Bengaluru, Oct 10 (PTI) Amazon India’s Great Indian Festival 2026 has recorded its strongest opening, with the number of products ordered more than doubling from a year earlier and visits to its shopping platform crossing 440 million in the early phase of the sale, as e-commerce demand spreads beyond major cities and shoppers trade up to premium products.
More than 72 per cent of visits came from outside India’s top nine metropolitan areas, while the number of first-time shoppers rose nearly 100 per cent, Amazon said in a statement. The figures point to strong early-season demand across smartphones, consumer electronics, fashion, beauty, home appliances and everyday products.
The opening comes as online retailers compete for a larger share of India’s festive-season spending, using discounts, bank offers, exchange deals and instalment financing to attract shoppers. The scale of Amazon’s reported traffic also highlights the growing importance of smaller cities and towns to online consumption.
“Early trends from the Amazon Great Indian Festival 2026 have beaten our most optimistic expectations,” said Saurabh Srivastava, Vice President at Amazon India.
“We’ve seen a record 100 per cent increase in products ordered and are humbled to see aspirations becoming affordable with extra savings for Prime members, instant bank discounts, exchange, no-cost EMI, Amazon Pay Later and a host of value-driving programs,” he said.
Amazon said the sale attracted more than 440 million visits during its early phase, while downloads of its shopping app reached a record high for a single day, at five times the level on a regular business day.
Customers from every Indian pin code had placed orders, the company said, although it did not disclose the number of unique buyers or the absolute number of products sold.
One in three units purchased during the sale received cashback, while Prime members saved more than twice as much as in the comparable period last year through Prime-only offers in the first 12 hours.
Demand was strong for premium smartphones and electronics. Sales of premium Android smartphones increased 70 per cent year-on-year, while MacBook Neo sales were 65 times the level of a regular day. Premium wearables sold at 80 times their normal daily pace, according to Amazon.
Home entertainment and appliances also recorded sharp increases. Sales of televisions measuring 55 inches and above accounted for 65 per cent of all TVs sold, while home entertainment sales were 77 times a regular day’s level. Large appliances sold at 50 times their normal daily pace, Amazon said.
Fashion sales reached seven times a regular day’s level, with footwear sales running at seven pairs a second, according to the company.
Beauty products accounted for one in every four products purchased during the first 12 hours, while premium skincare and haircare products sold at five times their usual daily rate.
Sellers recorded more than twice as many units ordered in the first 24 hours as during the comparable period last year. Sellers generating more than Rs 1 crore in sales during the first 24 hours increased by over 80 per cent year-on-year, Amazon said.
Individual brands also reported strong early demand. Versuni India, which sells Philips-branded home appliances, said demand for its products was 10 times its regular-day level.
“Thrilled to see Philips clock a 10x surge in demand vs our regular day this Amazon Great Indian Festival,” said Gulbahar Taurani, Managing Director and Chief Executive of Versuni India.
Sportswear brand Reebok reported sales more than doubling from the same period last year, while fashion brand WROGN said its business was 10 times its regular-day level and three times its Prime Day performance.
Beauty brand Renee said first-day sales doubled from a year earlier and reached three times its usual daily level.
Flexible payment options also played a prominent role in the sale. Amazon said more than one in three customers chose equated monthly instalments (EMIs), while one in four customers used Amazon Pay to split payments interest-free.
Transactions using EMI through Amazon Pay Later doubled year-on-year, and its user base expanded 80 per cent, the company said. The Amazon Pay ICICI Bank credit card’s user base increased 15 per cent, while one in four customers transacted using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
The use of instalment payments and discounts could make higher-priced products more accessible, particularly for consumers upgrading smartphones, appliances and electronics.
Amazon said millions of orders had been delivered within hours of being placed. In more than 120 cities served by Amazon Now, one in two products was delivered within minutes, the company said.
Rapid fulfilment has become an important competitive lever for online retailers, particularly as consumers increasingly expect convenience alongside discounts and product choice. Amazon’s reported delivery performance underscores its effort to combine large-scale festive promotions with faster delivery across urban and smaller markets.
The early performance offers an indication of demand at the start of India’s festive shopping season, when e-commerce platforms typically intensify promotions across electronics, fashion, beauty and household goods.
The strong reported contribution from smaller cities suggests that online retail growth is not confined to the largest urban markets. At the same time, the surge in premium product sales points to consumer interest in higher-value purchases, although discounts and financing offers may be influencing the timing and mix of demand. PTI MKT TRB
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