Flipkart is gearing up for the 13th edition of its Big Billion Days sale with an expanded logistics network, additional warehouse capacity and a larger focus on quick commerce and artificial intelligence.
The sale will begin on October 9, while Plus, BLACK and Flipkart credit card members will get early access from October 8. This year, Flipkart expects the event to cover around 150 million products, with its largest-ever seller participation and more than 8,200 fulfilment and delivery facilities.
For the first time, the company also plans to extend deliveries to locations including Leh and Kargil.
Flipkart Expands Warehouses and Delivery Network
A significant part of Flipkart’s preparations has focused on strengthening its logistics infrastructure.
Ahead of the festive sale, Ekart has added 14 million cubic feet of warehousing space, increasing its overall storage capacity by 50 per cent. Automation has also helped raise peak processing capacity by more than 30 per cent.
The company has further added more than 900 delivery hubs and expanded its network to over 750 additional PIN codes.
Flipkart said its festive-season operations have generated more than 2.5 lakh direct and indirect employment opportunities. Around 75,000 of these opportunities are for people entering the workforce for the first time.
Flipkart Minutes Expands Quick-Commerce Operations
Quick commerce is expected to have a significantly bigger presence during this year’s Big Billion Days sale.
Flipkart Minutes is now available across more than 150 cities and 9,000 PIN codes, supported by nearly 1,200 micro-fulfilment centres. During the sale, the platform will offer more than 77,000 products spread across over 1,400 categories.
The company has identified cities including Patna, Jaipur, Guwahati, Siliguri and Salem among the markets where its quick-commerce operations are recording strong growth.
Seller Participation Rises Ahead of Big Billion Days
Flipkart is also seeing a substantial increase in seller participation this year. The company said the number of transacting sellers is expected to be more than 60 per cent higher than last year.
More than 2.5 crore products from MSMEs, small businesses, artisans and weavers have already been moved into Ekart fulfilment centres ahead of the sale.
Commenting on the evolution of digital commerce in India, Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said, “Thirteen years ago, digital commerce in India was a novelty. Today, it is infrastructure.”
AI to Power Shopping and Delivery
Artificial intelligence will play a larger role across Flipkart’s shopping and logistics operations this year. Customers will be able to search for products using text, voice and images, while a conversational assistant will help them narrow down their choices.
AI is also being used to personalise shopping feeds, create seller content, support geocoding and improve last-mile delivery planning.
For shoppers, much of this technology is expected to operate in the background, helping power product discovery and fulfilment without necessarily being visible during the shopping experience.
Disclaimer: The information in this article is based on details provided by Flipkart regarding its Big Billion Days sale preparations. Product availability, delivery coverage, seller participation and other operational details may change. Customers should check Flipkart’s official platform for the latest sale information, offers and availability.