Flipkart says it has created history.
The Bengaluru-based e-commerce major sold 1.3 million smartphones within 20 hours on Sept. 21, a company release said. That’s more than the total population living in countries such as Mauritius, Cyprus, and Bhutan.
The eye-popping number of orders was placed during its ongoing five-day festive season sale called The Big Billion Days (TBBD). The company is offering deep discounts on most items during this sale as it looks to attract more customers and win against arch-rival Amazon.in.
“The mammoth order book is two times the number of smartphones Flipkart sold in the same time-frame during day 1 of TBBD 2016, and surpasses the total number of smartphones sold across India in a single day, both through online and offline channels, by a big distance,” Flipkart’s press release said. “As a measure of comparison, Flipkart managed to sell three times the number of smartphones sold by the nearest competitor.”
Last year, Flipkart had said it sold 2.5 million smartphone handsets during the five days of TBBD.
India is the world’s second-largest smartphone market after China. There are more than 150 brands of smartphones sold in the country, including a hoard of affordable options priced less than Rs5,000 ($77).
However, Flipkart’s bumper smartphone sales were not limited to the affordable category. Several buyers used the easy-payment options and buyback schemes on offer to buy premium models.
“One of four (customers) who bought premium smartphones in day one (of TBBD) did so with Flipkart’s buyback guarantee. And over 80% of the entire sales in the premium segment happened with various affordability constructs such as No Cost EMI, exchange, and buyback guarantee,” the company said.
Astonishing sales figures during the festive season are nothing new for Indian e-commerce firms. In 2016, Flipkart, Amazon, and Snapdeal together sold 41.5 million items during their five-day sales.