Flipkart won the first week of online sales: Report

Walmart’s Indian ecommerce unit Flipkart Group is estimated to have posted a little over double the sales of closest rival Amazon in the first week of the ongoing festive period, claimed a report by market tracker RedSeer Consulting.

"We cannot comment on speculative reports without transparent methodology," an Amazon India spokesperson said in an emailed response to ET’s request for comment on the report’s findings. Flipkart did not respond until press time Monday.

The combined sales on Flipkart Group and Amazon accounted for more than 90% of the ecommerce industry’s gross sales of around Rs 29,000 crore during October 16-21, the report said. This is 55% year-on-year growth in sales during the first week of the festive period, as per its estimates.


“The awareness of people regarding the sales and the motivation to shop online were perhaps the highest ever, and we think potentially Flipkart was more able to penetrate the Tier-2 markets,” RedSeer director Mrigank Gutgutia said. “I won’t say Amazon lost out, but I would say Flipkart was able to better gain from their historical strength given how online demographics has been moving this year.”

Flipkart captured 68% of the gross merchandise value (GMV) — the value of all goods sold — of the two ecommerce companies during the week-long period, RedSeer said.

Smartphones continued to dominate online sales, accounting for 47% of all sales during the one-week festive sale period, while other electronics and appliances generated 27% of the sales, up from 25% a year earlier, according to the report. The contribution of fashion to the overall industry’s GMV dropped to 14% this year from 17% last year.

While industrywide sales grew 55%, the number of online shoppers during the period increased 85% to 52 million. However, owing to a large number of new shoppers coming from tier-II cities and beyond, who typically spend less than those in large cities, the average order value dropped to Rs 5,500 from Rs 6,800.

RedSeer’s Gutgutia said while the first week of the festive sales were dominated by smartphones, electronics and appliances, there was a potential for other categories such as fashion, grocery and home to pick up in three weeks until Diwali. “We need to see how many of the new or dormant shoppers come back and shop for products from more categories,” he said.

While sales during the first week of the festive period have broken previous records, easing apprehensions of whether consumers would splurge on products in the backdrop to the ongoing pandemic, both Flipkart and Amazon are continuing to woo customers to spend more by sustaining deals and discounts on their platforms.

Flipkart, soon after it closed its Big Billion Days sale, launched its Dussehra Specials event and will kick off its Big Diwali Sale on October 29. Amazon has introduced a new theme within its month-long sale with its Happiness Upgrade Days, prompting users to upgrade their mobiles, electronics and appliances which have been the best performers this season.

Both companies are still relying heavily on partnerships with banks to offer customers as much as 10% upfront discounts — Amazon has expanded its partnership to include Axis, Citi and ICICI banks, while Flipkart is working with Kotak Mahindra and HSBC to lure customers to shop on its platform.

“We’re over the apprehensions of consumer spending being low during this festive season. Smartphones and appliances are the clear standouts in terms of high-performing categories, which are no longer discretionary items but essentials,” said a senior executive at a leading ecommerce marketplace who sought anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the press.