Lockdown effect: Flipkart absorbs more sellers as e-commerce surges

Bengaluru: E-commerce giant Flipkart on Friday announced absorption of more sellers on the platform owing to the rise in online shopping amid the pandemic this year. The company said that onboarding saw a surge of 35% in 2020 in comparison to the same period last year.

These sellers came from tier-2 and tier-3 regions such as Tirupur, Howrah, Zirakpur, Hisar, Saharanpur, Panipat and Rajkot, the company said.

They primarily catered to categories such as household needs, women's ethnic wear, grooming, home decor and toys and school supplies.

During the "pre-Covid" January-March period, the most searched products included personal care, men's clothing, footwear and women's clothing.

During the lockdown, food and nutrition, household, toys and audio products witnessed the highest demand, Flipkart said.

"Flipkart's purpose has been elevated this past year, as we continue to play an important role in ensuring the safe delivery of products to consumers' doorsteps through a safe and sanitized supply chain," Rajneesh Kumar, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Flipkart Group, said in a statement.

"The emergence of 'the new essentials' has seen the creation of greater opportunities and partnerships on our marketplace."

The platform said it witnessed a new user growth of close to 50 per cent right after the lockdown, with tier 3+ regions registering the highest growth of 65 per cent during the "unlock" July -- September phase.

Consumers from tier 2 and tier 3+ regions also spent the most time on the platform, signaling a continuing rise in user engagement and a shift in shopping preferences.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) adoption on the Flipkart platform increased nationally by 4.5X from January 2020 to August 2020, with Maharashtra taking the lead with a 5.2X growth.

Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu were the other states that were at the top of the list for UPI adoption on the Flipkart platform.

This year, the adoption of native languages saw a 2.5X increase from pre-Covid to the festive period January to November, the company said.