In a departure from its earlier approach of hosting 4-5 mega sales during the year, Amazon is experimenting with new sale tactics this summer, prompted by feedback from its customers. Similarly, Flipkart has launched the Billion range of Made in India air conditioners, with customer needs in mind.

Along with the big sales events on January 26, August 15, Diwali, Prime Day sale in July and summer sale in May, Amazon began Q2 (April-June) of calendar 2018 with several mini-sales including the Weekend refresh fashion sale, Back to school sale, Feature Phone Fest, EMI Fest, Samsung Carnival, Apple Fest and Akshaya Tritiya. All this, ahead of its 4-day ‘Amazon Summer Sale’ that begins on May 13.

Mini-sale events

“We are testing mini-sale events in Q2 based on customer feedback, which revealed that customers want more such sale events , apart from the mega Diwali sale. We held a series of mini sale events beginning March 31st, which will continue through this quarter, instead of holding just one big sale event, which is coming up from May 13-16” Manish Tiwary, Vice-President — Category Management, Amazon India, told BusinessLine . The Amazon summer sale offers up to 80 per cent discount on A/Cs, coolers, fans, summer apparel and smartphones.

Flipkart’s Billion range of A/Cs was launched in time for its Big Shopping Days sale from May 13-16.

“Our range of inverter air conditioners has been built with insights about Indians at the core of its design — there’s an entry-level 3-star AC for those with basic cooling needs, while those willing to pay a higher upfront cost for recurring benefits of lower running costs are served by one of India’s first and most affordable 5-star (2018) rated inverter ACs” said Hrishikesh Thite, Category Head, Billion.

In addition to 50-80 per cent discounts across mobiles, laptops, TVs, appliances, fashion, home and furniture, Flipkart will launch its games corner where customers will stand a chance to play and win laptops, mobiles and other products all at just ₹1, along with a chance to get 100 per cent cashback on their sale purchase.

The annualised GMV for the Indian e-commerce industry in Q1 (Jan-Mar) of 2018 has increased to $17.7 billion from $14.7 billion in Q1 last year, fuelled largely by Flipkart and Amazon, and is set to rise further in Q2 as per RedSeer Consulting.

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