Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal: The big festive discounts are coming

Come October and online buyers will be glued to the websites and apps of leading ecommerce firms Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal.

It will be a buyers' delight during the festive season with the companies offering deep discounts to lure buyers and raise volumes. We take a look at how the festive sales may pan out for the big three e-commerce players .

Amazon India

The US-based electronic commerce and cloud computing company's India arm is expected to hold the festive season sales from October 1 to October 5, 2016, according to media reports. The company is expected to spend Rs 125-130 crore in marketing and advertising budget.

Earlier, the retailer had advanced its sale schedule from October 15.

For sale event in India, Amazon is following its US strategy where it aggressively spends during Christmas. The US parent sale held its sale event between 8-12 September.

On the funding front, Amazon seems to have gathered momentum with its founder and CEO Jeff Bezos committing $3 billion in June 2016 for its Indian operations.

The major portion of its expenditure announced in June 2016 is expected to be spent on the festive season sale.

In 2014, the firm had invested $2 billion in India opertions.

Flipkart

Indian ecommerce firm Flipkart's 'Big Billion Day Sale' will be back in first week of October. The sale will most likely launch on  October 3. This time too, Flipkart may offer huge discounts on app only.

It is also expected to come up with a "buy-now-pay-later" scheme and is said to be in talks with lenders to arrange pre-approved loans for consumers. This move will give Flipkart a big edge over its competitors Amazon and Snapdeal.

To ensure better and timely service to its millions of customers, the firm is likely to organise its 'Big Billion Day sale' in installments throughout the month of October.

Reports say Flipkart plans to raise its stock of products in order to efficiently deal with a sudden increased demand for goods during the sale period.

The firm's Re 1 offer, launched during the first big-billion day sale, is expected to be back this year.

The retailer is also likely to come up with exclusive tie-ups with brands and offers like EMIs (equated monthly installments), which will make products more affordable to a larger audience of customers.

Snapdeal

Ahead of the festive season sales, another major retailer Snapdeal plans to create 10,000 temporary jobs at the company between September 15 to November 15, with the positions mostly being in logistics to ensure smooth deliveries.

The firm has invested Rs 200 crore in rebranding activities and also unveiled a new logo as the e-commerce major focuses on wooing the next 100 million potential online shoppers. Snapdeal has done away with its blue and red logo, replacing it with a Vermello (red)-coloured box.

The excitement for the festive season sales has just begun and it will be worth watching how the Big Three will handle the mammoth demand for the discounted products.