Both Amazon and Flipkart announced record sales on the opening day of their annual festive season sales in India. The sales launched on Saturday (Sept. 28) and will end on Oct. 4, before the Hindu festivals Dussehra and Diwali.
Reuters reported that Amazon saw record sales of about 7.5 billion rupees ($7.07 million USD) in 36 hours for the premium smartphone brands category. Flipkart, owned by Walmart, said all major categories — including beauty, baby care, private labels and furniture — saw double-digit sales growth from a year ago in the first day.
The news comes during a slowdown in the country, which has led the government to introduce tax cuts and various other measures to boost growth.
Although Amazon entered the market seven years after Flipkart, the eCommerce giant has captured a large portion of Indian business through Prime, which the company rolled out in the country in 2016. It already has music, as well as video streaming and grocery delivery, in many of the country’s cities.
In an effort to compete, Flipkart introduced a Hindi version of its app that will include free videos — as well as other tech perks, like premium content — in August. Flipkart’s ultimate goal is to lure 200 million online consumers with streaming movies, shows and entertainment in direct competition with rival Amazon, and it plans to offer the app in other languages, including Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Bengal.
Amazon is also reportedly planning to roll out a food delivery service in India, and is said to be working with Catamaran, having started hiring workers for the operation. In addition, the company is said to be planning kiosks in India that will enable consumers to purchase its hardware, including its Echo, Kindle eBook reader and the Fire TV stick. Amazon would install 100 kiosks in malls across India by the end of 2019.
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