The festive season has kicked off to a strong start for e-commerce companies such as Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, Meesho, and Snapdeal, with estimates suggesting that the growth over last year’s sales is higher by around 22%.
These platforms initiated their festival season sales over the weekend. Flipkart’s Big Billion Days (TBBD) began on October 8 and will continue until October 15, with early access for Plus customers starting on October 7.
Similarly, Amazon launched its month-long flagship festive sale, the Great Indian Festival (GIF), on October 8, with Prime members gaining access on October 7. Meesho, backed by Softbank, kicked off its Mega Blockbuster Sale on October 6, running until October 13.
“Each year, festive season sales break new records in terms of order volumes. Even smaller sellers have embraced technology and increased their inventory to meet the growing consumer demand. As a technology provider to thousands of these companies, we are committed to offering them a robust tech platform that enables them to efficiently manage the surge in orders and improve order processing, to enhance customer experience,” said Kapil Makhija, CEO of Unicommerce.
“In just the first three days, we have seen customers spending more than 100 million hours shopping on Meesho, with categories such as footwear, fashion accessories as well as home & kitchen garnering more than 15 orders per second,” said a Meesho spokesperson.
According to Meesho, more than 80% of orders originate from tier 2+ cities in India, such as Dhanbad, Chittorgarh, Erode, Jabalpur, Kurnool, Tezpur, and Vapi. The company reported that small businesses on the platform are witnessing significant growth during the festive sale event, with more than 30,000 sellers experiencing over twice growth in orders. Top-selling products include sarees, watches, Bluetooth headphones, and toys.
Flipkart’s transacting sellers saw a substantial increase in their business, with the number of orders placed during early access and the first day of the sale.
Lifestyle sellers on the marketplace experienced a ten times growth in orders compared to the pre-festive period, followed by furniture and electronics with eight times and seven times growth, respectively. Flipkart has over 1.4 million sellers participating in The Big Billion Days.
Flipkart’s service arm, Jeeves, which offers end-to-end post-purchase solutions to businesses and customers, completed over 10,000 installations during early access and the first day of the sale, with televisions being the most installed appliance during these two days.
Arief Mohamad, VP – customer growth and loyalty, Flipkart, said, “Through innovative technology, diverse affordable payment options, and a truly accessible marketplace, we continue to redefine the shopping experience for millions of customers in India.”
Amazon India reported its biggest-ever 48 hours of shopping with a record 95 million customer visits. It noted that Prime members’ shopping spiked 18 times in the first 24 hours of Prime early access compared to average daily purchases, making it the highest ever.
“Our customer transactions and orders were the highest ever for Amazon.in, along with highest seller participation, and most product launches from top brands,” said Manish Tiwary, vice president & country manager, India Consumer Business, Amazon.