Online retailer Flipkart on Friday announced that it had outdone rival Amazon in their annual pre-Diwali sales this year. Flipkart said it sold 15.5 million units in its five-day mega sale, Big Billion Days, while the US-based e-commerce giant had announced on Thursday that it had sold 15 million units in its Great Indian Festival. Both companies, however, fared far better than Snapdeal, which sold around 11 million units, according to Business Standard.

Flipkart's gross sales includes those from its fashion subsidiaries Myntra and Jabong. The Bengaluru-based company generated a gross merchandise value of Rs 3,000 crore, Mint reported. Snapdeal's GMV stood at Rs 600 crore, Amazon's final figure was not disclosed.

Co-founder and CEO of Flipkart, Binny Bansal, told Business Standard that his company had recorded an overall growth of around 70% in sales from last year's offers, with a "lot more growth in lifestyle and large appliances". The products that sold the most on the website were Apple's iPhones, Xiaomi and Motorola mobiles and VU televisions.

Kunal Bhal, the co-founder and CEO of Snapdeal, said the company had seen a fourfold increase in new users this festive sale season. Amazon India Country Manager Amit Agarwal, he would "not be surprised" if they were ahead of competition as Amazon had recorded a "150% growth all through the year and a three-time jump in Diwali sales".

According to research firm Redseer Consulting, India's top three e-commerce firms had cold goods worth between $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion (approximately Rs 7,400 crore to Rs 8,000 crore) altogether. Analysts believe that the cumulative GMV for e-commerce in India for October could be between $1.7 and $1.9 billion (around Rs 11,400 crore to Rs 13,000 crore).