Flipkart to kick-off festive sales from Oct 10

Walmart-backed Flipkart will kick-off its 'The Big Billion Days' (TBBD) festive sale from October 10, lining up new launches across categories and dishing out discount offers to woo Indian shoppers during the season.

The fifth edition of TBBD will be organised between October 10-14 and customers will be able to avail offers across categories like mobile phones, TVs and appliances, fashion, personal care, furniture and others, Flipkart said in a statement.

About 20 million people are expected to shop on various e-commerce platforms during the festive sale next month, translating into sales of around USD 3 billion for players like Amazon and Flipkart, according to a report by research firm RedSeer.

"This year marks the fifth edition of TBBD and we are focused on making it the biggest and best one yet. After working closely with our sellers and brands over the last few months, we plan to deliver unparalleled, diverse, and affordable offerings to customers in every corner of India," Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said.

While Flipkart's rival Amazon is yet to announce the dates for its 'Great Indian Festival', the American company is likely to hold the festive sale around the same time.

Amazon India has already unveiled its campaign 'Ab India ki Khushiyon ke beech budget nahin ayeega' ahead of the sale.

Smaller player ShopClues, too, has announced its sale from October 10-November 7 to offer up to 80 per cent discount across fashion and lifestyle, home and kitchen and electronics and accessories categories.

According to the RedSeer report, the share of items like electronics and furniture during the sale could be higher this year due to affordability initiatives being undertaken by the e-commerce players. Mobile phones currently account for a lion's share of sales on the two leading e-commerce platforms.

The festive sale not only brings in discounts and deals for customers but is also an annual showdown of sorts between the two largest players -- Flipkart and Amazon India.

Like in offline retail, e-commerce companies see a significant jump in sales during Dussehra and Diwali. The September-November period typically generates a majority of the annual sales of these companies, which prepare months in advance for the sale event.

The competition between Flipkart and US-based Amazon this year is expected to be even fiercer as both companies have invested significantly through the year to ramp up product offerings as well as logistics infrastructure to ensure speedier delivery.

While Flipkart now has the backing of US retail giant Walmart (via a USD 16 billion deal signed earlier this year), Amazon India too has received funding through the year from the US parent across operations like marketplace and payments business.

In its statement, Flipkart said it has partnered with celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Virat Kohli and others as well as creating technological innovations to create engaging personalised content for social media.