Amazon, Flipkart sales preponed! Set to start on this day- get your money ready

Amazon and Flipkart will advance their Republic Day sale by 4-5 days due to rising Covid-19 cases and restrictions.

Amazon, Flipkart Republic Day Sale will begin around January 16-17. (REUTERS)

The e-commerce giants, Amazon and Flipkart are likely to advance their Republic Day sales by 4-5 days this year due to rising Covid-19 cases. The surge in Omicron infections have put both Amazon and Flipkart sales in jeopardy as the restrictions imposed by authorities affect their operations including supply chain and delivery timelines. Hence, the two largest e-commerce portals have decided to start the Republic Day sale at the earliest i.e, January 16-17 for a better business. 

Amazon and Flipkart Republic Day sale to be preponed this year 

Moreover, a longer-than-usual sales period can also be expected this year to recover the lower business post Diwali. The Economic Times has quoted Avneet Singh Marwah, chief executive of Super Plastronics Pvt Ltd (SPPL), manufacturer of Kodak, Thomson, Blaupunkt and Westinghouse brands of consumer electronics and appliances online as saying, “The online Republic Day sales are getting advanced since the marketplaces fear continued surge in infections and stricter restrictions by states, which could impact supply chain and deliveries.”

He also told the portal that sales in offline stores are already down and hence it is a bigger opportunity for the marketplaces to convert business.

While both the e-commerce giants are yet to make any official statement, a senior executive of the marketplaces shared that the decision to prepone sales has been taken due to the fear that last-mile delivery staff may get infected, disrupting operations.

India reported 159,642 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours on January 10. As the nation has been witnessing continuous surge in Covid-19 infections, several states including Delhi and Karnataka have already imposed weekend lockdowns and night curfews to curb the spread. However, e-commerce portals are allowed to continue their ops. Tamil Nadu is the only state that has not allowed online deliveries of products, except food delivery during weekend lockdown.

Calling online sales an efficient and safer way for consumers to purchase during the pandemic, the marketplace executive said that they don't expect any significant restrictions on e-commerce.

Republic Day sales is the first yearly sale of the e-commerce portals and is believed to be one of the highest business periods across categories for ecommerce due to raining discounts and offers. It usually begins around January 20-22 and lasts for 3-4 days.