Flipkart’s annual flagship event, the ninth edition of The Big Billion Days (TBBD), claims to have achieved a significant milestone of over 1 billion customers visiting the platform during the 8-day long festival. It demonstrates a strong adoption of ecommerce across the country with more than 60% of customers coming from Tier-II and -III cities.
Flipkart served millions of customers in the remotest parts of the nation such as Khonsa in Arunachal Pradesh. Besides this, Port Blair, Medinipur, Bankura, Puri and Bhagalpur emerged in the top 10 Tier-III cities from where Flipkart’s customers shopped the most.
“In its ninth year now, The Big Billion Days has evolved into an experience that nationwide customers and sellers look forward to, and we will continue to make concerted efforts to create value for the entire ecosystem,” said Manjari Singhal, Senior Director – Customer, Growth, and Events, Flipkart.
Creating value for the entire ecosystem
Sellers: More than 50% of Flipkart’s transacting sellers saw a 1.5x increase in their business.
Kiranas: Kiranas witnessed greater participation, and in the first few days of TBBD, the Kirana partners have delivered millions of shipments and are making 10% higher deliveries.
Samarth: The number of artisans, weavers and entrepreneurs debuting under the Flipkart Samarth program this year has grown by five times, and seen their revenue increase by 400%, showcasing the success of Handmade furniture and handicraft products emerged as some of the popular items showcased by Samarth artisans, weavers and entrepreneurs.
Category performance
India upgraded this Big Billion Days with categories like Mobiles, Electronics, and Large Appliances witnessing a growth of over 70% and 30% each, respectively, in the uptake of premium products over the last BBD.
- Fashion and lifestyle continued to be a big attraction in Tier-II and -III cities, with suitcases, running shoes, men’s jeans and footwear being some of the top-selling products, drawing in 45% more customers over last year. The segment saw 3 sarees and 2 kurtis being sold every second. As many as 250 shoes, 200 kids’ clothing & fashion wear and 7 t-shirts and 4 Bottomwear (jeans + trousers) were sold every minute.
- Electronic devices, including laptops, true wireless audio devices and smartwatches, saw over 20% growth, with the student community driving the majority of the demand.
- Beauty and general merchandise categories saw a 30% jump, with diapers, wipes, moisturizers, toothpastes, pressure cookers, gas stoves and double bed sheets being the most bought products. Close to 25% of users who browsed for Makeup products, used the Virtual Try-On feature.
- Grocery witnessed a two-fold increase in new customers using the platform; the number of cities shopping for groceries more than doubled to almost 1,700 this TBBD. Nearly 70% of the grocery demand was recorded from Tier-II and -III cities including Guwahati, Indore, Lucknow, Nagpur, Patna and Vijayawada.
- Furniture retained its status as a fast-growing category, with 35% increase in customers in TBBD 2022.
- Large Appliances saw TVs, washing machines and refrigerators as the top choice, while small home appliances such as juicer-mixer-grinders, induction cooktops and fans saw significant traction. Customers, choosing the ‘product exchange’ option, grew 20%.
- Healthcare, food and nutrition products such as Whey Protein, health food drinks, chyawanprash, dry fruits, chocolates, tea, peanut butter and olive oil saw high interest from customers. Vitamins and gummies drew a strong demand, especially in metros.
- Premium mobile phones costing Rs. 20,000 and upwards comprised almost 50% of the total mobiles sold. More than 44% of the buyers of premium mobile phones came from Tier-2 and Tier-III cities.
- Several D2C brands saw nearly 300% growth in customers this TBBD with Grooming, Food and Nutrition, Lifestyle and Travel driving growth.
Flipkart app scores high
As India prepared their wishlist for this festive shopping, 35 million app downloads happened in the run-up to the TBBD (on Android and iOS play store). About 1 in 5 new customers choose the vernacular experience of the app. Brand Mall and Virtual Try saw an adoption of over 22% and 40% respectively, while there were more than 55 million visits on the unique 3D AR viewing catalogue across various categories.
Financial constructs drive affordability, convenience and inclusivity
The EMIs constructs drove 2x of average order value compared to credit card full swipe, enabling shoppers to make high-value purchases across the Large Appliance, Furniture, Mobiles and Electronics categories.
Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card with the Instant Discount and Unlimited Cashback proposition witnessed 2x increase in overall spending and customers using the credit card when compared to last year’s TBBD. Flipkart Gift Cards registered a growth of 80% in sales and 28% in redemption when compared to TBBD 21.
Travel gets a boost
A 140% increase was observed for advance bookings for travel next year, reflection strong desire for Indians to step out and travel. Bhubaneswar, Goa and Jaipur were among the most popular domestic destinations, while Bangkok, Maldives and Singapore topped the international travel of choice. Tourism for destinations such as Shirdi and Varanasi also saw a rising interest. Bookings for 4- and 5-star properties were 350% higher, signifying that customers are developing a taste for luxury travel.
Health goes strong
The availability of Medicines on Flipkart has seen positive adoption. Over 65% of orders for medicines and healthcare products on its dedicated health platform Flipkart Health +.
New offerings and games excite
To reach out to Tier-II and beyond and help customers discover the wide selection on Flipkart, more than 150 million personalised and curated Whatsapp messages were shared with Flipkart shoppers.
Additionally, ~10 million personalised video messages in Hindi and English were sent, featuring Alia Bhatt, addressing users by their name and sharing a sneak peek into the best of offers on Fashion and Lifestyle products, with 38% of these customers visited the app to know more.
Shopsy, Hypervalue ecommerce platform, sees strong adoption in Bharat
This TBBD, Shopsy has scaled by 5X with a strong adoption from Tier-II and -III cities. The platform observed heightened participation from Bharat, with nearly 60% consumers and local sellers coming from Tier-III cities.
Jeeves makes its mark
Flipkart’s service arm, Jeeves, completed 2 lakh installations across 19,000 pin codes during TBBD.
