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Amazon's Great Indian Festival draws 440 million visits, with over 72% from beyond the top nine metros
Amazon India saw first-time customers rise close to 100% and units ordered more than doubled during the 2026 Great Indian Festival. Visits counted as of October 9 are a record for Amazon.in.
The numbers
Figures from BW Retail World,
| Growth in sellers with over Rs 1 crore sales in first 24 hours: | over 80% |
|---|---|
| App downloads on record day vs regular business day: | 5x |
| Cities served by Amazon Now: | over 120 |
| Beauty units ordered growth: | nearly 7x |
| Amazon Pay Later user base growth: | 80% |
Also in the report
- Customers choosing EMIs: more than one in three
Why it matters to operators and investors
Sellers with over Rs 1 crore sales in the first 24 hours grew over 80% and demand is spreading well beyond the top nine metros, so regional logistics, seller-tools and non-metro reach look like the most useful partnership or acquisition angles.
What to watch next
- Amazon's end-of-festival summary giving final visit, customer and seller figures against the 440 million visits reported as of 9 October
- Flipkart or other rivals releasing their own festive traffic or customer-growth claims
- Repeat-purchase or post-festival order trends among first-time customers, reported by Amazon or third-party trackers
- Reports of delivery delays, cancellations or elevated returns in non-metro pin codes
- Amazon management commentary on India in its next quarterly earnings release
Likely next moves
Our read of what comes next — analysis, not reported by the source.
- Amazon India is likely to publish further festival tallies as the season runs on, keeping the focus on first-time customers and non-metro reach.
- Expect Amazon to push the new non-metro shoppers toward repeat purchases through targeted offers and expanded delivery coverage outside the top nine metros.
- Flipkart may counter with its own traffic and customer-growth claims and with stronger tier-2+ messaging, since small-town reach is now the main battleground.
- Sellers that cleared over Rs 1 crore in the first 24 hours are likely to widen inventory and ad spend on Amazon ahead of the remaining festive weeks.
- Logistics and fulfilment partners may stretch capacity in smaller cities and could face delivery-delay or return-handling pressure as order volumes work through the network.
The counter-case
The case against this reading — not reported by the source.
The headline metrics are all engagement or company-reported growth figures. None of them is a sales or profit figure. Visits of 440 million count traffic, not orders, GMV, conversion or repeat purchases, and a festival campaign with heavy advertising and app-notification pushes will inflate visits. 'First-time customers up close to 100%' may simply reflect heavy acquisition spending: deep discounts, bank offers and no-cost EMI, which can bring in low-value, one-time buyers who do not return after the sale. The 72% share of visits from beyond the top nine metros sounds like a growth story, but visits from smaller cities often convert at lower rates, with smaller baskets and higher return or cash-on-delivery risk. The seller stat (over 80% more sellers crossing Rs 1 crore in 24 hours) rests on an undisclosed base and may reflect a few large, already-established sellers. Nothing here shows that Amazon is gaining share or improving unit economics.
The source
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