Flipkart on Sunday said it saw a 40 per cent growth in early access sale for Flipkart Plus customers as compared to last year, as the commerce platform kicked off 8th edition of 'The Big Billion Days' (TBBD) festive sales.

More than 2 million customers pre-booked close to 5 million products just prior to Early Access by paying just Re 1.

Nearly 45 per cent of customer demand has been from tier 3 cities and beyond, signalling a strong preference for high-value goods/items, the commerce platform said in a statement.

"This year, TBBD has started off seeing upbeat participation by customers and sellers. We will expand and strengthen our ecosystem of sellers and MSMEs, enabling better income and livelihoods for millions and expand our reach across the country," said Nandita Sinha, Vice President, Customer and Growth, Flipkart.

One in five customers has chosen to exchange their smartphone for a new one, with 82.60 per cent of customers choosing to pay for their next smartphone using prepaid payment options.

Apple 12 and Apple 12 Mini are currently the favourite smartphone models, accounting for most of the 2 lakh Apple iPhone 12 devices sold so far.

"The pent-up demand for large appliances and electronics is evident from the fact that TVs are the largest-selling category in home appliances, with laptops recording top numbers in electronics," the company said.

Flipkart said it has onboarded over one lakh kiranas to date for its last-mile delivery programme.

Indians are expected to buy goods worth a whopping $9 billion (Rs 64,000 crore) across online platforms in the festive season this year.

E-commerce players are expected to clock sales worth $4.8 billion (Rs 33,600 crore) in the festive week alone that started from Sunday, which is a 30 per cent increase from last year, according to latest data from Bengaluru-based market research firm RedSeer.