Flipkart said local MSMEs from over 2,550 pin codes saw demand coming in from across the country.
Following the launch of its six-day Big Billion Days (BBD) sale on Friday, Flipkart said nearly 50% of new customers came from Tier-III cities and beyond.
Among the categories, the home segment registered a 53% rise in new customers from Tier-III cities. The large appliances and beauty & general merchandise (BGM) segments witnessed a near 50% increase each in new users from the region.
Analysts attributed this increase in share of purchases from Tier-II and -III cities to the migration of employees to smaller cities as organisations took to work from home.
Online retailers are estimated to rake in about $6.5 billion in sales during the month-long festive period, ending November 15, as more consumers are indulging in online spends lured by varied deal offers, said Forrester Research analysts. As much as 75% of the sales, predominately led by Flipkart and Amazon, will be covered during the first leg of the festive sale events to happen between October 15 and 21, they said. E-tailers clocked $4.8 billion in sales last year.
Flipkart said local MSMEs from over 2,550 pin codes saw demand coming in from across the country. Sellers from 167 new cities joined e-commerce this BBD.
“There has been a perceptible shift towards Digital India, with a 75% increase in prepaid transactions, which showcased a strong endorsement for digital payments as consumers continue to maintain social distancing when making purchases,” the company said in its statement.