Holiday sales soar as e-commerce platforms reach smaller cities

E-commerce companies experience massive sales in the early stages of holiday sales, attracting millions of customers across the country. There is a noticeable increase in traffic in Tier II and III cities and towns. Flipkart recorded 33 crore cumulative user visits during early access and the first day of the 11th edition of The Big Billion Days (TBBD) sale event 2024. The popular event started on September 27, and early access for Flipkart VIP and Plus customers will start from September 26.

“Some of the early trends point to an increase in demand for categories that enable lifestyle enhancements, with tier II+ cities showing growth in the run-up to this year’s festive season,” said Harsh Chaudhary, vice president, growth, Flipkart, Business Standard reported.

Early trends from TBBD 2024 reveal overall good customer sentiment, with strong demand for categories such as mobile phones, electronics, large appliances, fashion, beauty and home appliances. Major metropolitan areas such as New Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bengaluru saw a significant increase in demand in the first 24 hours of the event. Moreover, customers from regions like Medinipur, Hisar, Berhampore, Bankura and Agartala also contributed to the success of the festival.

Shoppers looking to enhance their lifestyle showed particular interest in products such as ethnic wear, western wear, sports footwear, casual footwear and formal footwear, which saw significant demand during early access and the first day of The Big Billion Days.

With an array of attractive features such as Brand Mall, FlipInTrends and Spoyl, Flipkart continues to cater to diverse customer segments by providing personalized and trend-driven shopping experiences. Notably, FlipInTrends has seen a remarkable 10x increase in activity, highlighting customers’ growing interest in curated and trending products as they explore the platform with the latest fashion and lifestyle offerings.

Shopsy, Flipkart’s hyper-value platform, saw a remarkable 70 per cent increase in customer visits and 2.8 times increase in transactions compared to the pre-holiday season. Categories such as lifestyle and clothing, as well as household and kitchen products, saw their growth double, while beauty and personal care grew an impressive threefold.

During TBBD 2024, various app features aimed at improving the shopping experience gained significant popularity. Video Commerce and Live Commerce achieved record viewership for broadcasts on non-mobile devices, with viewing time increasing 1.8 times compared to the pre-holiday period. Products sold during Live Commerce streams saw a staggering 25x increase compared to the pre-TBBD period. Notably, 85 percent of Video Commerce consumers are young and 65 percent come from Tier II cities, highlighting the growing popularity of real-time interactive shopping formats.

Additionally, Cleartrip saw a 2.5-fold increase in the overall number of users on its platform compared to the pre-Christmas period. Airline and hotel bookings have increased 3x and 4x respectively, with the most popular destinations being Goa, Amritsar, Nainital, Varanasi and Mussoorie.

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