Bengaluru - October 22, 2020.

Kiranas and retailers across the country joined the festive cheer as Flipkart Wholesale, the digital B2B marketplace of India’s homegrown Flipkart Group, and Best Price cash-and-carry stores hosted ‘The Big Billion Days’ sale for the first time.

Over a lakh retailers, most of which are small kiranas, from more than 3,000 pin codes, shopped at Best Price stores and its e-commerce channels, and on the Flipkart Wholesale app from October 16 to October 21, when the Flipkart Group came together to bring a uniquely inclusive event for the country - ‘The Big Billion Days’.

Members of Flipkart’s B2B businesses reaped up to 60% savings on a variety of merchandise in categories such as packaged food, home care, personal care, electronics and appliances, apparel, footwear and general merchandise.

Adarsh Menon, Senior Vice President and Head - Flipkart Wholesale & Walmart India, said, “This is the first time Flipkart’s B2B businesses hosted The Big Billion Days, extending the value and potential of this annual event to kiranas and MSMEs. Reiterating our deep-rooted commitment to bringing prosperity to kiranas and MSMEs and nurturing the retail ecosystem, we brought some of the best offers of the year for our members for this sale. We are elated with the enormous response we have received, and that we have been able to yield significant savings for them. We look forward to many more successful events and will strive to make the next Big Billion Days at Flipkart Wholesale and Walmart India bigger and better.”

BHARAT GOES DIGITAL

For Best Price, the share of e-commerce transactions more than doubled during this event, with cities such as Guntur, Amravati and Rajahmundry dominating digital uptake. Olive oil, ghee and hot beverages were the highest selling categories on Best Price’s website and app.

The Flipkart Wholesale app, which currently serves 16 cities, saw five times surge in total orders during the Big Billion Days sale. Almost half of this demand came from smaller towns like Mysuru, Meerut, Agra, Chandigarh, and Ghaziabad.

TOP TRENDS

Sugar was the highest-selling item across Best Price stores and e-commerce channels, indicating that the country is bracing for yet another sweetness-induced festive season. Small towns such as Amravati, Bhopal, Guntur, Kota, etc, led the demand for Best Price. Hot beverages such as tea and coffee remained a high-demand category as well.

Sports shoes and T-shirts were top-selling categories on Flipkart Wholesale during the sale. The digital B2B marketplace witnessed continued demand for casual and loungewear in addition to seeing a surge in ethnic wear, especially from Surat and Jaipur as fashion retailers gear up for the festive season.

There was also an uptick in demand for trendy fashion products such as slogan T-shirts, flared and ripped denims, and bright coloured footwear.

BRAND SPEAK

Top brands such as Hindustan Unilever, P&G, Nestle, Britannia, Amul, Haldiram, Cadbury, Red Bull, Lays, Dabur, Garnier, Bombay Dyeing, Raymond, Puma, Nivea, Borosil, Duke, Action, Liberty, Red Tape, as well as hundreds of MSME suppliers participated in the sale across Flipkart Wholesale and Best Price.

Ruchika Aggarwal, Chief Executive Officer, ActionEStore, said, “Action is proud to partner with Flipkart Wholesale and we look forward to working with this dynamic team which after revolutionising online retail in India, is now looking to digitally transform kiranas through Flipkart Wholesale. For us, Flipkart Wholesale has been a valuable partner since launch and the first edition of Big Billion Days has seen a great response to our products.”

Vipin Pilania, Modern Trade Head of VKC Nuts, owner of Nutraj Brand, said, “Nutraj dry fruits is thankful to Flipkart Wholesale for the opportunity to participate in Big Billion Days and get traction from tier 2 and tier 3 cities. Great business queries from customers motivate us to do better and go the extra mile. In the aftermath of the pandemic, Big Billion Days has brought festive cheer for us and we look forward to a great journey with Flipkart Wholesale.”