Flipkart sees strong demand for smartphones from tier-II and III towns

Walmart-owned Flipkart on Monday said it is witnessing strong demand from tier-II and III cities for products such as mobile phones and large appliances in its ongoing festive sales.

"This Big Billion Days, we witnessed the growing appetite of Bharat (tier II and III cities) for mobiles, large appliances and consumer electronics," Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said in a statement.

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More demand for smartphones

As consumers from these cities upgrade, they are coming at par with the metros showcasing unique needs and spending patterns across these categories, he added.

"With more first-time shoppers from small towns than ever before and tens of thousands of small sellers across India already seeing success, we are excited by how India loves Amazon's commitment to offer largest selection, great convenience and exceptional value to its customers," said Amazon India Vice-President (Category Management) Manish Tiwary.

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Both companies, however, remained mum on the total business generated so far in the sale. The ongoing sale is to close on October 4. While there have been concerns around slowdown in demand in some quarters, both Amazon.in and Flipkart have been upbeat about clocking strong growth in the festive sales. According to Redseer, overall e-tailing expected to clock gross sales of USD 3.7 billion (Rs 24,000 crore) between September 29 to October 4, a year-on-year (y-o-y) growth of 60-65 per cent.

Total online shoppers during the event expected to be 32 million, up 60 per cent y-o-y, primarily driven by shoppers from tier-II and III cities, it added. E-commerce companies, which see a large chunk of their sales during the festive season, start preparing for festive sales months in advance ramping up logistics and hiring thousands of temporary workers to ensure timely delivery of products. Other players such as Snapdeal and Club Factory are also running festive sale on their platforms.

Flipkart said the electronics category on its platform witnessed a growth of over 70 per cent from tier-II cities, with a 100 per cent increase in women shoppers from smaller towns. Mobiles saw share of consumers picking premium smartphones increased by 97 per cent, contributing to an overall growth of two times in this segment, it added.