Growth in e-commerce slowed in CY22: Report

New Delhi, Feb 27 (KNN) Growth in e-commerce slowed down in calendar year 2022 after seeing a spike in the months following the lockdown, consulting firm Redseer said in a note on Monday.

“The impact has been slightly lower compared to that on the FMCG player, as e-commerce is less reliant on price-elastic rural demand," consulting firm said.

Redseer expects consumer demand to remain subdued in the near future, given high inflation, unemployment in urban organised sector and falling real wages in rural areas.

As per reports, order volumes for categories such as groceries, appliances, general merchandise, mobiles had witnessed a declined in the December quarter.

The consulting firm also pointed out that slowdown in overall demand is set to hurt startups that are staring at a funding winter.

“This comes at a difficult time for startups. They currently have limited ability to drive growth through discounts and other levers, which worked well during an easier funding environment. Therefore, startups must focus on efficient unit economics and improving profitability by sticking to their core offerings," the note said.

Analysts at Redseer said that startups focussed on “Bharat" need to look at revamping their store-keeping unit strategy to fit the tighter wallets of mass-market consumers.

The second strategy is to double down on the premium categories, which have lower price elasticity and have performed well against market pressures across sectors, they said.  (KNN Bureau)