E-commerce major Flipkart on Thursday said it will launch its nine-day annual festive season sale on October 8 but will provide early access to its paid users a day earlier. This will be the 10th edition of The Big Billion Days (TBBD) in the company’s business journey of 15 years.
Similarly, e-commerce giant Amazon has said its Great Indian Festival Sale will begin on October 8. Like always, the Amazon Prime members will get early access to the sale, on October 7 midnight.
“The Big Billion Days 2023 will be live for every shopper from 8 to 15 October, with early access for Plus customers on 7 October,” Flipkart said in a statement. Flipkart’s competitor Amazon India has also announced to start of its festive season sale “Great Indian Festival” on October 8.
Flipkart Group firm Myntra and Softbank-backed Meesho have not announced any dates for their festive season sales but both players are expected to start sales in the first week of October.
Flipkart said that it has seen 27 per cent growth in sellers and expects over 14 lakh entrepreneurs, including Flipkart Samarth sellers, encompassing artisans, weavers, women, and self-help groups (SHGs), to participate in the Big Billion Days.
“The Big Billion Days this year is a special one, not just for Flipkart, but for the entire ecosystem, as we step into this milestone 10th year,” Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said.
The company plans to introduce several new technology-based features during the TBBD including Generative AI technology in the form of conversational assistant, ‘Flippi’ to guide customers, augmented and virtual reality feature to visualise products in real life etc.
It will introduce a one-to-one video assistance feature, that will enable customers to have real-time video conversations with sales associates for personalised recommendations.
The Walmart group has partnered with ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank to offer discounts on purchases. It will also provide a credit facility of up to Rs 1 lakh through Flipkart Pay Later to customers.
“Personal loans of up to Rs 5 lakh at an interest rate of 12.5 per cent per annum can be availed by customers from the Banking partners on the platform,” Flipkart said.
According to a market research firm Redseer Strategy Consultants, Flipkart led the first phase of festive season sales in 2022 with a 62 per cent share in terms of gross merchandise value followed by Amazon with a GMV of around 26 per cent share.
E-commerce companies were estimated to have generated a total sale of around Rs 40,000 crore during the first phase of the festive season sales.
A recent report by the market research firm projects online sales during the upcoming festive season to grow by 18-20 per cent and touch Rs 90,000 crore this year.
(With Inputs from PTI)
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