The Hindu festival of Diwali has caused a surge of e-commerce sales in India, indiatimes.com reports.
Online shopping sales have soared in the country and could increase by 250 per cent during the winter period, according to figures from The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), which surveyed 1,200 traders.
Most of the products sold online during Diwali were gifts (58 per cent), the data revealed. This was followed by electronic gadgets (41 per cent) and accessories apparel (36 per cent). Twenty per cent of online shoppers also bought a stay in a hotel room, whilst 16 per cent spent their money on home appliances.
It is claimed that in addition to the festival, online shopping in India has also been boosted by environmental factors such as fuel prices and personal security, compounded with great web-only offers and a general increase in the amount of goods for sale on the internet.
Speaking about the trend, secretary general of Assocham, R S Rawat, told silliconindia.com: “Online buying trends have witnessed a significant jump this Diwali due to aggressive online discounts, rising fuel prices and abundant online choices keeping shoppers indoors. Plus there are security concerns, besides other inconveniences in big cities.”
It is thought that online sales will jump the most in the cities of Jaipur, Cochin, Udaipur, Ahmedabad and Mumbai.
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