E-commerce giant Flipkart said it has recorded 1.4 billion customer visits over the eight days of its festive sale, with sellers seeing 2.5x growth in their businesses as compared to usual business days.
Flipkart’s Big Billion Days sale began on 8th October, with early access available to its premium members since the day before. Early data from rival e-commerce sites such as Amazon and Meesho, which hosted their festive sale events last week, also indicate a significant surge in consumer demand.
Flipkart said its top-selling products came from categories such as televisions, audio devices, smartphones and grooming products. “Choices in Smartphones, Laptops, Tablets and Home Appliances indicate a strong premiumisation trend PAN-India this year,” the company said in a media statement.
The highest demand for 4K televisions and small appliances such as juicer mixers and electric kettles came from Bangalore, Hyderabad and New Delhi. While demand for premium QLED televisions saw a 3x increase when compared to last year, sales of large screen televisions grew by 2x.
Both Flipkart and Amazon are known to offer heavy discounts on electronics, notably smartphones, during the festive season. Flipkart said four out of five smartphones purchased during the sale were 5G-enabled, while the overall premium smartphone segment recorded 1.7x growth in sales over last year. The platform also saw a 50% rise in the number of shoppers who bought a smartphone using the exchange option.
To afford large-ticket items, 50% more shoppers opted for the no-cost EMI option compared to last year. Flipkart’s co-branded credit card with Axis Bank also recorded an 8x growth in overall spends and 4x growth in orders placed, when compared to the pre-festive period.
During the sale, 400,000 more shoppers opted for Flipkart’s Pay Later service, which is 4x more than last year’s sale, while EMI spends increased by 7x compared to usual days, the company said. This credit offering recorded 3.5 million transactions during the period.
The platform’s premium membership – Flipkart Plus- also recorded a 60% increase compared to last year’s sale. “Flipkart Fashion continued to play a key role in new customer acquisition with over 44% of new customers coming through this category,” the company said.
Among notable trends, the platform saw a growing preference for branded clothing from tier II cities, while fashion items in the Rs. 5000+ range saw an 8x growth across footwear, watches and accessories compared to the pre-festive period.
Sale of medicines recorded a 2.5x increase, with over 62% customers coming from tier II cities and beyond, the company said. Flipkart’s sale also offered discounts on flight tickets through ticketing platform Cleartrip.
“Trends observed on Cleartrip indicate that this festive season, Indians made air bookings to Dubai, Bangkok, Singapore, Colombo, and Phuket internationally; and Goa, Kochi, Jaipur were top domestic choices,” Flipkart said.