Flipkart, Amazon festive sales to generate 1.7 lakh jobs

Ecommerce rivals Flipkart and Amazon India are gearing up for the country’s October festival season, with the Walmart owned company being the first to announce dates for its annual sale.

The Big Billion Days from Flipkart sale is scheduled from October 16 to October 21, while Amazon is yet to announce details of its The Great Indian Sale.

In terms of employment opportunities, Flipkart on Saturday said that its sale will create over 70,000 direct and lakhs of indirect seasonal jobs, while Amazon had earlier said that it would generate 100,000 seasonal job opportunities.

To strengthen the supply chain, Flipkart said it has onboarded 50,000 kiranas for consumers across over 850 cities in the country. Amazon said on Sunday that it will host over 100,000 kiranas for its sale.

“This festive event continues to focus on Flipkart’s commitment to provide value for consumers, opportunities for growth for MSMEs and sellers, and employment generation through e-commerce,” Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said in a statement.  

Read: Amazon India ramps up delivery network ahead of festive season sales

“This festive season we are focused on helping our sellers and other MSME partners grow their business and bounce back from the recent challenges,” Manish Tiwary, a vice president at Amazon India said in a separate statement.

Both the marketplaces have announced discounts in terms of financing options for shopping payments. 

Additionally, Flipkart has provided an early access window period for its Flipkart Plus members on October 15, an equivalent of Amazo’s Prime membership.

In the 2019 festive season sales that commenced on September 26 and ended on October 4, rivals Flipkart and Amazon had accounted for over 90% of $3 billion goods sold.