Snapdeal to launch 2nd edition of festive sale from Oct 12

In the earlier discount sale, the company lagged behind its rivals Amazon and Flipkart

Within a week of its mega sale, e-commerce major Snapdeal has announced a second edition beginning October 12 to cash in on the festive mood in the country.

The company processed transactions for over 11 million units during the October 2-6 sale, but lagged behind its rivals Amazon and Flipkart.

During the sale to be held from October 12-14, Snapdeal will offer deals on electronics, fashion and home as well as 10 per cent instant discount on payment through SBI Cards, it said in a statement.

It will also extend the Rs 10,000 discount offer on iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus for American Express card users under the new sale period.

Other players -- Flipkart and Amazon -- may follow suit bringing in more festive sales ahead of Diwali.

"We are thrilled to bring another exciting sale for our customers in the run up to Diwali. We had a phenomenal response to our sale last week with more than 11 million units being sold out and we have some great offers lined up for this week as well," Snapdeal Vice President and Head Category management Saurabh Bansal said.

The company said its sale last week saw 40 per cent more women shopping online versus last year and a sharp increase in prepaid orders.

Larger rival Flipkart, which hosted its sale during the same period as Snapdeal's, had said it sold 15.5 million units across Flipkart, Myntra and Jabong platforms.

Similarly, Amazon, which hosted its sale between October 1-5, sold 15 million units.

According to research firm RedSeer, e-commerce companies are expected to register transactions worth Rs 11,000-13,000 crore (USD 1.7-1.9 billion) in October, driven by festive offers and discounts on their platforms.

"E-tailers are likely to surpass all sales expectations in the ongoing festive sale days and for the month of October 2016 as a whole," it had added.

During the period of October 1-6 alone, e-tailers are estimated to have clocked gross GMV of Rs 6,500-7,700 crore (USD 1-1.2 billion) with sale of 35-40 million units.