Online sales to witness 32% rise this festive season: Forrester

The festive season is almost here, and so are the blockbuster annual sales by Flipkart and Amazon. After witnessing a bit of slow down in the first half, online sales are expected to make a bounce-back during festive sales, which is about to begin after two days with Big Billion Days and Great Indian Festival.

According to the US-based market research firm Forrester report, around 80% of sales will take place in the first five days of the festive season. The sales estimate in the above mentioned period is predicted to be $3.82 billion, 32% more than last year figure.

Overall, the festive season sales are estimated to generate around $4.8 billion, added the report. The sales will be pushed majorly by the rise in online shopping and the growth of it in tier-3 cities.

"Along with customers in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities, this year online buyers in Tier-3 cities will spend more during this festive season," said Satish Meena, senior analyst, Forrester Research.

Smartphones will account for 36% of all online spending during the festive season, followed by fashion at 24%, added the report

Amazon and Flipkart are all set to kick off their first major festive season sales of the year. Amazon's Great Indian Festival sale and Flipkart's Big Billion Days sale both would be running on the same dates, September 29 to October 4.

Both the arch-rivals will be fiercely competing to attract more shoppers through discounts and offers on various products, including smartphones, laptops, appliances, and many more.

They are reported to cover over 70% of e-comm activities in India.

In the first half of this year, consumer spending witness downfall due to cut in discounts. As per the Kantar report, average ticket size and spending went down by 27% and 21% respectively in the first six months. This is expected to change in this festive season.

Meanwhile, last week, traders representing body Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) had asked the government to monitor the practice of influencing prices and even put a ban on such sales.

The Department for the Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has also asked e-commerce marketplaces to upload statutory audit reports certifying FDI compliance on their websites by September 30.