New Delhi: Driven by rising disposable incomes, especially in the small cities and towns amid growing digital payments, the India festive season has kicked off to a roaring start, e-commerce platforms said on Monday. 

Amazon said it witnessed a record 11 crore customer visits in the first 48 hours, with 80 per cent coming from tier 2 and smaller towns, during the “The Amazon Great Indian Festival 2024”.

According to the company, more than three lakh unique products including apparel, smartphones, beauty, everyday essentials and more were delivered within the same day or the next day.

UPI usage on the platform grew 16 per cent compared to last year. According to Saurabh Srivastava, Vice President–Categories, Amazon India, they are witnessing an overwhelming participation of sellers across India, including small and medium businesses.

Flipkart said it saw more than 33 crore user visits on its platform during Early Access and Day 1 combined during the ‘Big Billion Days 2024’, reflecting festive enthusiasm from shoppers from across the country.

“Some of the early trends indicate an increase in demand for categories that enable a lifestyle upgrade, and tier 2+ cities have been showing growth in the run up to this year’s festive season,” said Harsh Chaudhary, Vice President-Growth, Flipkart.

Myntra said it witnessed 15 times new users over business as usual (BAU) joining the platform, and a two times growth in OPM (orders per minute) at peak over last year, in the opening hour of its Big Fashion Festival, including 120 million visitors during Early Access and Day 1 sales.

Unicommerce said it saw e-commerce order volumes growing by 20 per cent during the first four days of the festive season sale (September 26-September 29), compared to the first four days of the festive season sales last year.

In the same period, the gross merchandise value (GMV) also increased by 24 per cent over last year.

Kapil Makhija, MD and CEO of Unicommerce, said they see an increasing number of brands participating in the sale season, affirming India’s status as a digitally forward country.