Flipkart’s Independence Day sale sees 54pc rise in sellers participation

Flipkart, India’s leading ecommerce marketplace, witnessed a 54 percent increase in transacting sellers during its recently concluded Independence Day sale compared to last year, with major participation coming in from the MSMEs.

The Independence Day sale, which was held from August 6 to 10, also saw participation from sellers primarily from Tier-II cities and beyond, Flipkart said in a statement.

The company said, in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, ecommerce has emerged as the preferred channel to connect with the consumers, with increased interest from sellers to join the online marketplace.

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Flipkart onboarded almost 8,000 new sellers to its online marketplace, with more than 70 percent of them coming from smaller towns. Among the new sellers, 450 of them became lakhpatis in these five days, the company said.

The new sellers also get free business incubation support for the first 60 days, which equips them with insights in matters of product support, advertising, and speed support.

The Independence Day sale saw maximum participation of sellers from New Delhi, followed by Surat, Jaipur, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Ghaziabad, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Agra. Other locations such as Dharuhera, Datia, Harapanahalli, Cachar, Motihari, Purnia, Tezpur, Sibsagar, Dholpur, and Etawah became the new cities that saw the highest number of seller participation.

The key categories that led seller growth included - grooming, household items, books and media, food and nutrition, toys, makeup and fragrances, women ethnic contemporary wear, personal healthcare, home furnishing, and mobile protection.

One of the sellers on Flipkart, Bhupendra Patel from Panipat, who is into home furnishings, saw almost double the sale during this season. He resumed his operations on the platform by May-end, and his business has been recording 10-15 percent growth each month. The seller also witnessed new customers for his products from the eastern and southern regions of the country, where usually the demand was low.