Amazon to start Great Indian Festival from October 3

Amazon India will start the Great Indian Festival (GIF) sale from October 3. The move comes on the back of rival Flipkart advancing its festive day sale. It is expected that the competition between the two rivals is set to be intense, similar to earlier years as both of these festive events are set to start on the same day. While Flipkart’s event is an eight-day affair, Amazon’s GIF is spread across a month. Amazon said in a statement that the top priority remains consumer trust, seller interest, especially the lakhs of smaller sellers and tens of thousands of local shop owners across the country.

It also said that prime members will have early access. The company will share further details on the early access for prime members soon.

The two e-commerce giants have gone head-to-head in the festive season with their sale events in the recent past, offering great deals, new launches and attractive affordability options like EMI offers through various partnerships.

E-commerce platforms are expected to potentially clock over $9 billion gross GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) during the festive season this year as against $7.4 billion last year, which is a growth of 23%, according to consulting firm RedSeer.

Fashion expected to recover steadily

These platforms are expected to register 30% YoY, growth in gross GMV to $4.8 billion in the first week of the festive season. Gross GMV refers to the total value of goods sold on the platform prior to subtracting cancellation or return.

In terms of categories, the report indicated that the fashion is expected to see a steady recovery this festive season in line with greater outdoor mobility of consumers and steady comeback of office wear and fashion.

Flipkart had announced that the eighth edition of TBBD will be held from October 7-12 on Tuesday, this year. However, the Walmart-owned company advanced the opening date to October 3 on Saturday. The TBBD will now end on October 10.