Are you all excited about this festive season in India? Even though the pandemic prevails there are fewer restrictions imposed on celebration than last year. Hence people are going out and shopping their hearts out this festive season!

As Durga Puja and Diwali approach, all big brands are trying to take advantage of the festivities to boost sales. All major shops have been decorated to visually appease customers to enter. 

If you are a small business owner, this is the best time to market yourself and drive up profits. Even though you do not have a physical store you can still take advantage of festivities and market yourself online. 

Major e-commerce companies such as Amazon and Flipkart are great examples of how online businesses can boost sales during the festive season. Flipkart announces its Big Billion Days sale whereas Amazon India launches its Great Indian Festival sale. 

Why is festival time an ideal time for boosting sales?
During major festivals for example Diwali, Navratri, and Durga Puja which are right at the doorstep, people love to buy new clothes, accessories, home décor, and other items for themselves and their families.

Gifting our loved ones during the festive season is a beautiful way of celebrating. Hence people buy a lot of gift items. 

So, it is assumed that people are going to shop before the festival begins. Brands just need to ensure that customers buy from them rather than their competitive brands.  

How do Amazon and Flipkart boost their sales during this period?|
Even though Amazon is an America-based company it realizes how important it is to blend the website according to the culture of the people it caters to. Hence Amazon India during its Great Indian Festival sale changes the website theme into a festive look. 

Various advertisements are made related to the festive theme to promote the sale. These advertisements are published in newspapers, television advertisements, YouTube, Instagram, and other social media sites. 

Amazon also offers its Prime members exclusive offers and services. This attracts Prime users to purchase from Amazon and no other platform. This scheme also attracts new customers to pay for becoming a Prime member. This increases Amazon's customer base and sales.

Flipkart also provides great discounts and exclusive deals during its Big Billion Days. It also advertises similarly. Flipkart and Amazon are the biggest and most competitive e-commerce sites in India. 

Various small businesses and shops list their products on them, and these sites boost their sales up during the festive season. Flipkart is expected to have 420,000 sellers on its platform by December, while Amazon has said that during the festive season over 850,000 sellers will participate.

So as a small business owner, where do you stand in crowed? Why are so many sellers sweating their blood on these marketplaces with deadly competition and hefty commissions?

Primarily because of 3 reasons

1. Small Business owners think creating an e-commerce website is difficult. 
2. They feel they can not fight big brothers.
3. Don't know how to pull the crowd.

To some extent, the reasons are valid, but they are not entirely correct. These are the same fears that these marketplaces want you to have. They are slowly killing all small businesses and ensuring that the Amazons of the world earn billions of dollars by throwing you some peanuts.

So what can small businesses do?

Well, in the short term, adopt a mixed strategy, build your own independent e-commerce website. While you are working on this and making your inroads, also sell on these marketplaces.

In the long run, the independent online store will help you grow sustainable, and your customers will recognize your small business brand.

Here is our detailed guide - How to make your independent online store.

In the meantime, here are few quick steps you can follow to sell on Amazon.

1. Login to your amazon account.
2. Go to the options and select ‘sell on Amazon’.
3. Create a seller’s account. 
4. Create the account in the name of your small business.
5. Provide all the necessary details.
6. Once your account is set up all you must do is work on your catalog
7. List down all your products on Amazon's catalog. Add pictures and descriptions too.
8. Edit your inventory and provide details of your stock.
9. Now all you have to do is wait for customers to buy your product.

What does small business learn from Amazon and Flipkart?
Marketing your company during the festive season is one of the main things small businesses can learn from these e-commerce giants. How to adapt your website store and give it a festive theme, how to brand your sale and give it a catchy name, and how to make innovative ads and promote via social media and google ads are a few of them.

Secondly, display your prices in such a way that the customer feels that it is a once-in-a-year deal. You can also promote special membership offers. So that people become your members. This will ensure that they will become returning customers and not one-time shoppers.

Use bright colours and show the slashed prices too!

Make sure your customer experience is personal, satisfactory, and appealing. Your website store should be fast, smooth, and bug-free. It should not lag or stop working due to heavy traffic. This is because if your website is slow people will leave it within seconds.

How can you make sure people buy from you rather than Flipkart and Amazon?
As a small business owner make sure you create exclusive products that are not available on e-commerce giants.

Provide customized fancy packaging for gifting during the festive season.

Provide freebies such as a diya, chocolates, etc. to add joy and increase customer satisfaction!

Improve your SEO rating so that people get to discover you.

These are some of the ways your small business can get an upper hand over other big sites.

If you do not have an online website you need to make one now to get your sales up during this festive season. Make your store now before it gets too late!

ShimBi Labs provides 2 unique software’s namely BUDO – for creating an online website and NINJIN – for creating an online store!

Both are pocket-friendly, simple to use and manage. No coding knowledge is required. All you need is your dedication and rest let BUDO and NINJIN do the magic.