Flipkart looks to extend lead over Amazon in smartphone sales during the holiday season

SoftBank-backed Flipkart is confident of extending its lead over US-based rival Amazon in smartphones sales and expects 1 in 2 smartphones sold online during the festive season will be through its platform. “We have been hovering around 2-2.5X of the sales volume of our rival but we expect this to be 4X during festive sales (month beginning around September 20). We are confident that 1 in 2 phones sold online will be through Flipkart,” Flipkart Head (Smartphones category) Ayyappan Rajagopal told PTI. [caption id=“attachment_4043201” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] This year, the sales would be about 2.5 times the volume sold on its own platform last year, he added. Rajagopal, however, declined to comment on specific sales numbers. When contacted, Amazon India Director (Smartphones and Consumer Electronics) Arun Srinivasan said: “We are customer obsessed and not competition focused”. “Our commitment to things that customers genuinely care for such as best selection at great value with on time fast delivery has resulted in a growth of over 100 per cent,” he said. Srinivasan said Amazon.in is poised to surpass its past growth rates this festive season. Flipkart will begin its five-day Big Billion Days sale from September 20 and will offer discounts and deals on every handset sold through its platform. Amazon will host its sale between September 21 to 24. The two companies are locked in an intense battle for leadership in the burgeoning e-commerce market in India and are betting on the mobile phones category as one of the major growth drivers. Mobile phones are one of the most popular items sold through e-commerce sites in India. Over the last few years, a number of new handset companies, including the likes of HMD (Nokia), Xiaomi, Motorola and CoolPad have partnered players like Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal to enter the Indian market. Rajagopal said Flipkart is focussing is on providing customers with an extensive selection across price points, coupled with multiple finance options to maintain its lead in the market. He added that during the sale period, customers can buy smartphones starting At Rs 2,999 onwards and discounts up to 60 per cent will be offered. “There will be discounts on every smartphone…We are ensuring that customers have a huge selection to choose from. Our selection will be three times that of our closest rival,” he said.