E-commerce firms scale up war rooms, host music parties for festive sales

As the clock struck 12, the online platforms of Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho, and Myntra exploded. Millions of shoppers went online to grab the special deals on offer as the e-commerce firms started hosting their biggest festive season sales. E-commerce firms have scaled up their operations network to meet the demand of millions of customers throughout India during the festive sale events.

Amazon India’s headquarters at WTC is buzzing with anticipation as the company went live with its biggest annual shopping event, the Amazon Great Indian Festival (AGIF) 2024. It will go on for about a month. At the heart of this effort is the AGIF War Room – ‘Action Ready’, operating round-the-clock, bringing together teams from business units, technology, logistics, marketing, and customer service. These teams are aligned in their mission to deliver a seamless and efficient customer experience for millions of shoppers. Warlike preparations go into it almost 12 months in advance to ensure that on D-day the firm gives its best to customers.

“We are confident that the AGIF this year will be our biggest-ever event. We want to serve the entire country at the fastest speed possible,” said Srivastava from one of the war rooms at WTC, in an interview. “There is a lot of focus on how we make sure that our operational processes and readiness are in place. So, the intensity and the scope of war rooms have increased. Every category has its own war room.”

War rooms are also equipped with gourmet food, snacks, energy drinks, and bean bags for employees to relax and collaborate. Teams across the globe are working closely to make AGIF a success. Regular status check-ins ensure alignment across geographies, while real-time data sharing helps maintain momentum. The firm said that the global synergy, coupled with innovative analytics tools and a deeper focus on regional customer experience, positions AGIF 2024 as one of Amazon’s most ambitious and well-orchestrated events to date.

To meet the festive demand this year, Amazon India has added three new fulfilment centres to its existing pan-India operations network, which includes over 43 million cubic feet of storage space and sort centres in 19 states. It also has about 2,000 delivery stations.

The firm is also strengthening its partnerships with Indian Railways, India Post, various airlines, and trucking partners, as well as leveraging Amazon Air for speedy delivery of products. This will help it reach 100 per cent serviceable pin codes.

It has increased the number of sellers from 14 lakh to 16 lakh in the past few months. There will be more than 25,000 new product launches across categories on the Amazon platform. The company has also created over 110,000 seasonal job opportunities. In 2023, 5,000 new products were launched from top brands across categories, and the company created about one lakh seasonal job opportunities.

According to the company executives, premium smartphones (about Rs 30,000) saw the highest year-over-year growth among all price segments on day zero of the AGIF. They said luxury beauty saw 80 per cent growth compared to last year’s event. Watches have seen 8X growth, and premium watches witnessed 10X growth versus business as usual.

Music parties

E-commerce companies and online sellers are expected to ship merchandise worth $12 billion to consumers in India this festive season, up 23 per cent compared with about $9.7 billion last year, according to data from market research firm Datum Intelligence.

Some 30 kilometres away from Amazon’s main office in Bengaluru, at the headquarters of Walmart-owned Flipkart on Outer Ring Road, the atmosphere is electric. Thousands of Flipkart employees, or ‘Flipsters’, gathered to celebrate and kick off the 11th edition of the company’s highly anticipated The Big Billion Days (TBBD) 2024.

Flipkart’s chief executive officer, Kalyan Krishnamurthy, and the leadership team addressed the employees. They highlighted the collaborative spirit that drives the company’s success. As the wishmasters set off to fulfil last-mile customer demands, the atmosphere buzzed with excitement. This was amplified by lively musical entertainment led by the Geo+Mqube band.

Employee wellness and engagement continue to take centre stage. To spread the festive cheer among Flipsters, several initiatives have been curated, including games, fun leadership interactions, and recreational activities. ‘BBD Fans-in-Chief’ have been appointed to capture all the action, offering live streams and real-time updates on social media. There is also an ample supply of beverages and nostalgic snacks like cotton candy and soft-serve ice cream being provided.

There are also designated war rooms for teams to track real-time developments. More than one out of four Indians is expected to visit Flipkart during the e-commerce firm’s BBD, according to top Flipkart officials. They said that Flipkart is making significant investments and scaling up its network.

To meet festival demand, Flipkart has launched 11 new fulfilment centres and created over 100,000 jobs across over 40 regions.

This year, the company has increased the hiring of women in the blue-collar workforce by 24 per cent compared to BBD 2023.

“Our enhanced supply chain tech, including machine learning (ML) for route planning and faster sorting, ensures quicker deliveries across 19,000 pin codes,” said Harsh Chaudhary, head of growth (vice-president), Flipkart. He added, “We are also expanding same-day and next-day delivery services.”

Quick Commerce

According to sources, Flipkart is seeing high consumer demand for electronics on its quick-commerce service called Minutes post-BBD kickoff. The company is leveraging Minutes to make deliveries of electronics ranging from mobiles to laptops, with a huge response from customers.

“In the first 12 hours of BBD this year, the top-selling electronics on Flipkart Minutes were laptops, computers, tablets, and desktop accessories. iPhones also remain in high demand for Flipkart Minutes customers, with one such customer receiving a delivery in under 8 minutes,” said a person familiar with the development.

The atmosphere at e-commerce firm Meesho’s office has been electric as the team gears up for the highly anticipated Mega Blockbuster Sale. Efforts are in full swing, with employees closely tracking real-time metrics. Meeting rooms are not only equipped with the tools needed to ensure the sale runs smoothly but are also stocked with snacks, energy drinks, and bean bags, creating a collaborative workspace.

“Festive vibes fill the office, with colourful decorations, delicious food, and team members dressed in ethnic attire, celebrating both the season and the hard work behind the scenes,” said a Meesho spokesperson. “Teams come together to monitor progress and push the boundaries to make this year’s event bigger than ever.”

Top executives, including founder and chief executive officer Vidit Aatrey and founder and chief technology officer Sanjeev Barnwal, are actively involved and motivating teams.

With thousands of employees, logistics partners, and sellers working together, Meesho said it is ready to offer a vast selection of affordable and quality products.