Amazon started operations in India in February 2012 with local brand Junglee.com and subsequently launched its own digital marketplace in June 2013. Initially, though only two product categories were offered, the world’s largest online retailer is now India’s largest player too in terms of the number of product offerings.
Within just ten months of its existence, Amazon India has overtaken the other two leading home-grown ecommerce giants Flipkart and Snapdeal, and US based e-portal eBay.
Marketplace | No.of products |
Amazon India | 15 million |
Flipkart | 10 million |
Snapdeal | 4 million |
eBay India | 1.5 million |
Since June 2013, Amazon India’s product offerings stand at 15 million today across 20 product categories, with an increase in the number of sellers also by 30 times. Over 75 percent of the products are fulfilled by Amazon.
Flipkart has already crossed $1 billion in sales with Snapdeal following close behind with sales of $1 billion to be achieved this year. Although Amazon is not the in $1 billion club yet, it is expected to reach the milestone in another 12-18 months considering the way it has quietly built up its operations and aggressively added sellers to expand reach.
In the fight for the frontrunner spot in the Indian ecommerce segment, Amazon already has the largest product offerings in many categories like music, books, toys, video, bags, luggage, home and kitchen appliances, and fashion jewellery.
For extending reach and faster delivery speeds, Amazon operates two fulfillment centres, Bhiwandi (outskirts of Mumbai) and Bangalore. Next-day shipping has been made available for about 165,000 goods catering to more than 50 percent of customer demand, across hundreds of pin codes in India.
All the other major players like Flipkart, Snapdeal and Myntra are competing vigorously with the global giant. Amazon has the major advantage of global branding while local players have to make more effort to reach out to customer.
Amazon is a global player and has the major advantage of global branding and global recognition. It is easier for them to strike a chord with customers as the name is associated with trust and efficiency.
Sellers selling through the Amazon platform will have the benefit of banking on trust and credibility for Amazon in customers’ minds. Also, with Amazon’s expansion efforts, sellers will be able to reach out to a wider customer base, leading to increase in sales and recognition.
After dwindling with her family business, into travel and hospitality, for more than 3 years, Pooja Vishant found her true love in writing. Happy-go-lucky and cheerful, she loves pink; so pink is the way to go if you want to get into her good books. The Associate Editor keeps track of even a leaf that has moved in the ecommerce world!
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