AMAZON: CASHING IN ON FESTIVE FERVOUR
Amazon announced the commencement of its Great Indian Festival from October 17 amid much fanfare. The brand expects participation of nearly 650,000 sellers offering over four crore products across several product categories in the month-long festival. In a bid to provide an impetus to small and medium businesses (SMBs), Amazon has set a 20-day head-start where customers can visit its website to buy products now from all over the country. The pandemic has led to SMBs facing a challenging period owing to which many of these businesses are counting on the festive season to drive up demand and in turn sales revenues. “We are focusing on the SMB sector till October 17. We have seen a 60-80% hike in the registration of sellers since February and a rise in the number of customers,” says Manish Tiwary, Vice President, Amazon India, adding that the brand hopes to give businesses a platform to get back on their feet. “We have seen Prime members buying more during this period. Categories like electronics and apparel are performing better than the rest,” observes Tiwary. He also expects higher demand for smartphones during this period with a survey of 60,000 respondents revealing that they are looking forward to launches by Samsung, OnePlus, and Xiaomi. “We are hoping to change how India buys and sells with no revenue target,” remarks Tiwary, when asked about Amazon’s goals during the festival.