Clash of titans: Amazon, Flipkart change their mega festival sale to the same date

The two big e-commerce players in India, Amazon India and the Walmart-owned Flipkart have sharpened the market-place rivalry. 

Amazon India, which had earlier announced its flagship Great Indian Festival sale to October 4, has now moved it to October 3. As it happens, its archrival Flipkart had earlier advanced its own Big Billion Days sale from October 7 to October 3.

Both the biggies zeroing in on the same date for their respective prestigious sale events makes it clear how crucial is this festival season for both of them. 

In general, according to market research reports, the month-long festival sale across major e-commerce platforms is expected to generate a total gross merchandise value (GMV) of around $9 billion.

Flipkart will have its Big Billion Days sale for eight days – it ends on October 10. Amazon has not announced the closing date for its sale event.

Over 1000 new product launches on Amazon.in

Amazon.in, in a press release, said ‘The Great Indian Festival’ (GIF) 2021, which will start from October 3, is “dedicated to lakhs of small sellers including over 75,000 local shops from 450 cities, offering their unique selection of products to customers across the country. GIF 2021 will also showcase products from Amazon sellers under various other programs such as Amazon Launchpad, Amazon Saheli, Amazon Karigar, as well as top Indian and global brands across categories.”

In all, the Amazon sale will see over 850,000 sellers participate and 1,000 product launches across categories. 

The Great Indian Festival would include over new product launches from top brands such as Samsung, OnePlus, Xiaomi, Sony, Apple, Boat, Lenovo, HP, Asus, Fossil, Eureka Forbes, Bosch, Sony PS5,  Microsoft Xbox, Philips, and more.

Further, customers can shop in languages of their choice including English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada and the newly launched Bangla and Marathi.

Amazon India has created more than 110,000 seasonal job opportunities across its operations network. The company has expanded its fulfilment network by increasing its storage capacity by 40% with more than 60 fulfilment centers in 15 states offering a 43 million cubic feet to its sellers. It also ramped up its delivery infrastructure.

Like with most of the sales on Amazon, the Amazon Prime members will get early access to all the deals during the sale. If you are not a Prime member yet, you can sign up for the same which will cost Rs 999. The microsite for the Amazon Great Indian Festival sale is now live and the site has revealed what we can expect during the sale.

It has also plenty of discount offers on select credit cards and payment options.

Manish Tiwary, Vice President, Amazon India said, “This year’s Great Indian Festival is a celebration of the resilience of local shops and small and medium sellers. We are humbled by their spirit and delighted with the opportunity to partner and enable their growth, especially in view of recent challenges owing to the pandemic.”

Over 3,75,000 sellers on Flipkart

Flipkart’s Big Billion Days sale will also bring lakhs of sellers, MSMEs,

Kiranas and the best brands together. flipkart said over 1,00,000 kiranas have been onboarded and over 3,75,000 sellers from across India will come forth to bring a wide selection of products to millions of consumers who can access the Flipkart app in their native language. Consumers can avail of the ‘Flipkart Pay Later’ no-cost EMI facility for up to Rs 70,000.

credit line along with a wide range of EMI offers in partnership with 18 leading banks and financial institutions. This is aside from the instant discount on chosen credit cards.

The special-edition Big Billion Day Specials include over 100+ new partnerships with brands across categories, bringing a wide assortment of 10,000+ new products, Flipkart said.

Customers will also have a chance to pre-book their products across categories such as beauty, general merchandise, home, electronics and lifestyle by paying rupee one as a token advance.

Flipkart has also strengthened its seller base and is on track to have 4.2 Lakh sellers on its platform by December 2021. Currently, the Flipkart Marketplace supports digital commerce for 3.75 Lakh sellers. Flipkart has already onboarded 75,000 new sellers on its platform over the last few months. 

Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO, Flipkart Group, said, “Based on consumer behaviour, we have been observing, we know today they are focused on value and quality, and we are determined to deliver on this front. The Big Billion Days is our commitment to meet these requirements safely and efficiently. There are lakhs of sellers who have joined us on this journey this year, and for many of them, the Big Billion Days is critical.”