Amazon vs Flipkart: E-commerce giants gear for festive season battle
It's going to be raining deals and discounts next month as arch rivals Flipkart and Amazon kick off their flagship sales.
- Sep 28, 2018,
- Updated Sep 28, 2018 2:00 PM IST
Ready for the biggest festive showdown of the year? It's going to be raining deals and discounts next month as arch rivals Flipkart and Amazon kick off their flagship sales. Amazon India will launch its Great India Festival on October 10, the same day that Walmart-backed Flipkart kicks-off its Big Billion Days event. Interestingly, this is the first time that these sales will kick off on the same day, which is a huge plus for rate comparisons before splurging.
According to The Economic Times, the etailers plan to aggressively compete across categories with exclusive launches and cheaper deals during the five-day sales. The run up to Diwali is a crucial period for most e-commerce companies as customers tend to buy more during this season.
In addition, they will be offering a suite of payment options to customers as well as the promise of faster delivery. Both Amazon and Flipkart expect a bulk of the orders to come from towns and small cities this year.
"This year, we will have worked together with our ecosystem of sellers, partners and brands to get the best sellers in every category and across every price point," Manish Tiwary, vice-president of category management at Amazon India, told the daily, adding that he expects sales to rise many folds this year. However, he did not specify a target. Flipkart, meanwhile, expects gross sales from its Big Billion Days to double from last year to more than $1 billion (Rs 7,250 crore).
Analysts expect the competition between Amazon India and Flipkart to be even fiercer this season as both these companies have pumped in billions of rupees to improve their product offerings and logistic capabilities to ensure better customer services.
Flipkart, which is aiming at achieving 50% of all smartphone sales during the festive month, has recently pumped in Rs 3,463 crore into its online marketplace, Flipkart Internet. This is its biggest capital infusion since Walmart acquired a majority stake in the company. Amazon likewise pumped in Rs 2,700 crore into Amazon Seller Services in August.
Sources told the daily that the upcoming sale season will be particularly critical for Amazon. It will have to show growth and leadership in the Indian market since Wall Street will be watching the Silicon Valley giant's performance closely post the Walmart-Flipkart mega deal.
The company said that it has expanded its logistics capabilities by setting up more than 50 fulfilment centres across 13 states to cater to the coming spike in demand for the 170 million products offered on its platform by over 380,000 sellers.
About 20 million people are expected to shop on various e-commerce platforms during the festive sale next month, translating into sales of around $3 billion for players like Amazon and Flipkart, according to a report by research firm RedSeer.
Ready for the biggest festive showdown of the year? It's going to be raining deals and discounts next month as arch rivals Flipkart and Amazon kick off their flagship sales. Amazon India will launch its Great India Festival on October 10, the same day that Walmart-backed Flipkart kicks-off its Big Billion Days event. Interestingly, this is the first time that these sales will kick off on the same day, which is a huge plus for rate comparisons before splurging.
According to The Economic Times, the etailers plan to aggressively compete across categories with exclusive launches and cheaper deals during the five-day sales. The run up to Diwali is a crucial period for most e-commerce companies as customers tend to buy more during this season.
In addition, they will be offering a suite of payment options to customers as well as the promise of faster delivery. Both Amazon and Flipkart expect a bulk of the orders to come from towns and small cities this year.
"This year, we will have worked together with our ecosystem of sellers, partners and brands to get the best sellers in every category and across every price point," Manish Tiwary, vice-president of category management at Amazon India, told the daily, adding that he expects sales to rise many folds this year. However, he did not specify a target. Flipkart, meanwhile, expects gross sales from its Big Billion Days to double from last year to more than $1 billion (Rs 7,250 crore).
Analysts expect the competition between Amazon India and Flipkart to be even fiercer this season as both these companies have pumped in billions of rupees to improve their product offerings and logistic capabilities to ensure better customer services.
Flipkart, which is aiming at achieving 50% of all smartphone sales during the festive month, has recently pumped in Rs 3,463 crore into its online marketplace, Flipkart Internet. This is its biggest capital infusion since Walmart acquired a majority stake in the company. Amazon likewise pumped in Rs 2,700 crore into Amazon Seller Services in August.
Sources told the daily that the upcoming sale season will be particularly critical for Amazon. It will have to show growth and leadership in the Indian market since Wall Street will be watching the Silicon Valley giant's performance closely post the Walmart-Flipkart mega deal.
The company said that it has expanded its logistics capabilities by setting up more than 50 fulfilment centres across 13 states to cater to the coming spike in demand for the 170 million products offered on its platform by over 380,000 sellers.
About 20 million people are expected to shop on various e-commerce platforms during the festive sale next month, translating into sales of around $3 billion for players like Amazon and Flipkart, according to a report by research firm RedSeer.