Online retailers Flipkart, Amazon see festive boom

Flipkart and Amazon, India’s biggest online retailers, posted a robust performance during festive season sales, underscoring the revival of e-commerce in the country. Flipkart recorded a 70 per cent share of the entire Indian e-commerce market in the five-day Big Billion Days sale.

Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) was 80 per cent of last year whereas units grew doublefold year on year. Flipkart introduced the Big Billion Days sale in October 2014. For Amazon, the Great Indian Festival exceeded targets. The event surpassed expectations in terms of scale and size but also pushed penetration in the broad base of India. Across all categories, Amazon exceeded its most aggressive plans. Eighty per cent of Amazon’s new customers came from small towns and its Prime member sign-ups surged nearly three times.

Overall, online retail surged more than 60 per cent during the five-day event. The industry witnessed higher growth this time compared to last year. This was driven by multiple drivers, key being a larger shopper base from Tier II cities. Affordability and loyalty schemes introduced by e-tailing players also played a huge role in converting visitors into shoppers. The online festive season sale in India is inspired by the Singles Day event in China and Cyber Monday in the US.