Five things to know about Flipkart's Big Billion Days sale 2016

The clash of the ecommerce titans in October is set to be a win-win situation for the consumers. Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal are the prominent players in the e-commerce market.

The discount sales are the most anticipated events in the online marketplace, with people spending on household, electronics and other products, creating huge business opportunities for online and offline retailers during the festive season.

We take a look at how Flipkart aims to use its 'Big Billion Day sale' to fight for the leadership position in the Indian e-commerce market.

Fashion segment

Fashion will be the key segment for Flipkart, through which the e-tailer expects to counter the effect of huge investment announced by Amazon. Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos committed $3 billion in June 2016 for its Indian operations. Market leader Myntra, Flipkart's fashion arm, in August 2016 acquired online fashion place Jabong from Snapdeal this year. Now, Myntra and Jabong are estimated to earn Rs 400-500 crore in revenue per month.

Buy-Now-Pay-Later scheme

Flipkart is expected to unveil the scheme in the October Big Billion Day (BBD) sale and is said to be in talks with lenders to arrange pre-approved loans for consumers. The move will give Flipkart a big edge over its competitors Amazon and Snapdeal. It will be interesting to see how much interest the buyers have to pay on loans if any. Whether Flipkart opts to adjust the interest payment with the final product price or bears the interest charges itself will also decide impact of the move on the company's revenue figures and popularity of the scheme.

Staggered BBD sale

The 'Big Billion Day' sale is likely to be organised in installments in October. The move will ensure better and timely service to its consumers. In 2014, the sale also saw mismanagement of large number of orders and hence confusion among buyers. The e tailer, it seems, wants smooth operations of sale this time with its staggered BBD sale.

Raising stock of products

Flipkart is putting in largescale efforts to raise its stock of products ahead of the sale. The BBD sale will start after Shradh, a 16 lunar day period in Hindu calender when Hindus pay homage to their ancestors. Buying clothes, equipments and other products is forbidden during this period. The Shradh ends on October 1. Hence, retailers are likely to see a jump in demand of household  products, luxury items and electronic appliances among others.  

Re 1  sale

The firm is likely to bring back its Re 1 offer, launched during the first big-billion day sale. Under the special offer, expensive products and accessories are sold in a flash sale at Re 1 for limited number of hours during a day.