Online retailers try to woo consumers till the last minute with heavy discounts and quick delivery

Online retailers are trying their best to woo consumers till the last minute with heavy discounts on electronics and smartphones. Since the kick off of the festive season sale, big players like Amazon and Flipkart have witnessed record number of customers.

Flipkart had more customers, almost double in electronics over the corresponding period last year. The Walmart-owner e-tailer commenced its Big Diwali Sale on November 8. A Flipkart spokesperson described the consumer sentiment towards festivals as very positive. “We have witnessed an increased uptick for several of our constructs such as product exchange and payment options with the latter posting a growth of 2x to 3x across a few categories,” the spokesperson said. The e-tailer witnessed a growth of nearly 1.5x over the same period last year for large appliances, as increasing number of customers opting for product exchange and affordable payment constructs. The company had introduced the Smart Upgrade plan with Samsung. Through this plan, users can purchase a Samsung Galaxy smartphone by paying 70 per cent through EMIs, with the remaining 30 per cent taken off the price of the next smartphone upgrade.

Amazon India, with HDFC, has also been attracting customers by offering additional discounts on smartphones. It has exchange offers up to Rs 6,000 and no-cost EMI up to 12 months for customers. Manish Tiwary, vice president, Amazon India highlighted that the Great Indian Festival has truly brought festive spirit across the country. “We added lakhs of direct and indirect jobs and enabled tens of thousands of local stores and service partners across 350 cities who witnessed their most successful business month ofthe year,” he said.

Also Read: Flipkart Grocery sets up warehouse in Lucknow, to create over 500 direct jobs

Not to miss out on the great opportunity brought about by teh festive season, Reliance Digital also joined the league of e-tailers offering customers to take advantage of the massive sale and discounts. “This is a part of the overall omni-channel value proposition of empowering the consumers to choose from a wide variety of fulfillment options for their purchase with Reliance Digita,” the company said in a statement. “INSTA Delivery is a promise to deliver your favorite product in less than three hours. The omni-channel value proposition also allows consumers to order online and pick up the product from any one of the digital stores.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed up the adoption and demand for e-commerce and online shopping.