shopping has
also increased in the past few years.
The festive season has always been important to Indian shoppers and it has
become more so in the post-pandemic period. The pandemic has given Indian
e-commerce a major push beyond the metro consumers. The majority of people
have been shopping more frequently at an overall level, at least once a week.
Consumers prefer to shop online due to the factors such as convenience, ease
of product return, etc. Customers are shopping across more sub-categories.
There has been an increase of 26% in the number of subcategories purchased
per customer compared to the pre-COVID baseline. The daily time spent by
each visiting consumer on Amazon.in has increased by 17%, from 5.2 minutes
in February 2020 to 6.8 minutes in July 2021. The average daily keyword search
volume and average daily product consideration on Amazon.in saw a huge
increase of more than 140% in this period.
E-commerce is one of the fastest-growing
sectors with revolutionary innovations
taking place frequently.

4. 04
The future of digital commerce in India is enormous and the ever-increasing
penetration of internet services and smartphones will add impetus to the
growth. Mobile commerce has been the key component towards this growth
and the majority of the sales are happening on mobile devices. Customers are
resorting to cross-channel habits, and these interconnected experiences will
lead to better interactions with the brand. The future of online shopping lies
in utilizing multiple channels to reach out to the target audience.
Online Shoppers in India
million
297
million
372
growth rate
25%

5. Key Insights
Shoppers from Tier-II and
below cities
85%
First-time shoppers on Amazon.in
during Diwali 2020
+67%
Number of unique shoppers
(compared to pre-Diwali)
+30%
Shoppers shopping across new categories
(compared to pre-festive season)
+103%
First-time shoppers spent more
time researching
05
Increase in number of branded
searches per generic search
12%
First-time shoppers spend
comparable to regular shoppers
Increase in sub-categories
purchase
40%
Increase in the number of
orders placed per week
per customer
17%
New-to-Amazon customers
acquired are from Tier 3 or
below towns
+75%
Increase in time spent on
Amazon.in
17%
Increase in daily average
keyword search
143%
Festive Shoppers
Behaviour
Online Shopping
during Festive Season
Change in Consumer
Shopping Behavior
during the Pandemic
Online Shoppers in India
Growth
25%
million
297
million
372

6. 06
Indian
Online Shopping

7. The pandemic has introduced customers to a new way of shopping, with
mandatory use of masks and social distancing practices. These measures have
proved to be redefining for various sectors, including e-commerce. E-commerce
is becoming an integral part of our lives, and there has been a rise in the number
of consumers who started shopping after the imposition of lockdown.
E-commerce has emerged as the backbone of various industries and businesses
at all levels (viz. small, medium and large), which has resulted in the realization
of the immense potential that it holds. The e-commerce industry in India is on
an unprecedented growth trajectory with the sector witnessing the emergence
of several new players, formats and a boom in business prospects.
India’s Online Shoppers
Currently, India has around 297 million online shoppers, and
this number is expected to grow at a rate of 25% to reach
around 372 million by the end of 2022.
Source: Primary Research, WATConsult, Recogn
Online Shoppers in India
297 Mn
2021 2022 e
372 Mn
25%
07
Despite the economic uncertainty due to the pandemic, e-commerce sector
has witnessed an uptick. There has been an increase in the no. of orders
in the online groceries, e-pharmacy, fashion apparels and electronic items
categories. As the pandemic led to the work / study from home model, the
usage of smartphones in India increased significantly.
With various sectors adopting the digital world with open arms, e-commerce
continues to operate through omnichannel and different business models.
Consumers’ buying patterns have changed within categories, including
health and pharmacy, groceries, food delivery and many others. E-commerce
companies, along with both small and large businesses continue to expand
beyond the metropolitan cities to increase their reach.

8. Frequency of Online Shopping
The pandemic is reshaping our world and the way we make purchases by
accelerating the shift from physical stores to digital shopping. More consumers
are turning to digital platforms for shopping at an ever-increasing frequency.
The online shopping landscape is evolving and there is a higher willingness
to explore new product categories online. The options like quick shipping and
door-step delivery have made it easier and more common to buy products
online including bulkier products like furniture, home appliance, etc.
Habits of India’s Online Shoppers
Base: Online shoppers, All Respondents. Source: Primary Research, WATConsult, Recogn
Frequency of Online Shopping
08
Observations
Less than once in
every 3 months
2-3 times a
week
2-3 times
in every 3
months
2-3 times a
month
4-6 times a
week
Once a
week
Once a
month
6%
7%
33%
13%
13%
15%
13%
33% of the customers shop
online 2-3 times a week.
15% of the customers shop
online 2-3 times a month.
Young customers belonging to the age
groups of less than 18 years, and 18
years to 24 years, are online shopping
enthusiasts. Whereas, older customers
belonging to the age group of 55 years to
64 years shop online less frequently.
Majority of the males shop
online more frequently than
females.
Consumers prefer to shop online due
to the factors such as convenience,
ease of product return, etc. Expert
shoppers (who can use modern
technology proficiently) feel that
online shopping is easier.
Majority of people shop
frequently at an overall level,
at least once a week.

9. Mobile Devices: The Catalysts of Indian E-commerce
The exponential growth of the internet and digital infrastructure in India has
boosted the adoption of e-commerce platforms. Internet penetration and
increased share of the organized sector have built a strong foundation for these
emerging e-commerce needs. Further to this, the policies from the government
have strengthened the market by allowing FDIs in the e-commerce sector,
enabling a vast playing field for all the companies.
A certain positive sentiment has been observed in respect to consumer
behavior, with consumers’ virtual connect with brands increasing significantly.
Brands are taking advantage of live streaming and other newer formats for
purchases to attract the attention of customers. In India, there has been a trend
of boom in the e-commerce sector due to the use of advanced technology and
support by delivery mechanisms.
In India, the majority of people, irrespective of age, use a smartphone,
a behaviour accelerated by the pandemic and the subsequent digital
transformation. This has led to the usage of these devices for numerous daily
necessities viz. work / education, communication, entertainment, shopping
etc., in an unprecedented way.
A greater percentage of consumers are connected to smartphones and
tablets than computers and desktops, followed by smart speakers to execute
e-commerce purchases. The majority of young customers ranging from 18 years
to 34 years prefer to shop online on their smartphones. Most of the working
professional males use smartphones/tablets to shop online.
09
Mobile commerce has the potential to become
a major channel for shopping since consumers
are reliant on digital devices now more than
ever. It offers various marketing channels to
businesses, and helps reach their prospective
customers with ease.

10. 10
Source: Amazon.in data
*Town classes defined as per ministry of finance definition of town classes, Tier
3 being towns like Bareilly, Moradabad, Ajmer, Udaipur to Thanjavur
Town Classes* of new Amazon.in Customers
Post the Start of Lockdown
78%
8%
15%
Tier3 and below Metro / Tier 1 Tier 2
The Pandemic Accelerated the Growth of the E-commerce
Industry by a Decade
The pandemic has given Indian e-commerce a push beyond the metros, to
the larger Indian consumer base in the smaller cities and towns. There has
been a growing demand for online shopping in these cities, especially after
the pandemic. The people stayed indoors with the imposition of mobility
restrictions and pandemic has led to changes in shopping habits and customers
are adapting to this routine more.
The daily time spent by each visiting consumer on Amazon.in has increased
by 17% during the pandemic period, from 5.4 minutes in February 2020 to 6.8
minutes in July 2021. The average daily keyword search volume and average
daily product consideration on Amazon.in saw a huge increase of more than
140% in this period.
Since the onset of the pandemic, consumers have been exploring and
adopting online alternatives for their shopping needs, which are both safe and
convenient. It has been observed that new-to-Amazon consumers form a huge
chunk of the total consumers. After the COVID it is seen that more than three-
fourth of new-to-Amazon customers acquired are from tier 3 or below towns.

11. 11
Compared to pre-COVID baselines, customers have been shopping across more
sub-categories and buying more frequently. There has been an increase of 26%
seen in the number of subcategories purchased per customer compared to the
pre-COVID baseline. The number of orders placed per week for every customer
has increased by 17% in June 2021 compared to the pre-COVID base period of
February 2020.
When it comes to search and consideration trends during the period from
February 2020 to July 2021, home appliances and items have seen a surge in
interest and consideration, followed by consumer durables / wireless products
and consumer packaged goods. There has been a marked increase in the
customers’ adoption of digital commerce in the post pandemic period across
product categories.
Source: Amazon.in data
Daily keyword search and product consideration on Amazon.in in
post pandemic period (Feb 2020 – July 2021)
Change in Average Daily
Keyword Search Volume
Product Category
Change in Average Daily
Product Consideration
Consumer Packaged
Goods
169% 150%
Home Appliances
and Items
211% 180%
Consumer Durables
and Wireless
184% 150%
Fashion and Apparel 76% 78%

12. 12
Given the evolution of online shopping in India, the below shopper personas
have emerged. Let’s explore the behaviour of these user segments, across the
various formats of digital commerce viz. social, video, voice and hyperlocal
commerce platforms.
Emerging Personas of Indian
Online Shoppers
• Both genders but males primarily
• Aged below 24 years
• Mostly students or professionals with less than
10 years of experience
• Residing in the next 5 metros
• Shop online around 4 to 6 times a week
Enthusiastic Young
Shoppers from Metro Cities
Bharat Young Working Shoppers
• Mostly males
• Aged between 25 to 34 years
• Mostly professionals with less than 10 years of
experience and students residing in small towns
and small metros
• Shop online at least once a month
Bharat Young Student Shoppers
• Both genders but primarily males
• Aged below 24 years
• Mostly students
• Residing in small towns
• Shop online at least once a month
They are young metro dwellers who
are heavy online shoppers that like
to try out new digital platforms.
These are young working
professionals from the small metros
and towns who are light and very
functional online shoppers.
They are young students from the
small towns who like to explore newer
digital platforms and are very value
driven light online shoppers.
Homemakers who are Enthusiastic
Shoppers
• Females
• Aged between 35 to 54 years
• Homemakers
• Residing in the top 4 metros
• Shop online around 4 to 6 times a week
They are middle-aged homemakers
dwelling from the top metros who are
heavy online shoppers that like to
explore new digital platforms.
New Shoppers - Senior Citizens
• Both genders
• Aged 45 years and above
• Self-employed, professionals with more than 10
years of experience and are not working
currently
• Residing in the top 4 metros
• Shop online at least once a month
They are older metro dwellers who
have begun shopping online recently,
mostly exploring the platform with the
suggestion of their friends and family.

13. 13
Online Shopping
during Festive
Season

14. The festive period in India from October to December is a peak time for
consumers to shop and more retail sales happen in this time compared to the
rest of the year. This season has always been important to Indian shoppers
and has become more so in the post-pandemic as it brings in hope during
uncertain times. The rapid increase in the number of internet users, availability
of numerous choices of brands, discounts, offers, reduced delivery time,
digital payment infrastructure and easy return have been major factors in the
development of the e-commerce sector in India. Brands are creating an omni-
channel presence that blends online shopping and offline retail to build the
trust of the customers. Across various sectors and categories, retailers have
been proactively adopting omni-channel as part of their strategy.
During the previous festive season, especially Diwali, the unique number of
shoppers saw an increase of 30% more than the pre-Diwali period. 85% of
these shoppers belonged to tier-II cities and below which shows the extent to
which digital commerce has been adopted in the towns beyond metros.
Online Shopping in the Festive Season
The festive season in India witnesses e-commerce players offer multiple
mega online sales including attractive discounts and finance options on
different payment mechanisms. Many e-commerce players collaborate
with FinTech companies to provide credit access to the customers enabling a
seamless shopping experience. Compared to the pre-festive season baseline,
there were more than 67% of the first-time shoppers on Amazon.in during Diwali
2020. In comparison to the pre-festive season baseline, the previous festive
season had more than 103% of shoppers shopping across new categories.
14
Number of Unique Shoppers
(as compared to pre-Diwali)
+30%
Shoppers from Tier-II
and below*
85%
*Town classes defined as per ministry of finance definition of town classes, Tier 3
being towns like Bareilly, Moradabad, Ajmer, Udaipur to Thanjavur.
Compared to pre-festive season baseline
Source: Amazon.in data
Source: Amazon.in data
First-time shoppers
on Amazon.in during
Diwali’20
+67%
Shoppers shopping
across new categories
+103%

15. Consumer behavior during the festive season
Festivals are associated with the joy of sharing and celebrations and festive
sales have become a tradition in India contributing tremendously to the growth
of online sales. While consumers in large metros have been using online retail
and e-commerce for their purchases for some time now, this trend is penetrating
in cities beyond the metros as well.
The growing economy, expansion in the availability of products and services and
easy availability of credit has given rise to the new consumer segment which
also includes consumers from Tier-II and Tier-III. And these new consumers
making their first online purchase during the Diwali period continue to shop
online thereafter. In 2019, the new shoppers added on Amazon.in during Diwali
continued to shop in the post-Diwali period. There has been a growth of 10% in
the average number of customers transacting on Amazon.in in the post-Diwali
period as compared to the pre-Diwali period.
Shopping online is seeing rapid adoption across demographic segments and
many people are using the comfort of their homes for purchasing products
online. During the pre-Diwali period, the generic searches overweigh branded
searches compared to the post-Diwali period, but during the post-Diwali period,
there is a 12% increase in the number of branded searches for every generic
search. This shows that during the post-Diwali period, customers research and
prefer more branded products than generic ones, a behavioural trait marketers
can benefit from and gain from the impact of the festive advertising with the
inclusion of branded searches.
During the previous festive season, first-time shoppers spent amounts
comparable to the existing regular shoppers. Although these first-time shoppers
focused on a lesser number of categories than the existing regular shoppers,
however, these first-time shoppers spent way more time researching for the
products and brands.
15
Source: Amazon.in data
Growth in average number
of customers transacting on
Amazon.in daily
10% Increase in the number
of branded searches for
every generic search
12%
During post-Diwali period as compared to pre-Diwali period

16. The post-pandemic has seen huge shifts in buying habits of customers with increased adoption of online
shopping, and contactless payments. During the pandemic, owing to the lockdowns and social distancing
norms, hypermarkets witnessed lower footfalls although online shopping skyrocketed in last year’s
festive season. Digital media has now become the primary mode of product discovery and businesses
need to respond with interesting value propositions and superior customer experience to complement
this behavioural shift. A full-funnel strategy can help drive a significant lift in metrics across the entire
funnel – consideration, customer acquisition and sales. During the previous festive season, there was a
consideration lift of more than 35%, more than 45% lift in the number of new customers along with more
than 60% sales uplift for full-funnel advertisers when compared to search only advertisers.
Way Forward to Capitalise the Festive Season
16
For Full-Funnel Display + Search Advertisers
Compared to Search only Advertisers
Source: Amazon.in data
Additional Lift in Sales
more than
60%
Additional Lift in New
Customers
more than
45%
Additional Lift in
Consideration
more than
35%

17. With the increase in overall household income and relative levels of savings,
internet adoption and online buying will grow the involvement of consumers across
segments over the next few years. The pandemic has led to reliance on more
e-commerce platforms. The major challenges can be addressed by integrating
an omni-channel operating model that has lower e-commerce penetration. Several
small players are gradually carving out a niche in the e-commerce market. The future
of e-commerce moreover depends upon the fast uptake of the latest technologies
and their convenience in usage.
Brands and businesses need to capitalize on the spirit of the festive season using
a full funnel strategy of display along with search to drive their sales, customer
acquisition and consideration.
17
Digital commerce during the festive season helps brands acquire
new consumers, drive greater consumer engagement and build
stronger brand equity.
Adopting a full-funnel strategy of display + search, compared to only
search, brands can drive adoption among newer customers, greater
consideration and upliftment in overall sales.
The festive season onboards new customers from the cities beyond
the metros and drive the sales across product categories while
making the behaviour a consistent trait even post the festive period.

18. 18
Bridgestone partnered with Amazon Advertising for gathering support for India’s Olympics campaign.
Innovative usage of Khel Quiz, an Olympics themed Alexa Quiz to engage with sports enthusiasts for supporting
the Olympians.
Bridgestone wanted to ensure the hard work of Indian Olympians gets acknowledged
by our country and hence aimed at calling out to 1 billion cricket fans to cheer for
the Indian athletes at the Tokyo Olympics.
Bridgestone , WatConsult and Amazon teams partnered to engage with Sports
enthusiasts amongst amazon audiences through:-
Khel Quiz, a Alexa skill-based Quiz was launched to drive audio engagement with
consumers on select keywords. Customers could also launch the experience
through the Skill invocation phrase - “Alexa, open Khel quiz” or “Alexa, खेल quiz शुरू
करो” on their Alexa enabled devices
To amplify the reach of the engagement , the quiz was promoted through Amazon
DSP display campaigns on amazon.in and across sites/apps.
APPROACH
RESULTS ~20 Mn
Unique Reach
176K +
Alexa Skill Engagements
50K +
Quiz Completions

19. 19
Tata Motors leveraged Amazon Advertising to drive quality leads
Find out how Tata Motors leveraged Amazon Advertising to drive lead generation for their electric vehicle ‘Nexon EV’
Tata Motors and WATConsult partnered with Amazon Advertising to identify
qualified prospects for the car through audience signals like affluent shoppers,
consumers of premium brands like Apple, Bose, Dyson etc., and those using credit
cards for transactions etc. Display ads were used to reach these audiences across
amazon.in placements.
The In-house lead generation solution was leveraged to direct audiences to
an Amazon.in landing page carrying information about the features of the car.
Interested consumers could share their details to be contacted by Tata Motors.
From Q3’20-Q2’21, >20k enquiries (leads) have been generated. The Conversion-
to-Test drives % achieved has been 15% better and the Cost per lead has been
~12% lower than other publishers.
APPROACH
~20 Mn
Unique Reach
176K +
Alexa Skill
Engagements
50K +
Quiz Completions
RESULTS
RESULTS 12%
Lesser CPL
12 Mn+
Amazon High Value
Shoppers Reached
~20K +
Enquiries Generated

20. Yamaha in partnership with Amazon Targeted Cricket Enthusiasts for IPL
How Yamaha Integrated live scoreboard on a banner targeting Amazon Audience Segments
Amazon has over 10 Mil+ Cricket Enthusiasts on their platform. During IPL wherever
the users are consuming content or even shopping are constantly looking to check
up on the score for their Fav team.
IPL & Sports Bike has one thing in common – “Performance on the field”.
Leveraging an interactive live scoreboard during major IPL matches to grab users
attention while also highlighting Yamaha MT 15 ‘s Performance by using cricket
lingos that a cricket fan will resonate with. User will experience the ad in 5 steps:
Brand communication -> Live score -> Any crucial moment in the game like Bowled,
Seed, Out, six, Hattrick etc will be used to Highlight Bike’s performance as well ->
Video – Bike commercial during Time-outs -> End communication to redirect the
user to brand’s website to learn more
APPROACH
~20 Mn
Unique Reach
176K +
Alexa Skill
Engagements
50K +
Quiz Completions
RESULTS
RESULTS 1.5 Mil +
Banner Interactions
1% +
CTR
6 Mn +
Unique People Reached
20

21. Quantitative Research
Survey was conducted among a sample size of 2520 online shoppers across
age groups, gender, occupation, zones and town class using stratified random
sampling to gather the required data.
Qualitative Research
Conducted in-depth interviews with the industry stakeholders. Furthermore,
in-depth interviews were conducted with consumers across age groups,
gender, occupation and town class to identify the qualitative aspects.
Research Team for this Report
Abheek Biswas
AVP Consumer Insights (abheek@watconsult.com)
Prabhupreet Singh Ahuja
DRM (prabhupreet.ahuja@watconsult.com)
Shweta Prabhu
Regional Head - Design
Prashant Narvekar
Lead Animator
Synopsis on Design
The central theme being “Digital Commerce”, the design look and feel of
this report encompasses people at different times in different environments
shopping indicating the ease of use of digital commerce. The visuals are a mix
of real (images) and graphic pop-ups (virtual) which indicate the ecommerce bit
and bring out the central idea better. The color palate of this entire series will
be based on the platforms that exist across Social, Video, Voice, Hyperlocal
and Festive Commerce.
Recogn, a research-based consulting division of WATConsult, complements
the agency’s knowledge of digital media over a period of 10 years with the
understanding of the digital audience. Recogn provides marketers with deeper
insights into the minds of consumers and helps create more focused marketing
strategies. Recogn provides end-to-end research services like customized
primary research into the domains of marketing strategy, brand strategy,
product and communication strategies, among others.
Find more about Recogn at: www.recogn.in
Ranked as the second-best digital agency in the country as per the Agency
Reckoner by Brand Equity, WATConsult is a seasoned true hybrid full-service
digital agency. The agency works with over 120 large Indian and global brands.
Part of the Dentsu Aegis Network, it has a 340+ member team spread across
Mumbai, Delhi & Bangalore.
Catering to the industry’s diverse and ever growing needs, WATConsult has
specialized divisions like Social CRM 24/7 for ORM, In-Depth Analysis, and
Social Listening, Recogn for consumer research and consulting, InnoWAT
- the agency’s very own tech innovation lab, Ecommencify for an end to end
eCommerce solution for brands & The Alter Project, the agency’s most recent
venture into cause marketing and delivering campaigns for the greater good.
Contact Details:
WATConsult
1076, Parijat House, Worli Naka, Mumbai – 400 018
Phone: +91 22 6709 9200 | Website: http://www.watconsult.com
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