Online festive sales hit $6.5 billion in just one week: ‘Much better than plan’

Online marketplaces sold goods worth $6.5 billion in one week of festive sales- a 26% increase from last year. Mobile phones, electronics, consumer durables, home, and general merchandise accounted for three-fourths of the total sales. In the week starting September 26, sales made up for about 55% of the total ecommerce sales expected in the festive period this year, ecommerce consultancy Datum Intelligence said.
Flipkart and Amazon India started their annual festive season sales—Big Billion Days and Great Indian Festival, respectively—on September 27, with early access for subscribers of their loyalty programmes Amazon Prime and Flipkart Plus from September 26.
Meesho started its Meesho Mega Blockbuster Sale on the same day and saw a 40% year-over-year increase in orders and a strong demand from tier-II cities with nearly 45% of shoppers coming from tier IV.
“Our first week was much better than the plan, which means the demand was front-loaded, indicating that many people planned their purchases because they wanted to make sure everything arrived well in advance for the festivals,” Meesho cofounder and chief executive Vidit Aatrey told Economic Times. 
A Flipkart company executive told the outlet, “While major metro cities such as New Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru continue to lead, we are also witnessing strong demand from customers across tier-II+ regions such as Medinipur, Hisar, Berhampore, Bankura, and Agartala to name a few.”