The US-based e-commerce major Amazon India has crossed the mark of 3 lakh sellers on their platform and has been able to achieve the feat in less than five years of its operations in the country. Amazon India has added the last one lakh merchants in less than seven months!
The company has outplayed some of the major e-commerce players in the country in the last few years and has secured itself a top spot in the Indian e-commerce space. Amazon India is perpetually locked in an intense battle with India’s homegrown e-commerce rival Flipkart. Amazon has been aggressively investing in the country to ramp up its operations and has already pumped in billions to strengthen their base in India.
Amazon has allocated a $5 billion investment for Amazon India to expand its seller and customer base as well as towards building infrastructure in the country. The seller participation has increased dramatically across the country, especially from the tier II and tier III cities.
Amazon & India – The Growth Over The Years
Amazon started operating in India five years ago and has established itself as one of the leading e-commerce companies in the country, thanks to their multi-billion investments, rapid expansion and numerous sales.
In the last one year, Amazon India has expanded its network of third-party affiliates and service providers all throughout the country and has ensured that sellers from tier II and tier III cities, as well as non-metros and smaller towns, get easy access to the required support to start and their manage their online business.
Besides expanding its seller base, the company has tied up with multiple government bodies to empower several local artisans, weavers and craftsmen across the country to help them sell their products online and assist them in expanding their business.
Success Mantra – Support For Sellers & Right Investments
The company has always worked with sellers to provide complete support and has been constantly innovating to address the challenges which are unique to Indian sellers, starting with GST complications to the basics of online selling.
The Jeff Bezos-backed Amazon has repeatedly kept pumping in billions of dollars into its Indian operations. Amazon Seller Services alone has received investments worth Rs. 8,000 crore (about USD 1.28 billion) during the financial year 2017-18 from its US parent.
Founder Jeff Bezos has already committed investments of $5 billion for the Indian market, which includes its other entities in India, like Amazon Pay, Amazon Prime Video and its wholesale business in the country.
Amazon Debuts Food Retail Business In India
Amazon has finally rolled out its food retailing business in the country, starting with Pune. This is the first foreign e-commerce company in India to stock and sell food items directly to the consumers under Amazon Retail India Pvt. Ltd.
The company will shortly roll out its food retailing business nationwide.
Last year they took government’s permission to invest $500 million in a wholly-owned venture, under which the firm will retail locally produced and packaged food products through both its offline and online channels. The government has allowed a 100 percent overseas investment back in 2016 to help producers and generate more employment.
Amazon’s global rival Walmart is also in talks to purchase a stake in India’s homegrown e-commerce company Flipkart, and Amazon India’s biggest rival.
Prior to the agreement, the government has asked them to maintain separate management and offices for its food retail venture and keep it distinct from its marketplace business which is not allowed to sell any products directly to the consumers.
Online grocery and food products providers like BigBasket, Grofers and Supr Daily, which also are funded by foreign entities, have received similar approval for food retailing from the government.