Flipkart-Amazon rivalry heats up Indian e-shopping season

NEW DELHI -- India's e-commerce scene is heating up as Walmart-owned Flipkart and Amazon kick off annual autumn festival sales on Oct. 3, offering steep discounts on products ranging from smartphones, to appliances to apparel. In all, sales are forecast to reach more than $9 billion.

Flipkart, a homegrown e-commerce platform, and Amazon's Indian arm each reportedly have market shares of over 30% in the country's online retail market. The top two players moved the launch of their fall sales forward, and will start on the same day instead of their original plan to start on Oct. 7 and Oct. 4, respectively, highlighting the fight for a larger share of Indian bargain hunters.