Flipkart’s Big Billion Day Lifts Parent Walmart’s Q4 Sales, But Profit Margin Takes A Hit

Flipkart’s annual Big Billion Day sales helped lift US retail major Walmart’s international sales growth in the quarter ending January (Q4).

Flipkart’s Big Billion Days, which took place in October last year, was the largest ever and saw around 1.4 Bn customers visiting the eight-day event (8-15), John David Rainey of Flipkart said in an earnings call.

However, the timing of Flipkart’s Big Billion Days was a partial offset to gross margins, Rainey said.

The primary drivers of international sales growth for Walmart are India’s Flipkart, Mexico’s Walmex and China. These three markets are anticipated to contribute to roughly three-quarters of international growth in the coming years.

“In India, Flipkart’s growth continues to compound in the double digits, while PhonePe is now processing more than 6 Bn monthly transactions and has reached 1.4 Tn in annual total payment volume, about 40% higher than 1 year ago,” Rainey said.

Walmart owns both Flipkart and PhonePe.

Flipkart said earlier that it witnessed strong seller growth during the big billion days sale. As per Flipkart, transacting sellers saw a 2.5X increase in their business, compared to the pre-festive period.

According to the company, it saw a 4X surge in engagement for new in-app features like Flippi (Chat GPT-based shopping assistant), Vibes (video-led browsing experience,) and SPOYL (GenZ fashion experience), compared to before the festive season sales.

However, Flipkart is yet to reach profitability in India. In FY22, Flipkart Internet, the ecommerce giant’s marketplace arm, reported a 1.5X YoY surge in its net loss to INR 4,361 Cr.

Meanwhile, PhonePe’s consolidated net loss rose 39% to INR 2,795.3 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from INR 2,013.7 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

PhonePe has been on an expansion spree lately, launching multiple new offerings, including separate apps for ecommerce (Pincode) and investment tech (Share.Market) and also its own apps store, Indus Appstore.

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