The festive season in India is more than just a time for celebration; it’s a driving force for consumer spending that pushes e-commerce giants to unveil unbelievable sales. Events like Flipkart’s Big Billion Days and Amazon’s Great Indian Festival have become part of annual festive traditions, generating billions in revenue, and captivating shoppers with tempting discounts and offers. This surge in online shopping reflects the common man’s growing desire for convenience and choice, as consumers navigate an abundance of options across digital platforms.
Amid this retail frenzy, the rise of digital lending solutions, particularly Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services, is reshaping the way people approach purchases. Projected to reach $515 billion by 2030, these innovations offer consumers flexible credit options, allowing them to make purchases without the need for immediate payment. This shift not only enhances accessibility but also fuels spending, as shoppers feel empowered to indulge during the festive season.
In this issue of IMPACT Magazine, we delve into the interplay between booming e-commerce sales and the transformative power of digital lending. Discover how these forces are redefining retail experiences and financial accessibility in India, creating a landscape where shopping and credit seamlessly converge. Join us as we explore the trends, insights, and innovations driving this new era of consumerism.
Are Big Sales still a Big Deal?
As the festive season unfolds, e-commerce giants are making a significant impact, with record-breaking sales, innovative marketing strategies, and a fierce competition for consumer attention. Uncover with IMPACT the tale of sales
The festive season has always been synonymous with gifting and shopping, a tradition that has continued for decades. What’s new, however, is the sheer abundance of choices – not just in products and brands, but also in how and where we can shop. Whether shopping online or offline, the festive period drives sales to incredible heights, making it crucial for brands to maintain a strong presence. Adding to the excitement are significant discounts and sales that characterise this period, with retailers and brands collaborating to provide the most attractive offers. Much like Coldplay tickets, the mega festive sales, hosted by e-commerce biggies like Flipkart and Amazon, possess the power to crash websites and clear out inventories in minutes! The ultimate result: billions of dollars’ worth of sales.
E-commerce giants now host sales throughout the year, but experts agree that the Dussehra-Diwali period still outshines all others.
Although e-commerce players continue to introduce numerous mega sales throughout the year, industry experts agree that the festive season remains the most significant period. With so many sales advertised across platforms, the onus also falls on e-commerce sites to stand out and avoid getting lost in the clutter. Those who do reap the rewards.
Rashi Bhushan, AVP Media Planning & Buying – Digital, Mudramax, shares that Flipkart’s Big Billion Days and Amazon’s the Great Indian Festival both garnered around INR 90,000 crores ($11 billion) in sales during 2023. “The rise of frequent sale events, happening every few months, has sparked concerns about whether big e-commerce sales are losing their impact. However, the situation is more nuanced. While frequent discounts may reduce the urgency of flagship events, these mega sales still hold cultural and consumer significance, especially during festive periods like Diwali,” she adds.
Industry experts point out that improved inflation, favourable monsoons, and festive cheer are likely to support growth this season. This has led both online and offline players to introduce enticing deals. However, with so many competing mega sales, it’s crucial to ensure that these offers effectively reach the customers.
Rashi Bhushan further notes that while Amazon keeps between $200-$300 million for the Great Indian Festival’s marketing activities, Flipkart spends approximately $60-$80 million on marketing for the Big Billion Days. In addition to these two, the other top big sales in India are Myntra’s End of Reason Sale (EORS), Nykaa’s Pink Friday Sale, Reliance Digital’s Festival Sale, and Tata CLiQ’s Festive Sale. Notably, these players are also increasing their ad spends significantly.
E-commerce brands often use these sales as a marketing tool for their platform. It not only boosts their customer traffic but also boosts their revenues. It is important to notice that every sale is not as big as the Great Indian Sale and The Big Billion Days.
Elucidating further, Amitek Sinha, Co-Founder and COO, ETML, voices, “Big sales offer discounts across all categories like home appliances, mobile devices, and more. Many people plan purchases around these events, which are so significant that they require dedicated marketing campaigns to ensure success. In contrast, smaller sales, often held every two months, focus on specific categories (e.g., clothing) and offer lower discounts.”
Manjul Wadhwa, CEO & Founder, Anagram Media Labs and Inflyx, highlights that festive sales in 2024 are expected to account for approximately 20% of total annual e-commerce sales revenue. He and other experts emphasise that, to differentiate themselves, e-commerce players are ramping up their communications across multiple channels.
Giving a rough breakdown of these ad spends across different mediums, Manjul adds, “Digital, which includes social media ads, search engine marketing, video platforms, and programmatic advertising, accounts for 60% of the budget. This is followed by television commercials at 25%, with influencer marketing and outdoor advertising each making up 5%. Print media accounts for 3%, while radio and others represent 2%.”
The period around Dussehra-Diwali might be holding the crown in terms of retail sales, but now the e-commerce players have also started leveraging other special events and occasions like Independence Day, Black Friday and Christmas, to hold big sales. Positive sentiments associated with festivals and major events make it the ideal period for brands to showcase their offerings at most competitive prices.
Anuj Sharma, CMO, Xiaomi India, concurs that too many sales can dilute their impact, and many of these mid-year sales may cannibalise each other, but he believes that the sales around Diwali stand apart. “Diwali holds a special place in consumers’ minds, generating a high interest despite the barrage of sales throughout the year. It’s regarded as the prime time for offers, bolstered by Diwali bonuses and the tradition of gifting. Whether for others or for their own homes, shoppers view Diwali as both an auspicious occassion to buy. Other sales may overlap, but Diwali stands apart,” he adds.
While categories like electronics unsurprisingly thrive during festive sales, it is important to note that categories such as food and beverages are increasingly partnering with e-commerce platforms to highlight their offers. This is also the period when brands see huge jumps in their sales.
Sharing his brand’s vision, Krishnarao Buddha, Senior Category Head, Marketing, Parle Products Private Ltd, expresses, “We leverage the festive season and collaborate not just with offline stores but also with the e-comm platforms, and we anticipate an uptick of 25% in our sales during this period. We offer a range of indulgent products perfect for festive occasions, along with gifting solutions. Our gift packs start at an affordable INR 150 and go up to INR 500-600, making them ideal for various consumer needs on these platforms. This approach helps us effectively cater to customer demands during the festive season.”
Festive season is a time of happiness, and the campaigns that are launched during this period generally line up with the spirit of joviality meandering around. Another notable trend is the collaboration between e-commerce brands and big celebrities bringing the star power to the marketing campaigns.
Sharing his game plan for highlighting the festive spirit in campaigns, Amit Wadhwa, CEO, dentsu Creative, says, “The key is to capture the festive spirit. It’s a time when Indian-ness shines through – from traditional attire to gifting, feasting, and spending time together. Brands need to reflect this mood. It’s also a prime time for purchase, driven by both auspiciousness and great deals. So, keep the product central, make it bright, happy, and appealing. Avoid anything too dark, as people are seeking joy and positivity right now.”
There is no doubt that e-comm brands are spending heavily on showcasing their sales and they are actively targeting multiple mediums. However, some industry professionals believe that barring a few giants, such as Flipkart and Meesho, there are not many that are coming up with commercials for these activations, largely relying on social media posts and simple graphics.
Yash Kulshresth, Chief Creative Officer, ^atom network, reckons, “I have not seen many large-scale commercials this year around the festive sales. While brands are actively communicating across different platforms and even partnering with top faces, we can do more in terms of creativity. Additionally, we can also work on the picks we make for brand collaborations. It is good to have a known face, but many of these popular faces advertise for so many different brands that it is difficult to differentiate between brands.”
As the festive season unfolds, the race for consumer attention is fiercer than ever. While festive sales by giants like Flipkart and Amazon continue to dominate, others are attempting to find new ways to cut through the noise with smart, targeted campaigns. Creativity, relevance, and timing are crucial, especially when everyone is offering a deal. In the end, it’s not just about discounts—it’s about connecting with shoppers in a way that feels festive, exciting, and meaningful.
No Money? No Problem!
India’s digital lending market is set to reach $515 billion by 2030, IMPACT answers the question, are ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ brands becoming a category of advertisers to watch out for?
India has more or less walked long past the drab traditional banking setup; whether it’s people moving towards new-age digital fintech platforms, or traditional banks incorporating the latest digital technologies. Today, the country tops the world ranking in digital payments. Gone are the days when one had to go to a bank to ask for small loans or to avail services. Now, even on a stressful day at the end of the month, one can call for a shoe or meal or whatever they need, with an empty account, thanks to the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) system. Furthermore, the scope of digital lending today is not limited to retail consumption, and has branched into borrowings for businesses and other operations. The recipe of success being– tech-boom, digitisation, increasing investments, startup culture, aspirations of young India, and obviously, a sharp focus on marketing.
India’s digital lending market is expected to touch $515 billion by 2030, highlighting a tremendous possibility of increase in ad spends in the space.
India’s digital lending sector soared to new heights in the last few years, and it is believed that it will continue to grow. The digital lending market is expected to grow to a whopping $515 billion by 2030, reveals a 2023 report by IIFL FinTech. Experts are arguing that it has fundamentally transformed the financial industry by offering unprecedented accessibility, convenience, and efficiency. The rise in the market share of digital lending is indicative of a substantial increase in ad spends in that space.
We have seen major e-commerce players like Amazon and Flipkart venture into this space, and now even quick-commerce players like Zepto are introducing pay-later options. It’s also exciting to see how this pay-later avenue is actively being used to make purchases during big festive sales.
Marketing Mix
Digital lending platforms have seen a significant growth in their ad spends in the last couple of years, largely pocketed in the Digital space. Talking about his brand’s marketing spends, Sudesh Shetty, Founding Member and Director of Marketing, Fibe (formerly EarlySalary) shares, “We saw a tremendous 234% increase in marketing spends in FY 21-22 as compared to FY20-21, while in FY 22-23, there was a jump of 91% in our marketing spends as compared to FY 21-22.”
It is being noted that digital lending platforms are more centred towards the new-age Digital media, as far as their marketing initiatives are concerned. Industry stalwarts reckon that social networks like Instagram and Facebook serve as key advertising platforms to reach potential users. Additionally, email marketing, SEO, blogging, and paid advertising are the other integral components of digital lending space promotion.
Ishaan Bose, Chief Marketing Officer, KreditBee, delves into the mediums that his digital lending platform deploys and shares, “KreditBee has adopted a digital-first approach, with a strong emphasis on using digital channels for communication. Last festive season, we leveraged the potential of social media platforms, and our campaign included sharing video advertisements and creative content on various social media platforms, with a focus on reaching audiences in both metropolitan cities and smaller towns.”
Properties Used
Be it KreditBee or Fibe, the major similarity remains the focus on Digital as far as campaigns are concerned. It is also being noted that many of these digital lending players rely heavily on sporting events like the IPL for their promotions.
Talking about using sporting properties, Bose remarks, “During the peak cricketing season, we increase our brand spends through media buying, which has shown a positive impact in medium to long term. While there is not much difference in performance spends, brand spends tend to increase during this period.”
Industry professionals note that the ad spends in H1 2023 were low because of a dull IPL season. However, it was observed that the H1 of 2024 saw more spending, with a better-received and planned IPL season T20 World Cup falling in this half.
Mentioning the major properties for marketing, Jayatri Dasgupta, Chief Marketing Officer, PayNearby voices, “The festive season and the concurrent World Cup had a substantial impact on our revenues, creating an action-packed period for our business. The scheduling of one of the biggest cricket tournaments during the Dussehra-Diwali period heightened consumer interest and engagement. During this season, our ad spends saw a slight increase of about 15-20%, with focus on performance driven media campaigns.”
A Different Model
Most of the consumer digital lending platforms are seeking more visibility and hence, pumping in more money for campaigns. Nonetheless, there are some rural fintech brands like Spice Money that don’t launch big campaigns. As part of marketing, it does some promotions on regional news channels and social media, builds communities with nanoprenuers, ties up with influencers for informational content, and on top of it, has Sonu Sood as their brand ambassador.
Sharing his insights, Kuldeep Pawar, Chief Marketing Officer, Spice Money, remarks, “We don’t come up with TVCs or large campaigns because it’s going to be a spill over to a larger audience, which we don’t intend to. Because we provide rural-centric baking services, our ads would not be relatable to a larger audience. It will only bother viewers and we will end up wasting money.”
The Climate
Giving his views on the digital lending ecosystem, Sanjeev Jasani, Chief Operating Officer, Cheil India, voices, “The market share of digital lending platforms has been steadily rising, driven by a surge in consumer demand for flexible payment options. These platforms are allocating significant ad spends to reach their audience, often leveraging digital and social media properties. However, government regulations and challenges must be navigated carefully for sustained success.”
Industry professionals are putting forward that data privacy and security remain the biggest concerns for the digital lending system at large. Notably, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released some guidelines around digital lending, and plans to create some regulations.
Along similar lines, Shradha Agarwal, Co-Founder and CEO, Grapes, shares, “There is no dedicated regulatory framework for the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) sector in India as of now. However, it is governed by the guidelines covering non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), e-commerce and consumer protection. With concerns regarding privacy and safety floating, the RBI is in the process of implementing data protection and consumer protection regulations within the sector.”
Scope
There is a wave building around this space, with many expecting it to be a big sensation. The USP being– Unlike traditional instalment plans, digital lending apps bring flexible payment options to a broader range of retailers, both online and in physical stores.
Mitesh Kothari, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, White Rivers Media while talking about the benefits of Buy Now Pay Later setup states, “There is huge potential for digital lending apps to revolutionise payments, much like the success of UPI. They offer versatility by integrating with the consumer’s shopping journey – customers can see instalment prices while browsing products, making purchases feel more affordable, and they can choose BNPL during checkout. Some financial institutions are even introducing BNPL services for cardholders, improving cash flow management.”
Experts discern that the next cycle of growth is expected to come via credit on UPI railroad. Even some traditional banks have started placing their bets on this avenue, and in order to retain customers, they are constantly evolving when it comes to technology. HDFC Bank is one of the big players that have entered the space of BNPL.
Sharing his vision, Ravi Santhanam, Group Head and CMO, HDFC Bank, states, “We are the first people in the country to bring Buy Now, Pay Later. I don’t think people realise that a credit card is nothing but Buy Now, Pay Later, and we are the biggest BNPL player in the country in that way. We have added multiple form factors to the same thing in terms of consumer durable, EMI and other stuff. Going ahead, we have big plans for this space.”
Industry experts believe that digital lending is currently at a nascent stage compared to traditional lending, but it is expanding rapidly, with total digital lending disbursement projected to exceed $1.3 trillion by 2030.
Jayatri Dasgupta notes, “India’s robust economic growth is propelling household consumption to approximately INR 224 lakh crores by FY26, presenting substantial opportunities for financial services, particularly credit. However, despite this surge in consumption, there persists a considerable gap between the demand and supply of credit, with credit availability to households and MSMEs in India trailing behind global averages.”
She adds that to address the substantial credit gaps, particularly in rural areas where over 70% of the population resides and less than 10% have access to organised credit, digital lending platforms have the power to emerge as transformative solutions. However, it’s being claimed that due to tech shyness and limited access to digital cash in this demography, the role of assisted digital lending through trusted point of sale at close proximity to the consumer is expected to emerge as the game changer.
