Mumbai; January 14, 2025: Unicommerce, one of India’s leading e-commerce enablement SaaS platforms, today shared the online shopping trends from 2024.
As per Unicommerce’ analysis, the two leading categories accounting for the bulk of online orders in 2024 were “Fashion & Accessories” (30%) and “Beauty, Wellness & Personal Care” (19%).
The analysis also sheds light on the rising penetration of online shopping in smaller cities. In CY 2024, Tier-3 cities recorded a significant YoY order volume growth across multiple categories. Travel accessories, led by backpacks, laptop sleeves, hardcase trolley bags, and motorcycle gear like leg pouches, mobile holders, and saddlebags, witnessed over 200% growth, watches logged over 100% growth, books registered over 85% growth, and gaming accessories saw over 60% order volume growth during 2024.
The Average Order Value (AoV) across product categories witnessed a sizable increase, with FMCG topping the chart with a rise of around 17% from INR 450+ to INR 530+ during CY 2024 as compared to CY 2023. Electronics & Home Appliances recorded approximately 12% jump in AoV from INR 1690+ in 2023 to INR 1900+ in 2024. Home Decor also recorded over 12% AoV growth, growing from INR 690+ in 2023 to INR 780+ in 2024.
As more brands offered exclusive discounts and limited-time deals in 2024, higher discounts were observed across top volume categories, including fashion, accessories, beauty, wellness, and personal care, health and pharma and FMCG goods. The discounts ranged between 15-30% during the year. This figure was in the range of 10-25% in 2023.
Returns are an important aspect of online commerce, with brands and marketplaces placing a lot of emphasis on using technology to achieve greater operational efficiency and to enhance consumer experience. In CY 2023, the percentage of return orders initiated by customers was around 10%, which dropped to 7.8% in 2024. On the other hand, the Return to origin (RTO) orders, which are undeliverable orders, grew slightly from 6.2% in 2023 to 7.3% in 2024.
In CY 2024, 62% of orders placed were prepaid, and these witnessed lower returns, with only 10% of them returned as compared to CoD (Cash on Delivery) orders, which saw higher returns of approximately 24% during the same period.
The rising adoption of omnichannel was seen in a 40% increase in the number of stores that deployed omnichannel technology. Ship-from-store order volumes increased by 50% in CY 2024 over CY 2023. Ship-from-store orders are online orders that brands process via their physical stores.
The analysis is based on transactions processed on Unicommerce’s platform in CY 2023 and 2024. In CY 2024, Unicommerce processed nearly 900 mn transactions on its platform.