Festive Sales Soar As E-Commerce Platforms Tap Into Smaller Towns, Cities

Early trends from TBBD 2024 reveal overall solid customer sentiment, with high demand for categories such as mobiles, electronics, large appliances, fashion, beauty, and home goods

E-commerce companies are experiencing massive sales during the early stages of their festive sale events, attracting millions of customers nationwide. A notable surge in traffic is being reported from Tier-II and Tier-III cities and towns. Flipkart recorded 33 crore user visits combined during Early Access and Day 1 of its 11th edition of The Big Billion Days (TBBD) 2024 sale event. This popular event kicked off on September 27, with early access starting September 26 for Flipkart VIP and Plus customers.

“Some of the early trends indicate an increase in demand for categories that enable a lifestyle upgrade, and Tier-II+ cities have been showing growth in the run-up to this year’s festive season,” said Harsh Chaudhary, vice-president - growth, Flipkart, reported Business Standard.

Early trends from TBBD 2024 reveal overall solid customer sentiment, with high demand for categories such as mobiles, electronics, large appliances, fashion, beauty, and home goods. Major metro areas like New Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru experienced a notable surge in demand during the first 24 hours of the event. Additionally, customers from regions like Medinipur, Hisar, Berhampore, Bankura, and Agartala also contributed to the festival's success.

Shoppers looking to enhance their lifestyles showed a particular interest in products like ethnic wear, Western apparel, sports footwear, casual shoes, and formal footwear, which saw significant demand during Early Access and Day 1 of The Big Billion Days.

With a range of engaging features like Brand Mall, FlipInTrends, and Spoyl, Flipkart continues to serve diverse customer segments by providing personalised and trend-focused shopping experiences. Notably, FlipInTrends experienced a remarkable 10x increase in activity, highlighting customers' growing interest in curated and trending products as they explored the platform for the latest fashion and lifestyle offerings.

Shopsy, Flipkart's hyper-value platform, saw a remarkable 70 per cent increase in customer visits and a 2.8x transaction boost compared to the pre-festive season. Categories such as lifestyle and apparel, as well as home and kitchen items, experienced a doubling in growth, while beauty and personal care surged by an impressive 3x.

During TBBD 2024, various app-based features to enhance the shopping experience gained significant traction. Video Commerce and Live Commerce achieved record viewership for non-mobile streams, with watch time increasing by 1.8x compared to the pre-festive period. Products sold during Live Commerce streams saw a staggering 25x increase compared to the period leading up to TBBD. Notably, 85 per cent of Video Commerce consumers are young, and 65 per cent come from Tier-II cities, highlighting the rising popularity of interactive and real-time shopping formats.

Additionally, Cleartrip reported a 2.5x increase in overall users on its platform compared to the pre-festive season. Air and hotel bookings surged by 3x and 4x, respectively, with top destinations including Goa, Amritsar, Nainital, Varanasi, and Mussoorie.