Fashion and accessories dominated e-commerce sales in 2024, contributing a staggering 30% of the total order volume, followed by beauty, wellness, and personal care products at 19%, according to a report by Unicommerce, an e-commerce enabler company.

Casual and western wear remained customer favorites within the fashion segment, while beauty products such as face and body washes, moisturizers, and sunscreens topped their category. Other popular items included health supplements and sunglasses.

The report highlighted significant growth in online shopping from Tier-3 cities, which outpaced other regions in order volume growth.

Travel accessories, including backpacks, laptop sleeves, and motorcycle gear, saw an extraordinary 200% surge. Watches recorded a 100% increase in sales, while books and gaming accessories grew by 85% and 60%, respectively.

E-commerce platforms offered deeper discounts in 2024, ranging from 15% to 30%, compared to 10% to 25% in 2023. This pricing strategy was most evident in high-volume categories such as fashion, beauty, and FMCG products.

Average Order Values (AoV) also increased across categories, with FMCG products seeing a 17% rise, from ₹450+ in 2023 to ₹530+ in 2024. Electronics and home appliances experienced a 12% jump, while home décor showed a similar upward trend.

Customer satisfaction showed improvement as the return rate for customer-initiated orders dropped from 10% in 2023 to 7.8% in 2024. However, Return to Origin (RTO) rates—reflecting undeliverable orders—rose slightly from 6.2% to 7.3%.

Prepaid orders accounted for 62% of total transactions, with significantly lower return rates (10%) compared to Cash on Delivery (CoD) orders, which saw a 24% return rate.

Omnichannel retail solutions saw growing adoption, with a 40% increase in stores implementing such technology.

Ship-from-store order volumes also rose by 50%, indicating stronger integration between physical and online retail

(Inputs from ANI)