Ecommerce biggies Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal are currently embroiled in a festive sales war. Last year the ammunition used to try and win the battle was to offer the customer extremely big discounts. However this year the strategy seems to be different. Read on to learn what were the top selling products for each of the ecommerce majors on the opening days.
Flipkart
After an initial slight glitch with its app, Flipkart claims in the first 10 hours of its app-only Big Billion Days sale to have sold an incredible 10 lakh products.
- Flipkart received 6 million visits from across the country
- Bengaluru, Chennai and Delhi were the metros that contributed hugely
- Ludhiana, Bhopal and Lucknow topped the non-metros traffic
- There was huge demand for the mens fashion category (footwear, clothing and accessories)
“Big Billion Days have started off with a bang this year. We have sold 1 million units already and expect to do a higher number by the end of today’s fashion sale. It is great to see 1.6 million app installs in the last two days, which is a great indicator that India has been preparing well for ‘The Big Billion Days’.”said Mukesh Bansal, head of commerce platform, Flipkart.
Amazon
Amazon’s ‘Great Indian Festive’ sale seems to have started on high with Amazon claiming it to be “the biggest day in the history of Amazon India.” An amazing 70 percent of traffic during the opening day of Amazon’s Great Indian Festive sale came from mobile.
Amazons received lakhs of new customers from:
- Aurangabad
- Malappuram
- Dhanbad
- Kannur
- Tiruchirappalli
- Jamshedpur
The Gourmet & Grocery department witnessed a 3X growth in unit terms compared to the company’s previous biggest day. Chocolates, Indian Sweets, Beverages and Organic Staples were the best sellers in the category.
The Ferrero Rocher gift pack was the most popular brand contributing to 22% of sales. Other brands which accounted for over 50% of the Gourmet and Grocery category included:
- Nestle
- Haldirams
- Bikano
- Tetley
- 24 Letter Mantra
Health and Personal Care saw a 4X growth thanks largely to FMCG brands. Surfmatic and feminine hygiene products were the most popular selling products in the category.
Toys witnessed a jump of 2.5X compared to the pre-sale period both in terms of units and GMS. The Mattel Hot Wheel 9 Car pack emerged as the best seller. The top 3 selling toy categories were:
- Games & puzzles
- Toy vehicles
- Infant & pre school
“Our biggest day was two times bigger than our previous bigger day which was The Great Indian Freedom Sale and four times bigger than the peak of last Diwali,” said an Amazon spokesperson.
Snapdeal
Snapdeal had a 1 day advantage over its two rivals, with the launch of the ‘Electronics Monday sale’. Snapdeal came close to crossing $100million in sales on the opening day, with sales revenue increasing 17X by the evening and also on average 5 mobile phones were sold every second.
- Air conditioners and washing machines were the top selling products in the large appliances category
- Geysers were the highest selling product in the home appliances category
- Xiaomi, Micromax, Yu, Samsung and Apple were the most popular mobiles sold
- Power banks and cameras featured among the top selling categories
Snapdeal was also on track with deliveries as there has been zero outage on any platform, including app, wap and web. Eighty-five per cent of orders placed during Monday’s Electronics Sale had already been dispatched and the online marketplace plans to log 100 per cent in on-time deliveries“The tremendous support from our sellers enabled us to provide attractive deals and really solid discounts, which resulted in this phenomenal response we have received today. We are well on track to reach $100 million sales on our Electronics Monday Sale.” said Rahul Taneja, vice president, category management, Snapdeal.
Where have all the discounts gone?
Despite The big online marketplaces all claiming a terrific start to the festive sales, there is no hiding from the fact that the huge discounts that were ever present last year round to entice buyers have not been as frequent this year.
Haier India President Eric Braganza disclosed that the company had signed pricing agreements with marketplaces that include Flipkart to ensure that its products would not be heavily discounted.
Panasonic India managing director Manish Sharma explained that the big electronic brands had carried out advanced Diwali promotional offers in their bricks and mortar shops to boost sales and create a level playing field.
“The e-commerce marketplaces too are in a consolidation mode and have realised it may not be healthy to continue to burn money on discounts. This year’s online Diwali sales is a healthy sign and will ensure both online and offline will co-exist,” said Manish Sharma, Panasonic India managing director.
Exciting times ahead
It looks like the days of extravagant festive discounts are well and truly behind us as the ecommerce companies focus on achieving profitability in the coming years.
As we continue to watch the festive sales unfold this week, we would like to get your take on the sales. As sellers have they been all that you hoped for?
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