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Tag: Big Billion Day

  • Flipkart rewrites retail media with speed data and a dash of drama

    Flipkart rewrites retail media with speed data and a dash of drama

    MUMBAI: What do love, Lays and logistics have in common? Flipkart, apparently. At its Goa Fest 2025 masterclass, the e-commerce giant rolled out a full-funnel manifesto for how brands can advertise smarter, sell faster and even deliver anti-love chocolates in 10 minutes flat. Packed with metrics, media strategy, and a sprinkling of Valentine’s wit, the session was a whirlwind tour of how retail media is no longer just about deals but about data, delight and deep hyperlocal targeting.

    At the Flipkart masterclass held at Goa Fest 2025, the brand flipped the script on what e-commerce advertising can do showcasing how its ecosystem is now a robust, intelligent ad-tech playground for everyone from FMCG giants to rural D2C sellers.

    Launched as Flipkart’s quick commerce vertical, Flipkart Minutes is not just delivering tomatoes in 10 minutes, it’s shipping electronics. Over 25–28 per cent of all orders now include phones and gadgets, especially in Tier 2 India, where users increasingly need a “Pogo phone” faster than their Wi-Fi can buffer.

    But the brilliance isn’t just logistical, it’s hyperlocal advertising. Brands can now target delivery guys’ helmets in Koramangala or run a Valentine’s Day campaign only for Bangalore. Flipkart cited Cadbury’s 42 per cent YoY sales growth from a split “pro-love” and “anti-love” campaign using Minutes, a strategy that played both sides of the heart-shaped field.

    Flipkart’s Iris analytics platform empowers advertisers with full-funnel insights. Beyond ROAS (Return on Advertising Spend), brands now get New-to-Brand (NTB) metrics measuring how many fresh eyeballs saw and clicked their products.

    With over 2,000 types of audience signals in play and 80 per cent of advertisers using them, Flipkart is serious about understanding behaviour, not just demographics. Think: not just who’s browsing, but what they previously bought, which pin codes they search from, and what their most-used credit card says about them.

    Perhaps the most disruptive insight? Flipkart is offering a line of ad credit to small and rural advertisers based on past performance. Instead of upfront payments, sellers can now use ad credit and pay back as a percentage of actual sales freeing up crucial cash flows.

    Flipkart’s Brand Self-Serve portal has gone from being a display hub to an intelligent coach. Its Keyword Planner allows precise targeting (e.g. phones under Rs 30,000), while PCS Spotlight brings masthead-style prominence right inside search results.

    Thanks to 6–7 layers of search recommendations, even first-time advertisers can run effective campaigns. Add to that Product Performance Ads and a creative Brand Solutions team, and what you have is not just ads, but entire storytelling experiences optimised for ROAS and reach.

    Flipkart’s anecdotal evidence packs punch. Coke targeted party hours before New Year’s by finding users buying Lays and Chakna—not soda. Cadbury ran two opposing Valentine’s Day campaigns, pro-love for Silk, anti-love for Gems and saw their sales shoot up 42% over last year’s campaign.

    With Big Billion Day on the horizon, Flipkart is focusing on customer loyalty targeting, allowing brands to reach habitual discount-hunters during specific periods.

    Their ambitious roadmap includes pushing retail media as a top-funnel tool too. It’s no longer just a performance play. Retail media is now about brand discovery, contextual engagement, and creative risk-taking without betting the whole national ad budget.

    From smart shopping insights to delivering slow-mo smartphones faster than you can say “Galaxy S24 FE,” Flipkart’s masterclass proved one thing: retail media isn’t just booming, it’s blooming.

  • Flipkart to host first-ever live commerce event for two-wheelers

    Flipkart to host first-ever live commerce event for two-wheelers

    Mumbai: Flipkart has announced its first-ever live commerce event for two-wheelers to be held on 18 October at 5 p.m. on the Flipkart mobile app. The one-of-its-kind industry event in the country will be hosted by Rannvijay Singha of MTV Roadies fame and auto influencer Rachit Hirani and will showcase a range of electric and petrol two-wheelers from top brands to millions of consumers across the country and enable them to make a purchase in real time.

    Customers can go to the Flipkart app and select bikes and cars from the category segment to join ‘The Auto Hour Live’ event. As part of the live commerce event, Flipkart will make available a range of two-wheelers from brands including Ampere, Bounce, BGauss, and Hero, where the hosts will showcase their features and talk about the evolving two-wheeler space. The event will also mark the launch of the Hero XTreme 160R Stealth 2.0, in one of the first virtual launches of a two-wheeler in the country.

    The live commerce event is significant as customers prepare to celebrate Dhanteras and Diwali, and is an auspicious time to make new purchases, particularly vehicles.

    Speaking of this unique initiative, Flipkart senior director of two-wheelers, automobiles & electronics Rakesh Krishnan Flipkart said, “The Indian two-wheeler industry is at the cusp of a revolution with e-commerce offering new avenues to millions of customers to own a two-wheeler in a seamless and affordable manner. Through our Live Commerce event, a one-of-its-kind activity, we aim to showcase the best of petrol and electric vehicles to our customers and allow them to book their favourite vehicles in real time. Customers will also be able to make use of our industry-best affordability constructs to make their purchase affordable across top cities.”

  • Govt issues notices to Flipkart, Amazon for not displaying country of origin

    Govt issues notices to Flipkart, Amazon for not displaying country of origin

    The government has cracked the whip on e-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart for not displaying mandatory declaration on products, including country of origin. According to a PTI report, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has sent notices to the two e-tailers demanding explanations for non-compliance within 15 days, failing which action would be initiated against them as per the provisions of the Legal Metrology Rules, 2011.

    Post the Indo-China conflict on the border, the government made it mandatory for the e-commerce players to mention the origin of the products on their websites. The rule was invoked to prevent Chinese companies from selling goods in the Indian market and help the Indian origin brands to reclaim their market share. While the e-tailers have asked their sellers to update the country of origin in August while listing their products on the websites, many haven’t managed to do so on pre-existing listings on the two websites. The notice comes amid the much-vaunted festive season when the two e-tailers have kickstarted their annual mega sales – Big Billion Day and Great Indian Festival. They have listed thousands of products on their websites and launched a massive marketing campaign to push that. Lakhs of people throughout the month will shop on Flipkart and Amazon to make the best of this sale and avail products on discounts. Every year, the two e-commerce giants clock over a billion plus dollars in sales (combined) throughout the country. They have created a strong distribution, procurement, communication network and have been including the local sellers and retailers to expand their reach to the last corner of the country.

  • #BigBillionDay sale blunder: Flipkart apologises, govt probes

    #BigBillionDay sale blunder: Flipkart apologises, govt probes

    MUMBAI: The sale that was touted as the biggest sale in India by shoppers across the country seems to have disappointed many. With a mile long complaint list which included everything from server errors to price issues, abrupt cancellations among others, the dissatisfied and disgruntled customers backlashed on social media, with hashtags branding them as ‘Flopkart’ trending.

     

    A day after the failure of the the Big Billion Day Flipkart founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal apologised for the chaotic and unpleasant experiences faces by the customers on 6 October.

     

    “Yesterday was a big day for us. And we really wanted it to be a great day for you. But at the end of the day, we know your experience was less than pleasant. We did not live up to the promises we made and for that we are really and truly sorry,” the Bansals, wrote in a joint email to customers.

     

    The e-commerce firm said 1.5 million people shopped at its portal on 6 October to take benefit of the one-day sale scheme. The company claimed it sold products worth over Rs 600 crore in just 10 hours under the scheme. The company had announced deep discounts for products in over 70 categories.

     

    “And though we saw unprecedented interest in our products and traffic like never before, we also realised that we were not adequately prepared for the sheer scale of the event. We didn’t source enough products and deals in advance to cater to your requirements,” the founders said.

     

    They added that the load on server led to intermittent outages that impacted shopping experience on the website.

     

    Flipkart had deployed nearly 5,000 servers and had prepared for 20 times the traffic growth – but the volume of traffic at different times of the day was much higher than this, the mail revealed.

     

    Talking about the out-of-stock issues, the founders reckoned, “We had ensured availability, anywhere from hundreds to a few lakh units for various products, but it was nowhere near the actual demand. We promise to plan much better for future promotions and ensure that we minimise the out-of-stock issues.”

     

    The e-mail further stated, “We realise that this breaks the trust our customers have put in us. We are truly sorry for this and will ensure that this never happens again.”

     

    “Everything that we have achieved at Flipkart is purely on the basis of our customer’s trust and faith…We failed to live up to this promise and would like to apologise once again to every single customer for our failure,” the founders concluded.

     

    Not only customers complained against the Big Billion Day sale, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has also sought a probe into the business model and trade practices of e-commerce companies to find out how they are offering huge discounts during the ongoing festive season. It also demanded setting up of a special task force of experts to conduct an in depth probe of working of such companies.

     

    Also according to media reports, Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman expressed concerns over Flipkart flash sale controversy.

     

    “We have received many inputs regarding Flipkart episode. Lot of concern has been expressed and we will look into it,” Sitharaman said.

     

    After receiving many complaints regarding the Big Billion Day sale, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman commented, “We have received many inputs. Lot of concerns have been expressed. We will study the matter… Whether there is a need for a separate policy or some kind of clarification is needed, we will make it clear soon,” the reports added.

  • #BigBillionDay sale blunder: Flipkart apologises, govt probes

    #BigBillionDay sale blunder: Flipkart apologises, govt probes

    MUMBAI: The sale that was touted as the biggest sale in India by shoppers across the country seems to have disappointed many. With a mile long complaint list which included everything from server errors to price issues, abrupt cancellations among others, the dissatisfied and disgruntled customers backlashed on social media, with hashtags branding them as ‘Flopkart’ trending.

     

    A day after the failure of the the Big Billion Day Flipkart founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal apologised for the chaotic and unpleasant experiences faces by the customers on 6 October.

     

    “Yesterday was a big day for us. And we really wanted it to be a great day for you. But at the end of the day, we know your experience was less than pleasant. We did not live up to the promises we made and for that we are really and truly sorry,” the Bansals, wrote in a joint email to customers.

     

    The e-commerce firm said 1.5 million people shopped at its portal on 6 October to take benefit of the one-day sale scheme. The company claimed it sold products worth over Rs 600 crore in just 10 hours under the scheme. The company had announced deep discounts for products in over 70 categories.

     

    “And though we saw unprecedented interest in our products and traffic like never before, we also realised that we were not adequately prepared for the sheer scale of the event. We didn’t source enough products and deals in advance to cater to your requirements,” the founders said.

     

    They added that the load on server led to intermittent outages that impacted shopping experience on the website.

     

    Flipkart had deployed nearly 5,000 servers and had prepared for 20 times the traffic growth – but the volume of traffic at different times of the day was much higher than this, the mail revealed.

     

    Talking about the out-of-stock issues, the founders reckoned, “We had ensured availability, anywhere from hundreds to a few lakh units for various products, but it was nowhere near the actual demand. We promise to plan much better for future promotions and ensure that we minimise the out-of-stock issues.”

     

    The e-mail further stated, “We realise that this breaks the trust our customers have put in us. We are truly sorry for this and will ensure that this never happens again.”

     

    “Everything that we have achieved at Flipkart is purely on the basis of our customer’s trust and faith…We failed to live up to this promise and would like to apologise once again to every single customer for our failure,” the founders concluded.

     

    Not only customers complained against the Big Billion Day sale, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has also sought a probe into the business model and trade practices of e-commerce companies to find out how they are offering huge discounts during the ongoing festive season. It also demanded setting up of a special task force of experts to conduct an in depth probe of working of such companies.

     

    Also according to media reports, Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman expressed concerns over Flipkart flash sale controversy.

     

    “We have received many inputs regarding Flipkart episode. Lot of concern has been expressed and we will look into it,” Sitharaman said.

     

    After receiving many complaints regarding the Big Billion Day sale, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman commented, “We have received many inputs. Lot of concerns have been expressed. We will study the matter… Whether there is a need for a separate policy or some kind of clarification is needed, we will make it clear soon,” the reports added.

  • Alcatel’s smartphone ‘Onetouch Fire C’ launches on Flipkart’s Big Billion Day Sale

    Alcatel’s smartphone ‘Onetouch Fire C’ launches on Flipkart’s Big Billion Day Sale

    BENGALURU:  A number of companies have said that they are working on the $20-25 smartphone for India. Alcatel Onetouch (Alcatel) has come in close with a smartphone that seems to have features that just about slot it into the smartphone category, a little above the features phone at a price of Rs 1990, or a little more than $30 – the ‘Onetouch Fire C’.

     

    The company is targeting first time users of smartphones that want to upgrade from the basic or the features phone in a very price sensitive market like India. The Onetouch Fire C will be available exclusively through Flipkart starting 6 October, or Flipkart’s Big Billion Day (Sale Day), for which the company has initiated a huge multimedia campaign. Flipkart feels that a lot of first time internet users will access the net on the Big Billion Day and hence push up sales of Onetouch Fire C. Flipkart has not planned a special campaign for individual products which include a Lenovo launch on 6 December 2014.

     

    However, Alcatel plans to push the Onetouch Fire C digitally for now, and through the print media sometime around Diwali. Its creatives are done globally, while media buying is through Ad Syndicate and Zenith Optimedia.

     

    “Even today, 71 per cent of market in India is feature phones, while 29 per cent is smartphones. Of that 29 per cent, between 30-40 per cent of the market is for the Rs 5000 or lower smartphone, and it is this market that we are targeting primarily with the Fire C,” said Alcatel Onetouch regional director APAC BU Praveen Valecha. The Onetouch Fire C is a 2G phone and the company is likely to come up with an upgraded low cost model sometime in November or December this year, which could have 3G or even 4G capability.

     

    “As a launch partner for Firefox OS, we know that our customers love its simple user interface and smooth navigation. We see a great deal of opportunity to bring these benefits to more consumers on a greater variety of devices at most affordable price and we are sure of success as it’s an innovative product selling on Flipkart, India’s largest e-commerce platform,” said Valecha.

     

    Here’s what a press release has to say about the Onetouch Fire C:

     

    Offering Firefox OS features at entry-level price; the Fire C is a pocket-sized smartphone that is designed to make sharing simple. Its 3.5” HVGA screen and 1 GHZ processor offer smooth and fast Firefox OS apps experience. Complete with mobile broadband and stereo FM radio RDS, the Fire C2G offers all of the features needed to capture, share and enjoy content. Firefox is totally a web HTML based OS which gives best user experience on-the-go. It constitutes marketplace and best adaptive applications search along with rich media and social messaging apps support. A unique dynamic UI will be a big plus for the phone.

     

    Key features include:

    Onetouch Fire C – 2G: OS version – Firefox 1.3, Compact, pocket friendly design,  3.5” HVGA display, dual sim, 1.0 GHz, 1.3 MP camera; Colour – bluish black and dark chocolate; Multilingual support – English, Bangla, Tamil and Hindi languages.