New Delhi: Snapdeal on Tuesday said it will spend over ₹ 200 crore on a 360-degree campaign over the next 60 days, in the run up to the Diwali festival, which is considered to be one of the busiest seasons for e-commerce firms.

The new campaign will be launched next month on television, YouTube, print, digital and social media and will also be seen outdoors on billboards and external installations.

It is designed to drive traffic and increase consumer awareness about the exciting festive season offers that will be hosted by brand partners and lakhs of sellers on Snapdeal, it said in a statement.

While the company did not disclose the amount spent in marketing during the previous Diwali campaign, it said the amount was less than ₹ 200 crore.

Snapdeal did not comment on the marketing spend for the entire financial year.

E-commerce companies remained cautious when it came to advertising during the first half of 2016.

As per a data from AdEx India, a division of TAM Media Research, the overall share of business-to-consumer or B2C e-commerce firms in TV advertising (by volume) declined to 2.49% this year (as of 18 June) from 3.18% in the first half of 2015 (January-June). In print, it reduced to 1.25% from 1.29%, Mint reported last month (read here).

“Diwali is the most relevant shopping season in India and we have decided to leverage this opportunity to strengthen our distinct position in consumers’ mind. It is not just advertising, but our whole ecosystem is gearing for the season. Our platform and logistics are geared to handle huge surges as India gets into the festive spirit, while our sellers are readying their stocks to offer the best assortment and choices to our consumers," said Kanika Kalra, vice president marketing at Snapdeal.

Snapdeal is planning to scale up its in-house fulfilment unit Vulcan Express and has started last-mile deliveries—delivering to customers—using Vulcan’s logistics fleet, Mint reported earlier this month. On 2 August, Snapdeal also announced the start of six new logistics hubs across the National Capital Region, Lucknow, Hyderabad and Kolkata, owned by Vulcan.

The marketing investments, while timed with the festive season, are also part of a longer term effort to create a distinctive positioning for Snapdeal, the company said. It however did not share any specific targets in terms of sales during this season.

Online retailers are also starting their discounting plans this month in order to bounce back after two quarters of falling sales, Mint reported on 4 August (read here).

Online retail sales dipped to an annualized $12 billion in June, compared with $13 billion in March and $15 billion in December, according to estimates by research and advisory firm RedSeer Management Consulting.

Snapdeal last raised $200 million ( ₹ 1,334 crore) in February, in a round led by Canada’s Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Venture capital fund Iron Pillar and other investors also participated in the round.

Founded in 2010 by Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal as a deals site, Snapdeal is promoted by New Delhi-based Jasper Infotech Pvt. Ltd.

The company has more than 300,000 sellers and over 50 million products across 1000 categories. It currently delivers goods to more than 6,000 cities and towns in India.

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.

Share Via