Advertising
From Pink Slips to Silent Sidelining: Inside adland’s layoff and anxiety crisis
India’s festive ecomm sales surge past Rs 60,000 crore in opening week
India’s festive e-commerce season opened with record sales of Rs 60,700 crore in the first week, up 29% YoY. Flipkart logged 606M visits, Amazon 38 crore visits (70% beyond metros), with strong growth in appliances, grocery, and premium products.
This year’s sales cycle has also shifted forward. September 22 early-access days emerged as the single largest sales day of the week, with shoppers racing to lock in deals and tax benefits.
India’s festive e-commerce season has kicked off on a historic note, with online retailers clocking Rs 60,700 crore in gross merchandise value (GMV) during the first week of mega sales, Moneycontrol reported.
According to data from market intelligence firm Datum Intelligence, sales between September 22–28 grew 29% year-on-year, setting the stage for what could become the biggest festive season in Indian e-commerce history.
The surge comes on the back of GST 2.0 reforms, which lowered prices on big-ticket appliances, and the growing influence of Gen Z shoppers, who are fueling traffic and high-value purchases. Notably, appliances and groceries emerged as the fastest-growing categories, with year-on-year growth of 41% and 44% respectively, signalling a shift beyond the traditional smartphone-heavy festival demand.
Flipkart and Amazon’s Record Starts
Flipkart reported 606 million visits in the first 48 hours of its Big Billion Days sale, with Gen Z contributing one-third of traffic, nearly double its usual share.
Amazon, meanwhile, logged 38 crore visits in the same window during its Great Indian Festival. More than 70% of traffic came from beyond the top nine metros, underlining the growing role of Bharat shoppers in driving premium demand.
Premiumisation trends were especially visible on Amazon, with sales of smartphones above Rs 20,000 rising 50%, QLED TVs up 23% and Mini-LED TVs up 27%. Premium watches, jewellery and beauty also saw strong double-digit growth.
This year’s sales cycle has also shifted forward. September 22 early-access days emerged as the single largest sales day of the week, with shoppers racing to lock in deals and tax benefits. Crucially, unlike previous years, momentum didn’t fade after the opening weekend, both platforms reported sustained traffic and transactions throughout the week.
With more than half of the projected Rs 1.2 lakh crore in festival sales already achieved, Amazon and Flipkart are bracing for a busy October in the run-up to Diwali.
SPOTLIGHT
From purpose-driven work and narrative-rich brand films to AI-enabled ideas and creator-led collaborations, the awards reflect the full spectrum of modern creativity.
Read More“Confusion creates opportunity for agile players,” Sir Martin Sorrell on industry consolidation
Looking ahead to the close of 2025 and into 2026, Sorrell sees technology platforms as the clear winners. He described them as “nation states in their own right”, with market capitalisations that exceed the GDPs of many countries.