Launched by Flipkart as a fashion sub-category in September 2013, jewellery is set to top the bracket within three years of its rollout.
Jewellery sales on Flipkart has witnessed 10-times growth since January 2015, with earrings, rings, pendants, bangles, chains and necklaces emerging as top sellers. It is expected to top the category by mid- 2016.
“We have nearly 5 lakh pieces of jewellery and over 1,000 sellers of both artificial and precious jewellery from all over the country on our platform,” Rishi Vasudev, Vice-President - Fashion at Flipkart, told BusinessLine .
“We saw a massive spike in sales during Valentine’s Day, Akshaya Trithiya, Rakshabandhan and Dhanteras. Precious jewellery is a major growth driver and focus area for us, and we plan to triple our selection by March next year.”
Pointing out that jewellery worn by Bollywood stars are huge influencers for shoppers, he said: “Rajasthani maang tikkas have been flying off our shelves after the release of Salman Khan blockbuster Prem Ratan Dhan Payo .
“Similarly, during the release of Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela and Bajrangi Bhaijaan , we saw a sharp rise in sales of chand baalis (worn by Deepika Padukone) and mace pendants (worn by Salman Khan). And post Bajirao Mastani ’s trailer release, the Marathi nath has been one of our top selling products.”
At first, the selection offered on Flipkart was predominantly artificial jewellery, priced up to ₹20,000, resulting in an average basket size of ₹1,500-3,000.
With several big national and regional jewellery brands on board, the average basket size of precious jewellery is seeing significant increases.
Flipkart features offline jewellery giants, such as Malabar Gold, Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri, PN Gadgil, Mehrasons and PC Jewellers, as well as online players like Caratlane and Bluestone.
With Flipkart’s move to roll out jewellery upwards of ₹50,000 on its platform next month, the average basket size of precious jewellery, which is at ₹10,000-12,000 currently, is expected to increase substantially. “We will have most of the large offline national/regional brands on board, over the next few months.
“We are also targeting to bring traditional jewellery markets such as, Dariba Kalan of Delhi, Johari Bazaar of Jaipur and Zaveri Bazaar of Mumbai to the customer’s doorstep,” said Vasudev.
Popular gifting items that customers are buying on Flipkart are idol pendants, platinum bands and gold coins.
Smaller cities While metros contribute significantly to jewellery sales, Flipkart is seeing high growth from smaller cities like Lucknow, Coimbatore, Ludhiana and Mysore, where traditional jewellery like Kundan, temple and Punjabi chudas are very popular.
While many of the pure play e-commerce jewellery start-ups offer home trials, Flipkart doesn’t.
It also sticks to its standard delivery process.