With the festive season excitement building up, ecommerce major Flipkart has revealed that its much-awaited sale event, “The Big Billion Days,” is set to commence on October 8.

The sale is scheduled to run from October 8-15.

Earlier this week, Flipkart archrival Amazon revealed that its highly anticipated sale event, the Great Indian Festival (GIF), will go live on October 10. Last year, both the ecommerce giants started their festive sales on September 23.

As the ecommerce players have been gearing up for festive season, Flipkart recently rolled out an extension of its Plus Premium membership which will offer additional benefits to users, including extra discounts on selected products, early access to sales, and cashback as Supercoins.

The ecommerce giant also said that it would create 1 Lakh direct and indirect seasonal jobs to strengthen its supply chain to meet the customer demand during its flagship season sale this year.

In recent years, festive season sales have become significant events for ecommerce firms, including both Flipkart and its competitor Amazon. With the increasing adoption of mobile phones and internet connectivity across the country, these companies experience a surge in customer demand during the festive season, particularly in the electronics and fashion categories.

It is anticipated that conglomerate-backed players like Tata Neu and JioMart will also intensify their efforts during the festive season. Concurrently, the government-supported Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) has introduced the ‘ONDC Network Gift Card’ designed for corporate gifting and employee engagement.

As all ecommerce platforms gear up for the festive season, the gross merchandise value (GMV) of India’s ecommerce sector is projected to increase by 18-20% to INR 90,000 Cr during this year’s festive season, up from INR 76,000 Cr the previous year, according to the consulting firm Redseer.

Moreover, nearly 14 Cr shoppers are expected to shop during the festive season sale this year.