Amazon tackles weak spots of home-grown players to get ahead

In the past six months, Amazon India has launched a number of product categories like shoes, handbags, women’s ethnic wear, fashion jewellery, watches, lingerie and sunglasses in order to fulfil consumer needs in one segment after the other. Due to a number of factors, Indian fashion etailers like Myntra and Jabong do not have that strong a hold on certain areas.

Amazon’s side ..

Amazon is fine tuning its strategies to tap into these areas and get ahead in the expanding online fashion industry. Valued at $559 million in 2013, online fashion is expanding at a faster rate and everyone wants a piece of the pie. Amazon is leaving no stone unturned to ensure it can match customer requirements in the fashion and lifestyle segment to beat established players like Myntra and Jabong.

With emphasis on innovation, Amazon constantly strives to add more products and brands to its platform, in addition to enhancing customer touch points. Trying to work backwards, it picks up a customer segment and then tries to solve all needed aspects of it before taking up the next one.

The other side .. 

Following its quiet entry and growth in the Indian e-commerce market, Indian players are probably more calculative now about Amazon’s next steps. To match resources of big global players like Amazon, consolidation could be a viable answer to counter their advances. Flipkart and Myntra are reportedly in talks for a merger, the result of which could mean strong competition for Amazon.

Amazon’s launches

Reports indicate that 40% of Indian online shoppers are women. Amazon could be targeting them specifically by the looks of its recent launches.

• Through its apparel segment, it offers more than 12,000 ethnic and traditional styles across over 90 brands including private brands, national and regional retailers.

• The dedicated sunglasses store offers above 2,800 styles for men, women and children, apart from a variety of accessories for women.

• The women’s intimate apparel store launched earlier this week offers more than 1,100 lingerie and nightwear style across 35 national and international brands.

• The health and personal care store has an assortment of products targeting women specifically to provide a one-stop solution for their daily necessities.

Benefits for an Indian Online Seller with Amazon’s strategy

If Amazon can solve hurdles related to potential customer segments that others are not able to, it will have the first mover and strong player advantage which can be used to leverage maximum sales. In the absence of other players, you would not have to offer extreme discounts which cut into your margins.