Global e-commerce major Walmart attributes strong growth in the September quarter to the double-digit growth in Flipkart and Walmex (Walmart Mexico).
The company said Flipkart’s strong growth is due in part to the timing of The Big Billion Days event, which moved from Q4 last year to Q3 this year. Walmart’s e-commerce net sales comprised 23 per cent of total net sales in the quarter, which is up 400 basis points y-o-y, primarily due to Flipkart.
In Walmart’s earnings call, the company executives added that the digital payments platform, PhonePe, also continues to perform well and its monthly transactions have reached $3.6 billion. This was also the first time that PhonePe had a quarter with more than 10 billion transactions.
Strong topline growth
Walmart’s global advertising business also grew over 30 per cent, led by Walmart Connect in the US and strength in Flipkart ads. Walmart has reported total revenue of $152.8 billion, up 8.7 per cent, or 9.8 per cent in constant currency. Walmart International’s net sales were at $25.3 billion, an increase of $1.7 billion, or 7.1 per cent, negatively affected by $1.5 billion from currency fluctuations.
“We had a good quarter with strong topline growth globally led by Walmart and Sam’s Club US, along with Flipkart and Walmex. Walmart US continued to gain market share in grocery, helped by unit growth in our food business. We significantly improved our inventory position in Q3, and we’ll continue to make progress as we end the year. From The Big Billion Days in India, through our Deals for Days events in the US and a Thanksgiving meal that will cost the same as last year, we’re here to help make this an affordable and special time for families around the world,” Doug McMillon, President and CEO, Walmart, said in a press statement.
Over a billion customers visited Walmart-owned Flipkart during The Big Billion Days and it also witnessed 35 million app downloads from new customers. Further, the company saw 100 per cent growth in the number of first-time sellers and more than half of the transacting sellers saw a 1.5x increase in business.
The marketplace arm of Flipkart, Flipkart Internet, had reported 51 per cent growth in a net loss amounting to ₹4,362 crore in FY22 against a 33 per cent growth in revenue. The company recorded ₹10,659 crore in revenue in FY22. Further, Flipkart Wholesale (Flipkart India Private Limited) clocked ₹51,176-crore revenue in FY22 and a net loss of ₹3,404 crore.