New Delhi, Oct 16 (IANS): Flipkart on Friday said that the first day of the 'Big Billion Day' sale witnessed a 75 per cent increase in prepaid transactions while 50 per cent of new customers came from tier III and beyond cities across categories.

Among the early trends was a perceptible shift towards digital India, as consumers continue to maintain social distancing when making purchases.

"The EMI options served as a good trigger to keep the festive spirit buoyant. One out of every five purchases in segments like mobiles, furniture, large appliances and electronics were driven through an EMI construct," the company informed.

The home category saw a surge in 53 per cent new customers, and large appliances plus BGM (beauty and general merchandise) each witnessed a near 50 per cent increase in new customers, all from tier III cities.

The MSMEs bounced back this festive season with sellers from tier II and beyond seeing growth in e-commerce. Local MSMEs from over 2,550 pincodes saw demand coming in from across the country," Filpkart said.

Sellers from 167 new cities joined e-commerce this BBD sale. Top performing tier II seller cities include Jaipur, Surat and Panipat.

Online retailers in India are expected to generate approximately $6.5 billion (Rs 47,751 crore) in sales during the festive month (October 15-November 15), with around 5.5-6 crore online buyers participating, according to a new report.

About 75 per cent of these sales will occur from October 15-21, the period in which Flipkart will hold its 'Big Billion Days' event and Amazon's 'Great Indian Festival' sale will start on October 17, according to the report by global market research firm Forrester.