MAM
Festival season will be the golden quarter for ecommerce players: Criteo Report
New Delhi: Criteo has released its Holiday Report 2020 highlighting key trends in the online e-commerce industry in the much-awaited festive season including Rakshabandhan, Big Billion days and Diwali. The report highlights the top trends observed for the highly thriving e-commerce market in India. Criteo regards this as the ‘Golden Quarter’ of 2020 as e-commerce clocks significantly high growth.
Overcoming such unprecedented times, online retail is back to pre-Covid2019 numbers, and steadily growing upwards since then. As 2020 sales are increasing progressively; 2019 data provides relevant context and describes the strong seasonality expected in the coming weeks. According to the report, there has been a 28 per cent year-on-year increase in the overall online retail sales.
Criteo MD southeast Asia and India Taranjeet Singh said, “During these trying times, the Indian e-commerce industry has been on a steady upward growth trajectory showcasing a gradual shift of consumers towards e-commerce websites for purchases. Consumers have moved onto a stage where purchasing online has become their daily routine in order to fulfil all their demands for food, beverages and festive gifting. Expanding businesses on e-commerce platforms is the need of the hour. This golden quarter signals a revival in demand and consumer sentiment at large on ecommerce platforms.”
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With the festive season around the corner, the daily sales of flowers, gifts, food and beverages increase manifold. Individually flowers and gifting categories witness a boost in their numbers by more than 343 per cent in August 2019, compared to its average in July.
Additionally, statistics according to Criteo Holiday report reveal 70 per cent increase in sales in the food & beverage category observed during the festival of Raksha Bandhan.
During the time of Big Billion Days on Flipkart, overall, retail sales were up 39 per cent showcasing an average of 27 per cent for the entire week compared to average in August 2019. As traffic generates more sales the conversion rates remain above usual as sales increase more than traffic during the four weeks leading to Big Billion Days. The report quotes that for every 1,000 visitors to Indian retailers, there are significantly more transactions than usual. The week of Big Billion Days represents e-commerce traffic increased by 19 per cent, followed by a sharp rise in sales (+27 per cent).
As people spend most of their time at home, especially during the most anticipated festival like Diwali; the share of transactions completed on app increased consistently before and following the festival in 2019, with an acceleration of In-App sales just before the event.
For all retail combined, during the weeks following Diwali, sales remain 6-8 per cent above average in August with a 32 per cent increase in sales in the food & beverage category. This festival of Diwali also marks the onset of the travel season with an uplift of bookings to 16 per cent in the week following Diwali.
Brands
Jubilant FoodWorks faces Rs 47.5 crore GST demand, plans appeal
Tax authorities flag alleged misclassification of restaurant services
MUMBAI:Â Jubilant FoodWorks Limited has landed in a tax tussle after receiving a GST demand of Rs 47.5 crore from the office of the additional commissioner of CGST and central excise in Thane, Maharashtra.
The order, issued under the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, relates to an alleged incorrect classification of certain services under the category of restaurant services. According to the tax authorities, this classification resulted in a short payment of goods and services tax for the period between the financial years 2019-20 and 2021-22.
The demand includes Rs 47.5 crore in GST along with an equal amount as penalty, in addition to applicable interest. The order was received by the company on March 13, 2026.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, the company said it disagrees with the order and believes its arguments were not adequately considered.
The company is preparing to challenge the decision and plans to file an appeal. It added that once the redressal process is complete, the demand is likely to be dropped.
Despite the sizeable figure attached to the notice, the company said it does not expect any material impact on its financials, operations or other activities.
The disclosure was signed by Suman Hegde, EVP and chief financial officer, who confirmed that the company received the order at 19:06 IST on March 13 and has already initiated steps to contest it.
The development places the quick service restaurant major in the middle of a tax debate that could hinge on how certain restaurant-linked services are classified under GST rules. For now, the company appears ready to take the matter from the tax office to the appeals desk.
