India's homegrown e-commerce marketplace Flipkart's annual flagship event — Big Billion Days — registered one billion customer visits with four million first-time customers. More than 60 percent of these visits were from tier II and III cities.

The 8-day-long festival served millions of customers in the remotest parts of the nation such as Khonsa in Arunachal Pradesh, and Port Blair in Andamans, Medinipur and Bankura in West Bengal, Puri in Odisha, and Bhagalpur in Bihar, being among the top 10 tier III cities from where Flipkart’s customers shopped the most.

More than 50 percent of Flipkart’s transacting sellers saw a 1.5x increase in their business. The Big Billion Days 2022 (TBBD) marked a more than 100 percent increase in crorepati sellers on the marketplace since the last edition.

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The fashion and lifestyle segment saw three sarees and two kurtis being sold every second. As many as 250 shoes, 200 kids' clothing & fashion wear and seven T-shirts and four bottomwear (jeans plus trousers) were sold every minute.

Premium mobile phones costing Rs 20,000 and upwards comprised almost 50 percent of the total mobiles sold. More than 44 percent of the buyers of premium mobile phones came from tier II and III cities. Electronic devices, including laptops, true wireless audio devices and smartwatches, saw over 20 percent growth, with the student community driving the majority of the demand.

Grocery witnessed a 2.3x increase among new customers; the number of cities shopping for groceries more than doubled to almost 1,700 this TBBD. Nearly 70 percent of the grocery demand was recorded from tier II and III cities, including Guwahati, Indore, Lucknow, Nagpur, Patna and Vijayawada.

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Large appliances saw TVs, washing machines and refrigerators as the top choice, while small home appliances such as juicer-mixer grinders, induction cooktops and fans saw significant traction. Customers, choosing the ‘product exchange’ option, grew by 20 percent.

Healthcare, food and nutrition products such as whey protein, health food drinks, chyawanprash, dry fruits, chocolates, tea, peanut butter and olive oil saw high interest from customers. Vitamins and gummies drew strong demand, especially in metros.

Manjari Singhal, Senior Director, Customer, Growth, and Events, Flipkart, said, "In its ninth year now, The Big Billion Days has evolved into an experience that nationwide customers and sellers look forward to, and we will continue to make concerted efforts to create value for the entire ecosystem."

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(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)