Flipkart sells 13 lakh smartphones on first day of Big Billion Day sale

Key Highlights

• Flipkart sold 13 lakh units of smartphones on the first day of BBD.
• This was twice over the number of smartphones sold last year during the sale period.
• Flipkart said it sold three times the number of smartphones than other competitors.

Smartphone shoppers in India flocked to Flipkart’s Big Billion Day sale to purchase new mobiles sending the e-commerce website’s mobile phone sales through the roof. Within the first 20 hours of the sale Flipkart said it sold 13 lakh units.

“Flipkart’s Big Billion Days created history for India’s smartphone market this year, when it sold 1.3 million smartphones within the first 20 hours of the category opening for sale. The mammoth order book is 2 times the number of smartphones Flipkart sold in the same time-frame during Day 1 of TBBD’16 (The Big Billion Day 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 said on Thursday.
 
Big Billion Day sale began on Flipakrt from midnight of September 20 with discounts on mobile phones and buyback offers up to 50%. The company also offered 12% or more value on exchange of old mobile phones.

“As a measure of comparison, Flipkart managed to sell 3 times the number of smartphones sold by the nearest competitor,” the company said.

Amazon is also hosting its Great Indian Festival which began on September 21 and will end the same day as Flipkart’s Big Billion Day sale on September 24. The company is offering additional 10% cashback and ‘buy now pay later’ scheme.

After the first day of the festive season sale Amazon had popularly sold electronics and computers while TVs and large appliances were driving sales at Flipkart, a report by CashKaro, cashback and coupons website said on Thursday.

Still Flipkart maintained that it has sold more smartphones than its competitors.

“These numbers reinforce our position as the absolute leader in smartphones. What Flipkart offers -- the latest phones, the large number of exclusives, affordability measures like No Cost EMI, Buyback Guarantee etc. -- are unmatched in the industry. So, when it comes to buying a smartphone in India, there is no other destination and our customers trust us to buy the latest smartphones at the best prices,” said Ayyappan Rajagopal, Senior Director, Mobiles at Flipkart.

Speaking about its cashback and buyback offers, Flipkart said, “Highlighting how relevant affordability measures are for customers, 1 of 4 who bought premium smartphones in day 1 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.”
 
Also Read: What’s selling on Amazon's Great Indian Festival, Flipkart's Big Billion Days Sale, and others