6 reasons why Amazon.in is proving to be popular with sellers in India

One sells chikkis made from peanut butter manufactured in Gujarat, another is the founder of a popular furniture startup. Then we have a global phone manufacturer known for short-burst high discount deals. So what’s common between them?

Well, they all retail on Amazon.in.

Today, Amazon.in’s marketplace is a critical component in any seller or manufacturer’s online business strategy. Increasingly, more businesses believe that having a presence on an online marketplace like Amazon.in is more than just an opportunity to grow. To a large extent, it removes a number of pain points common to traditional businesses – including inventory and shipping hassles or non-timely payments.

In addition, it makes reaching out to national as well as international customers relatively easy without having to be limited by financial or operational constraints. Consider this. If the chikki seller from Gujarat wants to reach out to customer segments across India, he will first have to plan his investments to either set up small retail outlets or connect with distribution channels which have a state-wide or nation-wide presence. In fact, it might even require the seller to relocate to a metro or a state capital to manage the business more easily, considering logistics, connectivity and finding trained manpower are challenges in a small town. And, if the seller is looking at international expansion, the challenges further intensify because it also requires a thorough understanding of international regulations, compliances and currency exchange.

Online marketplaces make it much easier to reach out to a national or international audience, in comparison. In fact, as clichéd as it may sound, the reality is that all it takes are a few clicks. And, this is why Amazon.in is growing in popularity not just among consumers but also sellers.

In a recent interview with YourStory, Gopal Pillai, Director and GM of Seller Services at Amazon India, stated, “When we started out, our top-of-the-mind awareness was in single digits. Today, it is at 47 percent. If you ask sellers which is the #1 marketplace you want to be associated with, Amazon stands at #1.”

When Amazon.in started in India in June 2013, they had just about 100 sellers and a couple of million types of products. Five years later, they have 380,000 sellers and more than 170 million products.

Here are six reasons why an online marketplace like Amazon is proving to be popular with sellers in India:

It’s a breeze for traditional sellers to go online

If there’s one key reason why traditional businesses are wary of doing business online, it is the perceived complexities involved in setting up an e-store, since these sellers do not come with a strong understanding about the technology and management involved in online sales.

Understanding this, Amazon.in has made it simple for traditional businesses to set up their store on Amazon.in. The easy registration process is complemented by a team of professional service providers who help sellers manage and grow their business at every step of the way. Their seller support team is available 24*7 and helps to resolve queries. There are service solutions for imaging, accounting, end-to-end management of seller business account, transportation to Amazon fulfilment centres, cataloguing and advertising products. Amazon.in also offers sellers customised tips and suggestions to boost performance and increase sales.

Amazon.in does most of the heavy lifting and enables sellers to focus on their core business

Keeping track of orders and shipping them on time can get overwhelming, both for first-time online sellers or those growing rapidly. Also, most sellers do not have the bandwidth to invest in fulltime resources to manually track orders. It is to aid such sellers that Amazon.in has an easy-to use order management dashboard which gives an overview of the orders, and the Amazon Easy Ship service, where Amazon.in picks up the product from the seller and delivers it straight to the customer with minimal effort from sellers.

If a seller has enabled the Amazon Easy Ship Service, the seller gets a notification of the order via email, Seller Central and SMS. This enables the seller to package the order and keep it ready for dispatch. The seller can schedule the pickup for a desired time slot. In addition, buyers also get an option to pay for orders at the time of delivery using the Cash on Delivery (COD) feature that has been enabled for sellers using Easy Ship and FBA.

Essentially, once sellers register for the Amazon Easy Ship service, customers get trackable shipments with a faster and predictable delivery time, and a shipment service that is extremely efficient.

There are no inventory hassles

If there’s another burning issue for large manufacturers and SMEs, it is inventory. Because the market is both price and time sensitive, opting for a third-party warehouse may not always be a viable option.

Upgrading to Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA) gives sellers the option to store their inventory in Amazon.in’s fulfillment centres, thus resolving the space constraint issues for sellers Also, the responsibility to pick, pack, and ship products to customers directly, provide customer service and manage product returns is handled by Amazon.in. This allows sellers to focus on growing their business.

And the FBA pricing structure has been designed keeping in mind the varied needs of the sellers and the minimal resources available for spending. Its pay-as-you-go model enables sellers to pay for the services they use, and there are no subscription or start-up fees or minimum units that must be fulfilled.

To sum up, joining the FBA programme opens up the possibility of scaling up the business, both rapidly and sustainably – by enabling sellers use the Amazon.in’s fulfilment centres for their warehousing needs without having to burn a hole in their pockets.

Build and gain from customer trust

Sellers who opt for FBA and select sellers who are performing exceptionally well under the Easy Ship Programme, get to offer their products under the Prime programme.

Prime is a customer-facing subscription programme offering benefits such as quality check, free shipment and subsidised prices for express delivery and a host of other services such as Amazon Prime Video and Prime Music Under the programme, products become eligible for One Day Delivery and Free Delivery options, thus enabling better customer traction.

On the Amazon.in website, the prime products are tagged with the signature blue text to distinguish products which fall under the Prime category. But, foremost, for the customer, products with the Prime tag guarantee quality, garnering customer trust. So, as a seller, if your products are Prime-fulfilled, it translates into better customer traction.

You can sell not just in India, but across the world

Minal Info Jewels Ltd has been a trusted jewelry manufacturing company since 1993. For over 20 years, they have manufactured and supplied jewellery to top jewellery companies. In 2007, Minal Info Jewels Ltd expanded into e-commerce. But the company experienced the real success of selling online when they became a seller on Amazon.in. Within 18 months of starting to sell on Amazon.in, Minal Info Jewels Ltd saw an incredible 186 percent growth YoY. Today, the company has expanded into EU5, Australia and Canada. There are thousands of sellers like Minal Info Jewels Ltd who have benefited by not just registering on Amazon but expanding their business geographically.

By simply registering on the global Amazon account and providing relevant product details, sellers can start selling globally to customers from over 180 countries. Amazon Global Sellers can even choose the countries they want to do business in.

In addition, sellers can also maximise the business opportunity during shopping season, for instance the global Christmas and New Year shopping frenzy, or more region-specific shopping extravaganzas such as Black Friday or Cyber Monday in the US or Diwali in India. And while sellers focus on capitalising on the market opportunity, Amazon takes care of storing, packing, shipping and providing relevant services for the products.

Doing international business also means that while the seller earns in the fiat currency of that region, Amazon.in ensures that these earnings are converted and deposited into the seller’s bank account, securely and on time.

Sell products online super fast through the Amazon Seller App

Today, managing business on the go is the norm, not just for corporates but also small time businesses. And, enabling sellers to managing their business on e-commerce websites such as Amazon.in is the Amazon Seller App.

The app not only aids smooth buyer seller communication but also makes managing tasks such as order fulfilment, listings, tracking shipment easy and convenient, thus enabling them to focus on their business instead of operational intricacies.

For a lot of sellers, product listings can be time-consuming and cumbersome and the Amazon seller app has been designed to address this particular woe. Sellers can simply scan the product in its actual packaging using a phone camera via the app, Amazon detects the product from its existing products and shows relevant listings. All the sellers now need to do is scan it and upload it with the relevant details that describe the product. Additionally, sellers can also scan the product barcode with the phone camera and list the product adding relevant details. It is through these and many such relevant features on the app, that sellers are being equipped to quickly list the products on Amazon.

Another interesting feature available only on the Amazon Sellers App is the ability to share their product listings with friends, families and fans on WhatsApp, Facebook and other social networks using the Amazon Seller app. This makes it super easy for sellers to promote their products and leverage the power of social media.

In short, the Amazon Seller App is revolutionising the way businesses are able to tap growth and manage their business by simply using a smartphone.

Fulfil your big dreams as an Amazon Seller

With Amazon.in you can grow your business in a short time without having to break the bank, invest huge amounts of money, or relocate to another city. All it takes is #BadaltiSoch, and registering as a seller on Amazon.in. With this, your products reach millions of potential customers and make you a global seller instantly. You enjoy fast and stress free shipping, secure and timely payments and a host of professional services to help you through every step of selling online. Register here to sell on Amazon.in.