E-tailers see gold, diamond boosting sales on Akshaya Tritiya
9 May 2016 10:56 PM GMT
Online retailers including Amazon and Bluestone are betting big on gold and diamond sales and expect a big boost to their business on 'Akshaya Tritiya', considered as auspicious day for buying precious metals.
"Compared to last year, we see over six times growth in sales in our Akshaya Tritiya offerings. In terms of traffic, we have grown over 100 per cent compared to last year," Amazon Fashion Category Leader Mayank Shivam said here.
The demand is likely to be more for 22 carat jewellery -- especially plain gold chains and necklaces, he said.Â
"This is apart from the gold bullion sale, which is obviously top selling at this time," he added.
Echoing similar view, online jeweller Bluestone.com COO Arvind Singhai said that business is growing since last two years, and the company expects the sales to jump by six times during Akshaya Tritiya this year as compared to last year.
"This year during the festival we are expecting the demand for gold coins, diamond pendants and earrings," he added. He also said that he sees no slowdown in demand despite volatility in gold price as the festival of Akshaya Tritiya is considered auspicious for buying precious metals. However, he said high prices may affect the volumes but the value will grow. Caratlane.com Vice President Vipin Nair said, "We are expecting a really good turnout this year. Besides gold, we see a lot of movement in diamond jewellery as well." Akshaya Tritiya is falling on Monday.Â
India's e-commerce sector to see $120 bn revenue by 2020: Study
The country's e-commerce sector is expected to see revenues of $120 billion by 2020 from $30 billion at the end of last fiscal, a report said. The increase would be mainly on the back of young demographic profile, rising Internet penetration and relatively better economic performance, the Assocham-Forrester study said. India's e-commerce sector saw revenues of $30 billion at the end of the financial year 2015-16. It is expected to reach $120 billion by 2020, it said. "While in terms of base, India may be lower than China and other giants like Japan, the Indian rate of growth is way ahead of others.Â
Against India's annual expansion of 51 per cent, China's e-commerce is growing at 18 per cent, Japan 11 per cent and South Korea 10 per cent," the study noted. The report further said that India has an Internet user base of 400 million in 2016 whereas Brazil has 210 million Internet users and Russia 130 million, among the BRICS nations. About 75 per cent of the country's online users are in the age group of 15-34 years since India is one of the youngest demographies globally and one out of every 5 (online user) visits the Indian Railways site, the report said. In India, about 60-65 per cent of the total e-commerce sales are being generated through smart phones.Â
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