The mid-year sales are increasingly becoming an important marker for consumer demand
E-commerce players have kicked off the mid-year online shopping season with mixed results across categories, underscoring resilient demand for premium products even as consumers remain cautious on overall spending ahead of the festive season.While smartphones, electronics and home appliances continued to account for the bulk of sales value, average order values (AOVs) remained subdued as shoppers sought discounts and promotional offers, according to industry analysts.“The value growth, a significant chunk of value growth comes from your smartphone category because the average selling price is on the higher side. But volume-wise, other categories are also doing well,” said Sathish Meena, Founder of Datum Intelligence. He added that “AOVs remain muted because everyone is looking for better deals and brands are also giving discounts.”According to Meena, the mid-year sales are increasingly becoming an important marker for consumer demand, although they still trail the festive season in scale.Sales event“The festive one is the biggest one. Apart from the Big Billion Days and the Great Indian Festival, this is the other named sales event that customers look forward to,” he said, noting that shoppers now increasingly recognise these events as opportunities to purchase newly-launched products at attractive prices.Amazon, which concluded its 10th Prime Day sale earlier this week, said the event was its fastest ever. In cities where Amazon Now is available, one in every two deal items was delivered within minutes, while same-day deliveries rose more than threefold compared with last year’s Prime Day. More than 70 per cent of new Prime memberships came from tier-II and tier-III cities, highlighting continued demand beyond metropolitan markets.The company also said premiumisation remained a key trend during the sale. Premium beauty products grew three times year-on-year, premium televisions doubled, premium travel luggage rose 1.5 times, while AI-enabled PCs accounted for one in five Windows laptops sold during the event. Nearly half of Amazon Now orders comprised non-grocery products such as cameras and personal care appliances, signalling expanding use cases for rapid delivery.Despite the growing presence of quick commerce, analysts believe its impact on marquee sale events remains limited for now.“Quick commerce is more on categories which are day-to-day needs,” Meena said. “Amazon Now is still expanding. Customers are gradually exploring the pricing and convenience it offers, but it is still work in progress.”He added that electronics, home appliances, beauty and personal care, and home decor continue to dominate sale events, while FMCG remains a relatively smaller contributor during such promotions.The performance of these mid-year sales is being closely watched by brands and online retailers as an early indicator of consumer sentiment ahead of the crucial festive shopping season, which typically accounts for the largest share of annual e-commerce sales.Published on July 10, 2026
