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Tag: Amazon India

  • Amazon.in announces wave 2 of it’s biggest celebration ‘Great Indian Festival’

    Amazon.in announces wave 2 of it’s biggest celebration ‘Great Indian Festival’

    Amazon.in has announced the return of its biggest festive celebration ‘Great Indian Festival’. Wave 2 of the ‘Great Indian Festival’ will start at 12 midnight on October 24, 2018 and end at 11:59 pm on October 28, 2018. Customers can look forward to getting some of India’s bestselling mobile phones at their lowest ever prices including the Redmi 6A which will go on a flash sale every day at 12 noon; up to 90 percent off and extra 15 percent cashback on Amazon Fashion; up to 80 percent off and extra 10 percent cashback on Home & Kitchen products; up to 60 percent off on TVs; up to 80 percent off on appliances and more.

    Amazon Devices – Fire TV Stick and Echo 3rd generation devices will be available at great discounts. Customers can get up to 70 percent off on Alexa built-in devices with exciting new product launches under speakers and headphones. Kindle eBook bestsellers will start at Rs 19 and Kindle Unlimited will be available for Rs 1,499.

    Customers shopping during the Great Indian Festival can save more by getting extra 10 percent back on ICICI and Citi cards. Customers can get ready for the celebration by topping up Amazon Pay balance with Rs 5,000 or more in advance and get extra Rs 250 back. Customers can shop for more than 5 crore products with no-cost EMI using Bajaj Finserv EMI card, select Credit and Debit Cards.

    “After an overwhelming wave 1 of our Great Indian Festival, we are excited to usher in wave 2 for all customers. We will continue to offer the best selection and biggest deals on our entire selection – from the most sought after smartphones, TVs, appliances to fashion, home & kitchen products, consumer electronics and more.” said Manish Tiwary, Vice President – Category Management, Amazon India.

    During Amazon.in’s Great Indian Festival, customers can avail special benefits with No-cost EMI on Bajaj Finserv EMI card and Debit and Credit cards, fast delivery and installation of appliances, exchange of mobile phones and large appliances, instant bank discounts, exciting cashback and lots more. Customers in Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Hyderabad can enjoy ultra-fast delivery in 2-hours on popular deals on the Prime Now app.

    Furthermore, customers can unlock Amazon Pay offers of up to Rs 2,000 back on select Amazon Pay partner merchants like Swiggy, MakeMyTrip, Freshmenu and Eazydiner by shopping on the Amazon shopping app and paying through any online payment method.

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  • Amazon India, Myntra get battle ready for fashion sales this weekend

    Amazon India, Myntra get battle ready for fashion sales this weekend

    With apparel manufacturers trying to liquidate old stock ahead of the new GST tax regime, e-commerce companies like Amazon India, Myntra and Jabong are expecting blockbuster sales this weekend. Flipkart firms Myntra & Jabong will go head on with Amazon India for superiority in the fashion category with their end-of-season sales this weekend.

    Amazon India has partnered with 1500 leading fashion brands for the sale event from June 23 to 25 with exclusive tie-ups with 25 brands like GAP, Under Armour, M&S, Michael Kors and many more.

    Amazon has also said that it will open 12 temporary physical stores in the country’s biggest tech parks in Bengaluru, NCR and Mumbai to popularise its fashion sale event coming up this weekend.

    “We have tied up with the biggest tech parks in the country to promote our fashion sale and give youngsters an opportunity to step out and experience fashion at physical outlets,” Arun Sirdeshmukh, head of Amazon’s fashion business, told the Times of India.

    Flipkart which is currently the undisputed leader in the fashion category with its two fashion subsidiaries Myntra & Jabong is expecting its fashion e-tailers to dominate the sales this weekend.

    Myntra said it expects to see a 25-fold jump in daily sales during its ‘End of Reason’ sale to be held between June 24-26. Over 1,800 brands will participate in the three-day sale, offering discounts of 50-80 per cent like that of Amazon India.

    “Our ‘End of Reason Sale (EORS) gets bigger and better with each passing season. The sixth edition will be the largest yet and will see Jabong also participate,” Ananth Narayanan, CEO of Myntra and Jabong, said in a statement.

    “We expect about 45 per cent growth over last year and 25X jump in revenues from what we do on an average day,” he said.

    With GST, the taxation structure and prices will change from July 1 so the sellers are offering high discounts which will benefit the end of season sales on e-commerce firms. GST Council has decided to tax man-made apparel up to Rs 1,000 at 5 per cent, while those costing above Rs 1,000, will attract 12 per cent.

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  • LeEco India ready to roll out 1000 stores

    LeEco India ready to roll out 1000 stores

    Chinese tech firm LeEco India plans to open 1000 outlets across the subcontinent by the end of this year.

    Expecting half of its revenue in India to come from physical stores, LeEco filed an application five months ago with the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to open single-brand retail stores.

    These will be a mix of company-owned stores as well as franchise outlets, says LeEco India COO for smart electronics business Atul Jain. “This is in line with our aim to be among top three brands in the country by 2018.”

    LeEco, which also has an offline presence in China, has not revealed the cost of setting up the stores. However, it will be spending nearly US$10 million on marketing in the three months starting October.

    Already the company has tied up with multiple distributors across organised and unorganised channels in India and is already available in about 3000 outlets in cities including Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Varanasi. It expects to reach 65 cities and have a presence in 6000 to 8000 outlets by December.

    No longer exclusive

    Launched exclusively on Flipkart, LeEco’s products will now be available on other eCommerce marketplaces such as Amazon India and Snapdeal. Flipkart has contributed nearly 75 per cent of LeEco’s sales in India.

    LeEco has invested Rs.50 crore (US$500 million) in setting up a smartphone assembly plant in the Greater Noida area, in partnership with Compal Electronics. The factory has an initial capacity of 60,000 units a month but this will be ramped up to 200,000 by the end of December.

    By the second half of next year, the company plans to start exporting products to Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia and Singapore, says Jain. LeEco sold more than 70,000 phones and 2000 televisions last month alone.

    Other plans include a partnership with Hungama to offer music services from next month.
    Founded by billionaire Jia Yueting in 2004, LeEco positions itself as the Apple, Netflix and Tesla of China. Apart from smartphones and online content, the company sells TVs, electric vehicles and virtual-reality headsets.

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  • Amazon India eyes private label

    Amazon India eyes private label

    Amazon India is planning to expand its private label fashion offer to gain a bigger foothold in the growing eCommerce sector.

    Deal Street Asia reports that the US-based company sees private label fashion and electronics lines will help give the brand additional pulling power with Indian consumers in a crowded, but booming online retail market.

    “Launching private labels is tricky as India bans foreign direct investment (FDI) in online retail, but allows 100 per cent FDI in the marketplace model, under which sites such as Amazon and Flipkart are supposed to simply connect third-party sellers with customers,” Deal Street Asia noted in a report online.

    Private label products may also be added to its grocery offer, which it markets through the Amazon Now app.

    Amazon recently hired former Myntra chief creative officer Gautam Kotamraju to lead its push into private brands in fashion. Kotamraju, who has worked 18 years in the fashion business, helped create Myntra’s large private brands business, which generated more than 20 per cent of Myntra’s gross sales within two years of its launch.

    Amazon hasn’t decided on a timeline for the launch of its proposed private brands in fashion, the report said, quoting sources familiar with the matter.

    Read more on Deal Street Asia

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  • Amazon India rolls out Prime

    Amazon India rolls out Prime

    Online retailer Amazon India has rolled out the global Prime membership service, giving customers access to unlimited free one- and two-day delivery on more than 100,000 products.

    It is also introducing its Prime video service, giving members access to movies and TV shows from India and around the world.

    “Prime provides unlimited convenience all year long,” says Amazon India VP and country head Amit Agarwal.

    Offering a free two-month trial period, Amazon.in has revamped its on-site and app experience.

    Members can also use Prime Early Access to buy top deals 30 minutes early every day.

    “Since its international inception, Prime continues to evolve as we add millions of additional items that can be delivered incredibly fast and free,” says Amazon Worldwide Prime VP Greg Greeley.

  • Adidas Group India plans shopping app

    Adidas Group India plans shopping app

    Sportshoe brand Adidas Group India is planning to launch a shopping app by December, primarily to drive customer engagement through content and loyalty programs, as well as boost online sales.

    It is a significant move as it indicates increasing fragmentation in online fashion shopping, as most brands do not have independent shopping apps, reports Live Mint.

    With its app, Adidas is aiming to strengthen its online presence as brands and offline retailers adopt omnichannel strategies to offer customers access to products across physical stores via their mobile phones and websites.

    “Our engagement with consumers does not end in incremental sales,” says Adidas Group India’s senior eCommerce director Abhishek Lal. “Shopping is just a small fraction. We are planning an app and rewards program to increase engagement with the brand.”

    Separate apps will be rolled out for Adidas and its subsidiary Reebok India.

    Adidas is currently available on online stores such as Amazon India, Flipkart and Myntra, and online channels contribute 10 to 15 per cent of the company’s overall sales, says Lal.

    Other brands are already building online stores to reduce their dependence on the likes of Amazon India and Myntra. Leading the way is Madura Garments with two online stores, Abof and Trendin. Its brands include Allen Solly, Louis Philippe and Peter England.

    By launching an app, Adidas is also trying to tap into social commerce by offering content and creating communities of fashion followers.

    “Social commerce is complementary to pure play eCommerce, and also the way forward for us,” says Lal. “There is no history of a single-brand app yet, so it is hard to assess what the outcome will be.”

    Adidas has also expanded its omnichannel presence since its launch early last year. Adidas plans to bring about 400 stores under the omni-channel loop by December. Those already involved in the strategy have had their revenue grow about 3 to 5 per cent.

    “There has been some impact on revenue because of omni-channel,” says Lal. “A lot of sales were lost because sizes were not available in stores. There was also a lot of cross-selling. We have a brand called Neo which is available only online, so a lot of people walked into the stores and bought Neo on the tab. That is an upsell opportunity.”

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  • Sevenfold growth forecast for Indian eCommerce

    Sevenfold growth forecast for Indian eCommerce

    The Indian eCommerce industry is expected to burgeon in the next four years, according to a report by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India.

    While the business to business (B2B) segment is expected to more than double from US$300 billion last year to $700 billion in 2020, the business to consumer (B2C) segment will grow more than seven times from $13.6 billion to $101.9 billion, says the report.

    It will be supported by a spurt in number of online shoppers, from 20 million in 2013 to 220 million in 2020, as well as a three-fold increase in average spending by online shoppers, from $147 in 2013 to $464.

    However, there is a price: combined losses for eCommerce companies such as Flipkart, Snapdeal (Jasper Infotech) and PayTM (One97 Communications) last year stood at $557 million, says the report. It notes that most B2C eCommerce companies globally, even after five to 20 years in business, have low profitability.

    “This trend, however, does not hold true for B2B eCommerce companies, which are profitable with greater GMV values.” The report attributes this to lack of heavy discounting, greater emphasis on quality rather than price, and higher volumes of purchases.

    A spurt in internet penetration, especially via mobile devices, is expected to propel eCommerce sales in India, with the report saying the proportion of 3G users among internet users has improved substantially since 2013, when about 28 per cent of the 150 million mobile internet users in India had 3G connections. This year, about 59 per cent of the estimated 371 million mobile internet users in India are expected to have 3G connections.

    According to the report, India had the highest share of mobile based eCommerce sales (41 per cent), ahead of China (37 per cent) and the US (15 per cent). The report also estimates a significant growth in the digital payments segment, from $20 billion in 2014 to $115 billion in 2018, though 60 per cent of transactions in India currently use cash on delivery.

    While payments in instalments and digital wallets account for less than 2 per cent of overall transactions, they will grow faster than plastic money, says the report. eCommerce firms such as Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon India are seeking to strengthen their payment offerings.

    Snapdeal bought utility payment service provider FreeCharge for $400 million last year, in the biggest domestic consumer internet deal. Amazon acquired Emvantage Payments for an undisclosed amount in February, and market leader Flipkart acquired payment services start-up FX Mart, which holds a prepaid wallet licence, in September last year. In March, the company launched mobile wallet Flipkart Money, 18 months after shutting down its payment gateway PayZippy.

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  • Cash boost for Amazon India

    Cash boost for Amazon India

    Amazon India has received a massive $189 million cash injection from its US parent.

    It marks the biggest capital inflow into Amazon Seller Services in India since the brand made its debut in the nation in 2013.

    Five months ago the parent invested a $177 million taking the total to $460 million.

    “We are very excited by our growth and continue to invest in technology, especially mobile, infrastructure and logistics to support seller capability in order to deliver value to our customers,” an Amazon spokesman said.

    Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is on record saying he was prepared to invest up to $2 billion into Amazon India because he is confident about the eCommerce giant’s future prospects in the fast-developing market.

    The company now has 21 fulfilment centres, the newest near Pune City boasting 55,000 sqft.

    Rival Flipkart plans to raise $1 billion from investors, following a $700 million funding round in July. And Snapdeal reportedly raised $500 million in collaboration with Alibaba.

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