ONCE bitten, twice shy. Not to be outdone by any technical or logistical glitches, as were experienced by some e-tailers last year, major e-com players are gearing up for a smooth and hassle-free sale this festive season.
To avoid any re-run of last year’s embarrassment, Flipkart—which is running its Big Billion Days sale from October 13 to 17 this year—has developed a better infrastructure and app stack to handle much bigger sales this year. “We have more efficient machines as compared to last time. The in-house teams, with better architects, will maintain a seamless machine management system,” says Ankit Nagori, chief business officer, Flipkart.
On the logistical front, Flipkart is readying up its supply chain support with a robust team of close to 20,000 delivery boys to ensure efficient delivery. “We have ramped up the number of fulfillment centres from 13 to 16 this year. We have also started implementing the automation technology to pick and move packages to designated picking stations,” Nagori adds.
This year, Flipkart’s festive sale will run over five days, instead of one. Also, it’s happening exclusively on the app.
Another major change is that Flipkart has completely moved to a marketplace model. What this means is that over 40,000 registered sellers from India will be selling over a million products across over 70 categories.
Fashion and lifestyle major Myntra will also run the Big Billion Days sale for five days, with over two lakh styles especially curated for consumers at discounts of up to 60%, as per Ananth Narayanan, CEO, Myntra.
Not to be left behind, Amazon India is also going to hold its festive sale from October 13 to October 17. But, unlike Flipkart, Amazon has not restricted its sale to app only.
Expecting the traffic to grow multifold, Amazon India is gearing up to give its customers a smooth experience. “With the launch of eight new fulfillment centres recently, we now have 21 in all, spread across 10 states and covering an area of 2 million sq ft with a storage capacity of 5 million cubic ft,” says Samir Kumar, VP, category management, Amazon India.
After kicking off the festive season with its ‘Preview Monday Sale’ on September 28, Snapdeal is all set to bring together a focused set of mega deals for consumers every Monday across different categories, where consumers can look forward to extraordinary offers and discounts. “Snapdeal will also have great offers running through the month until Diwali,” says Rahul Taneja, vice-president, category management, Snapdeal. Its next in the series is the
‘Electronics Monday Sale’ on October 12.
Get set, go
Here’s a quick checklist before you embark on an e-shopping spree…
* Download the e-tailer’s app on your mobile. That way, you can shop on the go. If you are already using the app, keep an eye on upgrades
* Ready your wish-list. Make sure you put all desirable items in the cart before the sale begins
* Be at a Wi-Fi hotspot and make sure you have good connectivity so that you can get to the deals faster
