The e-commerce industry in Sri Lanka has seen a rapid development over the last year, with a large percentage of shoppers venturing on to the digital platform according to survey results of Daraz e-commerce Index.
An increase in confidence on available products and online payment gateways have supported the change of perception towards e-commerce.
As the one of the largest online marketplace in Sri Lanka, Daraz specifically saw an immense growth in terms of online orders. Collating data from their own platform, Daraz released an e-commerce index indicate a 1.5X YoY growth of active users with a 2.5X growth in number of orders last year.
The Western province owns the largest online order share with 50% whilst Central and North Western provinces follow with 10% and 9% order shares respectively. Colombo and Gampaha lead the District wise order share with 31% in the former and 15% in the latter. However, there is an indication of an expansion towards developing towns such as Kurunegala, Kaluthara and Gampaha.
The shoppers fall into 3 broad categories with diverse shopping behavior. The ‘young online shoppers’ within the age of 18 to 24 years are Recreational shoppers who enjoy shopping for the latest trends. They are tech savvy, loyal to brands, and less price conscious. The ‘well informed shopper’ consists of the age category 25 – 30 years, whose decisions are affected by quality and reliability.
Those within the age group of 31 to 35 years make the ‘settled adult shoppers’ who shop according to the needs and stay within their budget. They are quality conscious, less experimental and expect fast delivery. The Daraz e-commerce index uses two metrics; the percentage share of total net merchandizes value and the percentage share of orders. In 2019 the average order value has increased by 27.27%. In terms of category, LED TVs, Audio/Video, and Gaming Consoles has continuously maintained its growth with Health and Beauty products online coming a close second.
All categories show an increase in both sales revenue and order numbers in November and December. The local online shopper thus follows global trends, indicating a positive direction for e-commerce.
Electronics and fashion related products are the most searched items online. Mobile phones, smart watches, power banks, blue tooth speakers and laptops and notebooks lead the category while handbags and shoes are the most searched for fashion items.
During the lockdown, the public began to shift on to the digital platform more than ever before. Purchases in the FMCG category has doubled in March 2020 and is expected to grow from 20% to 70%.
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