In Just 4 Days, Amazon, Flipkart Overtakes Last Year’s Festive Sales Figures

India’s largest ecommerce platforms Amazon and Flipkart have together raked in $3.5 Bn (INR 26K Cr) during the first four days of their festive season sales, surpassing last year’s $3 Bn. 

According to a Redseer report published last year, both these platforms made up for almost 90% of the overall ecommerce sales during the gifting season. But Flipkart had overtaken Amazon by a huge margin. 

The Walmart-owned ecommerce giant reportedly stood at INR 1.9K versus INR 1.4K on Amazon. Flipkart led with a 64% share of the combined gross sales, while Amazon continued to show a higher net promoter score (NPS) which gauges customer loyalty. While it is not clear which company will lead the ecosystem with the highest festive season sale, the sales are definitely set to raise the bar.

According to industry consultants Forrester Research and RedSeer Consulting, the cumulative sales by the two ecommerce giants this year would be around $4.7 Bn on an average for the entire festive season sale period between October 15 to October 22. 

The festive season sale of 2020 may notice even a greater spike, in terms of users, this year as the pandemic has facilitated digital adoption. According to Redseers estimates, Covid-driven digital adoption will add 30 Mn-40 Mn new online shoppers in the whole of 2020. This will be an addition to the 130 Mn online shoppers that were recorded in 2019.

Compared to last year, the shoppers are also expected to increase by 70%. Almost 40-50% of the shoppers are expected to come from Tier II and beyond cities, 20-25% from Tier II, and nearly 30-35% from metro cities.

In the first three days of festive season sales between October 16 to 19, ecommerce platforms Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal noticed a greater role of small retailers in facilitating the sales. 

Over 300K (3 Lakh) sellers on Flipkart have catered to the needs of more than 250 Mn costumes across India. Of this, nearly 60% or 180K sellers were from Tier II and beyond regions.

About 65% of the orders are going to sellers on Snapdeal in areas beyond the country’s metropolitan cities. For Amazon, 91% of new customers registered in the first two days of the sale were from small towns. Nearly 5,000 sellers clocked sales worth INR 10 Lakh.