Subscriptions in the Sky: How Amazon & Flipkart Turn Diwali into Retention Season

Every Diwali, India’s biggest e-commerce players don’t just light up sales charts — they light up subscription growth too.

This year, both Amazon’s Great Indian Festival and Flipkart’s Big Billion Days kicked off with the same strategy: give subscribers early access before the rest of the country.

And the timing couldn’t be better. Diwali isn’t just about shopping; it’s about high-intent shopping. Customers are primed to spend, upgrade, and look for deals that matter.

The Early Access Playbook

On September 22, 2025, both platforms opened their gates for Prime and Plus/Black members. Everyone else had to wait a day.

That single 24-hour window drives:

• FOMO for non-subscribers → prompting sign-ups at the peak of shopping excitement.
• VIP reinforcement for subscribers → making them feel rewarded and special.
• Scarcity before abundance → hot deals get picked clean even before general access.

Why Subscriptions Win Here

Festival sales aren’t just transaction spikes. They’re a chance to turn seasonal deal hunters into loyal subscribers.

• Amazon reports a 25% jump in Prime memberships during festival early access.
• Flipkart has seen a 30% spike in Plus sign-ups in the week leading to Big Billion Days.
• Most importantly, 60–70% of these subscribers renew the following year.

That’s the real power of tying subscriptions to high-emotion events. Customers don’t just get discounts — they get privilege, and privilege is sticky.

The Marketing Lesson

Think of subscriptions as more than just a payment model. When bundled with high-intent, high-emotion events, they become a retention engine.

Amazon and Flipkart didn’t just sell iPhones at record discounts. They sold the feeling of being first in line — and that’s something users will pay to keep.