Like every year, Flipkart is hosting it’s Big Billion Days celebrations. But unlike before, spending habits have changed in the year of the pandemic. We asked Nandita Sinha, vice-president of customer growth, media and engagement at Flipkart, what’s selling more than others.

Which are the categories that are expected to do well this year?

The consumer demand has increased across categories though the purchase trends are likely to differ from previous years. This is based on the demand patterns witnessed in the past few months since a large proportion of the country’s workforce started operating remotely. For instance, consumer searches for mobile and laptops are witnessing a notable increase in the affordable segment with the learn from home taking precedence for students. Similarly, the demand for high performance laptops and WFH furniture namely office tables and chairs have also increased coming from working professionals.

Categories such as large appliances and books, general merchandise and home are witnessing increasing demand for multi-functional consumer durables among other items to make best use of their time at home. This trend in searches is being seen across metros and non-metros with smaller cities outpacing the metros as the working population has moved back to their hometowns.

Furthermore, as people are spending more time with their family members, there has been an increase in demand for entertainment options such as large screen televisions, soundbars, speakers, gaming chairs, and TV streaming devices. There has been an increase in consumer demand from Tier-III cities too, accounting for almost half of the overall demand for home automation products.

Do you see fewer clothes selling this year?

Festivities, nuptials and celebrations are happening very differently since the pandemic. Intimate “lockdown weddings” and “virtual celebrations” are replacing many of the traditional ceremonies. Affordable lehngas, saris and other ethnicwear have been among the most searched fashion products this festive season. This has led to a fivefold spike in kurta combos and a threefold spike in sari combos over the past few months. With women opting for comfort and elegance, a new trend has emerged, with ethnic dresses getting 2.3 times as many searches as before on Flipkart.

An analysis of the search trends of female shoppers revealed a value-focused mindset with searches such as “bridal lehngas under Rs 800”, “wedding saris under Rs 500” and “kurtas under Rs 300” doubling as compared to usual levels. Festive kurta sets and sets with palazzos/skirts as bottoms have seen a great surge as customers look to keep up with new fashion trends. In men’s fashion, we have witnessed a 20 per cent jump in searches for short kurtas, with top-selling products mainly concentrated in the price range of Rs 450-470.

How will The Big Billion Days sale be different in a pandemic-hit year when people’s spending priorities are different?

Through a large selection of products coupled with multiple affordable payment constructs such as no-cost EMI, debit card EMI, we want to offer greater benefits to our customers who are looking at value purchases in these times of uncertainty.
This year’s Big Billion Days will also be supremely different from previous years as it is most likely to witness the biggest wave of customers from smaller towns and remote locations log on to e-commerce to meet their festive requirements through Flipkart.

Some of The Big Billion Days specials this year include

• An ethnic range curated by Kareena Kapoor for Imara
• Bikaji limited-edition 24K gold leaf sweets
• Exclusive Virat Kohli line of One8 products