Amazon dives deeper into India’s potential trillion dollar market, sticks to customer-focused strategy

In October, during the festive sales Amazon predicted that India would become its 2nd largest market after the USA and also would become the fastest nation to clock up $10 billion in Gross Merchandise Value, for the global ecommerce giant.

Amazon’s senior vice president for international retail, Diego Piacentini now states that the Indian market will be measured in trillions and that is why the company is willing to invest in billions. It is understood that Piacentini who is Amazon’s 2nd largest shareholder after founder Jeff Bezos, spends more time in the country than in any other Amazon territory.

“The size of opportunity is so large it will be measured in trillions, not billions—trillions of dollars, that is, not rupees. We know that in order to win in India we need to do things we have never done in any other country. We need great people, a great platform, and honestly, a lot of money.” says Diego Piacentini, Amazon’s senior vice president for international retail.

To infinity and beyond

The first thing I thought when I came across this insightful article was, “wow! a trillion dollars seems like a huge number, but how many 0’s are actually in a trillion?” Our smartphones cannot even process the figure.

So lets break it down:

• 1,000 = one thousand

• 1,000,000 = one million

• 1,000,000,000 = one billion

• 1,000,000,000,000 = one trillion

A million is equal to a thousand thousands (1,000x 1,000)

A billion is equal to a thousand millions (1,000x 1,000,000)

A trillion is equal to a thousand billions (1,000x 1,000,000,000)

Untapped ecommerce potential:

• India’s 1.25 bn population is 4 times the size of USA’s & twice the size of Europe’s

• In just 7 seven years, India is predicted to overtake China’s population

• The language of business in India is English

Amazon entered India late and is determined not to miss out like it did in China. Issues such as taxation, infrastructure, and legal issues are some of the things hindering its progress. Nevertheless with its customer focussed strategy which is being touted as a formula to be emulated in other countries, Amazon remains extremely positive.