Amazon India's festival sale draws 70% of traffic from smaller cities

Don't want to miss the best from Business Standard?

Amazon India recorded 2.76 billion (276 crore) customer visits during its month-long Great Indian Festival sale, with more than 70 per cent originating from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, highlighting the e-commerce platform’s penetration beyond major metros.

 

The company facilitated over ₹1,000 crore in customer savings through bank offers, goods and services tax (GST) benefits, and cashback rewards, while same-day deliveries to Prime members increased 60 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y). Sellers from Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets accounted for more than two-thirds of participating small businesses. The 30-day event concludes this week.

 

“Our services reached every serviceable pin code across India. Our sellers and brand partners have seen multi-fold growth across categories such as smartphones, appliances and consumer electronics to home and kitchen, beauty and fashion,” said Saurabh Srivastava, vice president, Amazon India.

 

“We saw a strong growth for lakhs of sellers, from small businesses and local artisans to made-in-India brands.”

 

The AGIF 2024 witnessed 1.4 billion customer visits and over 85 per cent of customers were from non-metro cities.

 

This year there is a strong premium product adoption in smaller cities. Premium smartphone sales above ₹30,000 grew 30 per cent, with 65 per cent coming from Tier-2 and -3 cities.

 

Customers upgraded from 43 inches to 55 inches TV (over 10 per cent year-on-year), with 75 per cent inches growing at 70 per cent indicating affinity towards the premium segment, made affordable with GST revisions. QLED TVs grew by 105 per cent and mini-LED increased 500 times.

 

MacBook Air M4 experienced exceptional demand with 21-times growth. Sony Home Theatre systems grew by 320 per cent Y-o-Y.

 

Prime members across India experienced faster deliveries than ever before, with more than 40 million products delivered the same day (14 million, up 60 per cent Y-o-Y) and the next day (28 million, up 22 per cent Y-o-Y).

 

Amazon’s delivery network showed strong growth across India, with same-day and next-day deliveries to Prime members in metro cities increasing by 29 per cent year over year, while two-day deliveries in Tier-2 and -3 cities grew by 37 per cent. Prime membership continued to expand beyond urban centers, with approximately 70 per cent of new Prime members coming from Tier-2 and -3 cities.

 

This year saw the highest-ever participation of small and medium businesses (SMBs), with more than two-thirds hailing from Tier-2 and -3 cities. Amazon Bazaar (store for ultra-affordable products) saw over 2-times growth in seller participation this year, with more than 50 per cent of Bazaar sellers experiencing their highest-ever single-day sales.

 

During the festive season, one in four customers used Amazon Pay. One in four orders were made using UPI, reflective of how UPI has become the preferred mode of payment across India, recording a 23 per cent growth over last year. Amazon Pay Later saw 84 per cent increase in new issuances, a 15 per cent Y-o-Y increase in usage compared to 2024. No-cost EMI saw 10 per cent growth across categories.

 

Amazon’s rival Flipkart recorded a 21 per cent increase in user visits during the opening days of its flagship Big Billion Days (TBBD) festival sale compared to TBBD 2024, driven by GST reforms and rising demand for premium electronics from smaller cities.

 

The Walmart-owned platform saw 26 per cent year-on-year growth in premium product purchases across mobiles, televisions and refrigerators, while its quick-delivery service Flipkart Minutes processed 4.5 million visitors, with order volumes doubling compared to regular days.

 

India’s 2025 festival shopping season marks a structural shift as Amazon and Flipkart harness GST 2.0 reforms — which cut appliance taxes by 10 per- centage points — and deploy instant commerce capabilities to capture premium demand in Tier-II and -III cities. 

 

The platforms have expanded warehousing capacity by millions of cubic feet, while premium electronics sales have doubled in smaller markets, signalling a permanent transformation that could reshape consumer behaviour and supply-chain economics for years to come.

 

Total festive sales are projected to grow 27 per cent Y-o-Y to cross ₹1.2 trillion, with the first week alone generating ₹60,700 crore in gross merchandise value, more than half the season’s expected total, according to Datum Intelligence report.