We are hopeful of a buoyant festive season and our sellers and partners are excited to serve customers across India,” said Noor Patel, vice-president, Amazon India, when we contacted him about the Amazon Great Indian Festival. The last two years have been challenging for most industries and sellers, to say the least, but things are now moving in the right direction with demands picking up. Here’s what Patel has to say.
How is the festive season looking this year after two pandemic-marred years? What does the Great Indian Festival offer new sellers?
After a two-year pandemic-induced low, people are looking forward to the festive season and celebrations. We are delighted to partner with leading brands to launch more than 2,000 new products across categories. Customers can earn virtual “Diamonds” by shopping, watching free entertaining videos on miniTV, playing Games on FunZone and using Amazon Pay and redeem them for exciting cashbacks. They can also directly interact with experts on Amazon.in who will showcase products, unveil top deals, answer customer questions in real-time, and offer limited-duration deals.
Additionally, to help new sellers kickstart their e-commerce journey this festive season, all new sellers registering on Amazon.in between August 28 and October 26 and launching within 90 days from date of registration will be eligible to avail 50 per cent waiver on the selling fee across all categories.
What categories do you expect to do well in the festive season?
While all categories contribute to the festivities of our customers, we saw tremendous growth from tier-II and below geographies for consumer electronics and personal computing which continues to be one of the most popular categories on Amazon.in. Customers have gravitated towards electronics which are ideal for multitasking and can manage work, entertainment, and day-to-day use-cases as well. They are choosing more premium devices with better build quality and specs as they continue to spend more time on their smartphones.
Amazon Fashion is India’s largest fashion destination for customers seeking everyday essentials and trending brands with access to a selection of 40 lakh styles from over 1,200 fashion brands. And grocery is one of our fastest-growing categories and has now expanded its full basket grocery selection (fruits, vegetables, frozen and chilled products, beauty, baby, personal care, among other grocery needs) to several new cities like Chandigarh, Kochi, and Trivandrum.
In the last 24 months, more than 50 per cent of Amazon Fresh customers have come from tier-II, tier-III and smaller towns. Additionally, Amazon Pay and ICICI Bank co-branded credit card on-boarded over 3.5m customers across the country, making it the fastest growing co-branded credit card, two years in a row. Our flagship initiative Amazon Pay Later, since its launch in 2020, has also seen over 4.5m sign-ups.
Today, 65 per cent of our customer orders and 85 per cent of new customers on Amazon.in are coming from Tier II, III, IV cities. 50 per cent of our million-plus sellers come from tier II/III cities and towns and are able to reach out to millions of customers across the country. Consumption is getting stronger and stronger in these towns with more and more consumers getting comfortable shopping online.
How large is the spread?
We are excited to serve our customers with millions of sellers offering a wide selection of domestic and international brands, products from two lakh local stores, traditional artisans and weavers, and innovative offerings from various start-ups. This year’s festive season will be a bit more special to us as we return closer to normalcy. We look forward to welcoming our customers to the marketplace and enjoying the festivities. Amazon Great Indian Festival will offer customers to shop from India’s largest selection across electronics, grocery, fashion and beauty, everyday essentials, and more.
After two damp festive seasons due to Covid-19, this is the first year when brands/companies are expecting good demand across product segments.
Our million plus sellers from local shops, traditional artisans and weavers and various start-ups, will provide customers value and the convenience to shop from anywhere, anytime. We are hopeful of a buoyant festive season and our sellers and partners are excited to serve customers across India, during this festive period. We will continue to maximise seller and partner success and continue to provide the convenience of shopping in eight regional languages along with English, while giving the option to also shop using voice.
Noor Patel, vice- president, Amazon India