The consumer goods giant ITC was able to increase its online channel rapidly in the fiscal year 2022–2023 by capitalising on the post–Covid-19 surge of rising online purchases, supported by solid e-commerce platforms. ITC’s e-commerce sales increased faster than the market average, according to data from its most recent annual report.

The company reports that e-commerce revenues increased quickly and were around five times higher than in FY20. As a result, during the year, more than 10% of its packaged food and personal care sales were generated through online channels.

“ITC’s collaborations with leading e-Commerce platforms on all aspects of operations viz. category development, marketing, supply chain and customer acquisition has enabled it to significantly scale up sales in this channel. This was augmented by development of exclusive and relevant pack assortments, driving ‘Digital First’ brands and enabling platform discoverability through jointly curated campaigns. Joint Business Plans, built and executed in close co-ordination with e-Commerce platforms, coupled with account specific strategies further consolidated the market standing of ITC in this channel,” the company noted.

Consumers in urban marketplaces kept gravitating towards modern trade and e-commerce throughout the year, which led to stronger growth from the two channels. On the basis of socioeconomic factors and market potential, ITC proceeded to implement market-specific measures in rural markets to improve direct coverage.

ITC increased the network of its rural stockists by 20% year over year in FY23 in order to further strengthen its position in the general trade, which includes neighbourhood kirana stores.