Diwali is just around the corner which means India’s festival shopping season is underway. Known as the “festival of lights,” Diwali is not only a cultural event in India but is also celebrated around the world. This year, the celebration is on November 14 so families have likely started their shopping to prepare for festivities. Similar to other holiday shopping seasons, retailers are pushing out their promotions or deals early to make up for any slow sales due to the pandemic. Consumers are also looking for early deals to avoid shopping at crowded stores at the last minute.
The global pandemic has shifted most shopping to mobile so we are looking at how consumers plan to use their smartphones while shopping for Diwali. Digital Turbine conducted the Diwali Shopping Survey and asked consumers about their behavior while shopping online and specifically on mobile leading up to the festival. Below are some highlights from the survey and don’t forget to download the infographic for more stats!
Highlights from the Study
- Most consumers will be staying at home to do their shopping. — A vast majority of Diwali shoppers (94%) prefer ordering items online and having them delivered to their homes. Only 4% prefer to order online and use curbside delivery and 2% would rather shop in-store. While shopping has shifted to online in the past several years, these results indicate that the pandemic has further driven shopping away from brick-and-mortar stores.
- Smartphones and in-app are preferred for festival shopping. — Mobile devices are the top choice to make purchases by far with 90% of respondents choosing them over computers and tablets. Additionally, 88% of shoppers would rather shop in-app than use a mobile browser.
- Mobile ads drive sales for Diwali shoppers. — With high favorability towards mobile shopping, there are lots of opportunities to serve in-app ads to consumers. A majority of respondents (80%) said they have purchased something on their smartphone directly from an advertisement.
- Consumers find better deals online. — The survey asked respondents about their reasons for purchasing online over in-stores. The top reason was they found better deals online. The second highest was they needed a different size or color that was not available at the store.
- An easy payment process makes for a significantly better shopping experience. — Consumers were asked what matters most for their shopping experiences on their mobile devices. The majority of respondents (60%) said an easy payment process is most important. Exclusive offers, easy navigation, and a good desktop experience reflected on mobile were much less important to Diwali shoppers. Online retailers should reassess the UX of their payment process to make sure they are not turning off interested buyers.
Check out the infographic below for more great insights and don’t forget to click on the infographic to open it full size!
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