What Walmart CFO said on Flipkart's biggest sale of the year 2024

Flipkart's biggest annual sale of the year, popularly known as Big Billion Days (BBD) sale -- found a mention in US' biggest retailer Walmart 's earnings call. "Flipkart’s Big Billion Days (BBD) sale recorded double-digit growth in revenue and customer base, with same-day delivery volumes growing 2.5 times," said John David Rainey, chief financial officer of parent Walmart.

Flipkart's annual BBD or Diwali sale started late September and continued through October. In an investor presentation for the third quarter ended October, Walmart CFO said that Flipkart’s robust sales performance significantly boosted Walmart’s international net sales, which grew 8% year-on-year (YoY) to $30.3 billion.

Flipkart also reportedly contributed to a 43% rise in Walmart’s international ecommerce sales.

The Walmart executives also had a word of caution on Flipkart. "While the festive season sales helped Walmart’s sales in Q3, there may be an adverse impact on Q4 sales," said Walmart CFO in the post-earnings call. Industry data suggests that e-commerce platforms, including Flipkart, achieved nearly $11.9 billion in total sales during the month-long festive season, a substantial increase from the previous year.

The US retailer said that its advertising revenue grew 50%, driven by Flipkart’s ad business. According to an Economic Times report, Flipkart’s advertising income surged to nearly Rs 5,000 crore in FY24, surpassing its marketplace fee revenue—a notable shift in its revenue mix.

PhonePe, also majority owned by Walmart, too had a strong quarter with monthly transactions surpassing 8.7 billion and total annualised payment volume of around $1.6 trillion.