~Key growth drivers: Accelerated online shift of automobile buying and selling and changing customer preferences to vehicle ownership vs. ride-share or public transportation~
Owing to the enormous demand for contactless buying in the automobile segment, Droom\u2014India\u2019s largest online automobile marketplace has registered 80% growth Y\/Y in Q1 of 2021. For the first time, Droom has crossed Rs. 1000 crores in monthly GMV in March\u201921.
Witnessing one of its best quarters since the pandemic\u2019s onset, Droom\u2019s recent growth can be attributed to multiple factors including accelerated shift of automobile buying and selling online, improved supply with supply chains opening post Lockdown in the last quarter, lower prices of inventory, and an increased consumer preference towards vehicle ownership as opposed to ridesharing or using public transport due to safety reasons.
Commenting on the platform\u2019s growth, Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder and CEO of Droom, said, \u201cWe are thrilled to share that Droom has recorded 80% Y\/Y growth in Q1 of 2021. Droom\u2019s growth trajectory from last year has been steadily rising after Covid led turbulence in the business. While automobile is the largest retail category and least penetrated online, automobile buying and selling is now shifting online in a more rapid manner post Covid. Almost all large decisions or large transactions of human life e.g., looking for life partner, taking admission in university or buying home or changing job are shifting online and automobile buying, and selling is no longer an exception.
He further stated, \u201cWe have spent last seven years and hundreds of millions of dollars in building not only the world’s first pure play online marketplace for automobile but also the entire ecosystem of first mile, mid mile, and last mile services to enable the shift of automobile buying and selling online. We also plan to continue our expansion in Southeast Asia, Middle East, and Africa once the ongoing second wave of the pandemic subsides.\u201d
Droom expects Q2-CY2021 to be up in three digits Y\/Y due to the weak comparison of last year\u2019s first wave of Covid, when the entire supply chain halted for four months from April to July. While the second wave of Covid was significantly worse than first, the used automobile industry stayed robust and the entire ecosystem had many lessons from last year and remains strong and well prepared.
Prior to the pandemic, Droom had expanded its footprint to countries such as Thailand and
Malaysia with its used vehicle pricing engine OBV (Orange Book Value) is now being available in 38 countries.
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