SMBs, Tier-2 cities drive e-commerce festive sales

Ecommerce majors Amazon and Flipkart have reported unprecedented response for their festive sales events during the first three days. Amazon said over 1.1 lakh sellers have received orders, about 66% of them from non-metros, while Flipkart said 60% of its 3 lakh sellers were from Tier-2 cities.

Flipkart's The Big Billion Days (TBBD) and Amazon India's The Great Indian Festival sales commenced on October 16.

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On Amazon's platform, over 5,000 sellers clocked sales worth Rs 10 lakh in SMB pre-festive sales during the first 48 hours of the festival. Prime continues to be a favourite of its customers as it witnessed 85% more new sign ups compared to Prime Early Access last year with more than 66% of new sign-ups coming from Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns.

Samsung, Apple, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Asus, Lenovo, HP, LG, Whirlpool, Bajaj Appliances, and Eureka Forbes were among the brands that saw their biggest 48 hours ever on Amazon.in, the company said in a statement.

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"We are humbled how sellers, brands and ecosystem partners nationwide have come together during these unprecedented times to spread joy across the country," Manish Tiwary, Vice President, Amazon India said.

Customers experienced the Great Indian Festival in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada, Amazon said.

More than 1.10 lakh sellers received an order on Amazon.in and 66% of all sellers who received an order were from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities such as Yadgir in Karnataka, Virudhunagar in Tamil Nadu and Lakhisarai in Bihar.

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On Flipkart, the seller’s reach has expanded by 20% this year totalling up to 3,000+ pin codes. In just about two days of TBBD 2020, marketplace sellers have witnessed growth that they saw during the six days of TBBD 2019.

In the first two days of TBBD 2020 (16 -17 October) both Flipkart Wholesale and the Best Price (cash-and-carry) stores witnessed over 35,000 retailers and 18,000 Kiranas operating in categories such as fashion, fashion accessories and groceries joining the festivities.

With over 95% of products locally sourced, the demand came from cities such as Agra, Mysuru, Karimnagar, Kurnool, Meerut, Amravati, Bhopal, and Amritsar among others.

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During the first 72 hours, Flipkart’s online sales event has been a huge catalyst to the Digital India campaign with over 60% increase in digital payment transactions in comparison to non-festive event days.