FESTIVE WARS: ONLINE GIANTS CLAIM VICTORY

BOTH AMAZON and Flipkart claimed to have outdone each other when this round of festive sales ended. Amazon claimed that Prime membership doubled and half of India’s online shoppers bought from it. And, that 81 per cent were repeat customers. Flipkart claimed it bested its own 2017 five-day Big Billion Day sale in just 26 hours this time round. Neither claim is easily verified, as both companies don’t release qualitative numbers or Gross Merchandise Value (GMV). However, recent statutory filings by both companies for FY2018 showed mounting losses and cash burn (in the price war). Combined FY2018 losses for Flipkart Internet and Flipkart India were ` 3,222 crore, while for Amazon it was ` 6,287 crore, up 71 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively. Even as both companies gear up to pump in more cash, from a consumer standpoint, it seems the best days of online shopping are yet to come.