New Delhi, Nov 20 (PTI) Walmart-owned Flipkart on Friday said artisans, who are part of its Samarth programme and participated during its annual festive sale saw a 2.5x increase in sales compared to their usual non-festive sale days.

The e-commerce major said through the Flipkart Samarth, it has been able to impact over 7 lakh livelihoods.

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"Over the last year, Flipkart Samarth saw a 12x growth in the number of partners who joined the programme. These artisans, who became part of Flipkart's annual festive season sale this year, saw a 2.5x increase in comparison to their usual non-festive sale days," a statement said.

Flipkart had hosted its annual 'Big Billion Day' sale from October 16-21, and continued to offer deals to woo customers during the festive season.

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The company said 'Samarth' programme is designed with the intention of democratising e-commerce and building a sustainable and inclusive platform for under-served, domestic communities to empower them with greater opportunities and better livelihood.

Through the initiative, Flipkart's aim is to provide greater visibility to the Made-in-India products on its platform.

"The demand for these products reflected the increasing trend of people supporting local products, with the top-performing categories for sellers of the Flipkart Samarth programme being ethnic wear, home decor and natural/organic beauty and grooming products," Flipkart said.

Flipkart Samarth also saw artisans, craftsmen, and weavers from new cities (7x growth from last year) join the programme, it added.

About 60 per cent of Flipkart Samarth's partners are from tier-II and beyond, including cities like Dharampuri, Palanpur, Ernakulum, Palghar, and Ambala.

"The Governments at the Centre and States have played a critical and enabling role in helping these under-served seller communities become part of the Flipkart Samarth initiative on the marketplace," Flipkart Group Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Rajneesh Kumar said.

He added that such initiatives play a prominent role in promoting the Government's 'vocal for local' campaign, in turn helping build an 'Atmanirbhar' India.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)