But this year is especially important because the world is far from the economic consequences of the coronavirus epidemic. Millions of Indian shoppers are still wary of coming to physical stores, and Meena expects online sales to grow by more than 34% this year to 6.5 billion.
“This is the time when customers are really in a position to spend,” he added, about a month of sales In 2020, India’s total online shopping is expected to account for 18%. “That’s why every company wants to win the war during the festive period.”
Flipkart’s competitive edge in the festive season
Flipkart’s seasonal shopping event, Big Billion Days, kicked off on Friday.
The company has built its strategy around selling affordable goods to a large number of middle and lower middle class pers online shoppers in small cities of India, according to Rajneesh Kumar, Senior Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Flipkart.
“Significant in India … a number of people find value for money,” Kumar said. “If you provide the right value and the right customer experience, you can win.”
Last year, the U.S. The firm was ranked as the most trusted ret online retailer in India in an annual survey conducted by TRA. Market research reports that many respondents said they trust Amazon more than Flipkart, which ranks second.
“In the Flipkart and Amazon e-commerce wars, in terms of their product of fur, their initiative to be affordable and increase the confidence of consumers, and most importantly, their initiative to reach their final milestone,” said Lord Rama. Head of Industry Intelligence Group at Research Pay CMR.
Forrester’s Meena agreed, noting that “no clear winner” has emerged yet.
But he added that, when it comes to festive sales, Flipkart has “an edge in terms of how much money consumers spend.”
That’s because Flipkart fashion dominates online fashion sales, Meena said the company has made strong connections with smartphone brands to offer big discounts.
The importance of Diwali
Since then, they have been working to improve their supply chain – especially ahead of the festive season.
Amazon opened a new warehouse in Bangalore this month to handle the spike in holiday orders and hired 100,000 seasonal workers – 10,000 more than last year. Flipkart said it has laid off 70,000 additional warehouse and delivery workers, an increase of 20,000 from 2019.
Both companies have also translated their platforms into more languages, which they say will help They reach more shopkeepers in smaller towns and rural areas.
“We’ve done a great job for the festive season,” said Minari Shah, Amazon India’s director of public relations. Amazon’s Great Indian Festival kicks off on Saturday, but members of its Prime subscription program have access to the deal the day before.
Like Flipkart, Amazon declined to talk about past or predicted festival sales figures, but Shah noted that “undoubtedly, [the holiday season is] A very important part of our calendar. ”
U.S. Like retail events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, online online shoppers in India are loading virtual carts ahead of time waiting for sales to begin. Retailers typically offer deals in fashion, smartphones and consumer electronics, as well as holidays such as candles. , Lights and other decorations.
“I need to buy a few gadgets, so I think I can wait a few weeks until the sale starts and get a good deal,” said Mumbai-based banker Anshul Arzare.
Arzar said he has seen an increase in online shopping since the epidemic began. In her apartment apartment complex, “Delivery is a designated area for boys, and at any time you can see Amazon boy with 20 packages there.”
The businessman said he prefers to use Amazon.
“The experience has been very good and I am more confident in Amazon’s product delivery than Flipkart,” he said.
Jio, there is no big threat so far
“Although it is quite vague, Geomart is ambitious, and offers lucrative discounts and cashback offers to entice online shoppers with fur cocktails,” said Ram of CMR.
JioMart did not respond to a request for comment for this story. For now, it is offering online grocery to Flipkart and Amazon only to deal in deals on smartphones, consumer electronics, clothing and household items.
But Geomart plans to take the field soon.
“In addition to groceries, in the coming days we will be expanding Geomart to cover electronics, fashion, pharmaceuticals and healthcare,” Ambani said at Reliance Industries’ annual meeting in July.
Flipkart said it welcomes more competition.
Kumar said the development of India’s e-commerce industry requires “so much investment on land to build a supply chain.” “More players are good because it will invest more and more to build the supply chain.”
Whether it’s Flipkart, Geomart or any other e-commerce player, Shah said, Amazon tries not to focus on what its competitors are.
“We watch them, but we’re always more focused and directing than competing with our customers,” he said.
The competition will only intensify. E-commerce merchants account for only 5% of India’s total merchant value, according to an August report by consulting firm McKinsey.
But now, due to the epidemic, “the digital economy in India is about to take off,” Ram added, adding that companies are also choosing new customers as rural parts of the country are coming online.
“Some of the trends we see this year will be to stay here,” he said. “I don’t look back the way I was.”
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