Amazon India: entry conditions, process and market potential

Market Overview

India is the world’s second largest potential e-commerce market with a total population of 1.339 billion and 460 million Internet users. Amazon India was launched in June 2013. By September 2018, the number of sellers on Amazon India had exceeded 400,000. According to predictions, the scale of India’s e-commerce market is expected to exceed US$200 billion by 2026. Amazon has about 300 million monthly visitors in India and is one of the country’s highest-selling and most popular e-commerce websites.

Hot-selling categories and consumer preferences

The top ten best-selling categories on Amazon India include mobile phones, apparel, video games, consumer electronics, books, jewelry, computer hardware, software and accessories, kitchenware, home décor, and footwear. Among them, the fashion category is particularly popular in India, accounting for 28% of the market share. In addition, electronic appliances (19%) and home kitchenware (19%) are also popular categories. Indian consumers tend to buy clothing, shoes, hats and accessories online, and discounts and advertising are important means to attract them.

Setting conditions

Sellers need to provide the following materials when entering Amazon India:

• (1) Scanned copy of the company’s business license.
• (2) Scanned copy of the legal representative’s ID card.
• (3) Mobile phone number and email address.
• (4) Product information sheet.
• (5)VISA credit card.

However, according to the latest news, Amazon India has simplified the entry process. Sellers now only need to provide a mobile phone number and GSTIN to create an account.

Setting-in process

The specific steps for sellers to enter Amazon India are as follows:

• Step one: Open the Amazon website, find “Sell on Amazon” at the bottom of the website, click in, and click “Register Now” after the web page jumps. Create a seller plan and select “Professional Seller Plan”.
• Step 2: Fill in the company name and information, and check the “Agree” option.
• Step 3: Perform mobile phone verification. After entering your mobile phone number, you will receive a verification code. Enter the mobile phone verification code.
• Step 4: Fill in the store information correctly.
• Step 5: Correctly fill in tax information, GST and PAN Card (permanent account number). If you don’t have the last two items ready yet, you can check “I will update later” and add them later.
• Step 6: Select the product category for sale. After registration is completed, you can enter the Seller Center backend.

It should be noted that the registration process of Amazon India may be updated and adjusted at any time. The above registration process is for reference only. Sellers need to refer to the latest registration process of Amazon platform.

Platform fees

The fees for Amazon India mainly consist of three parts, namely: recommendation fee (starting at 3%, which varies depending on the product type), fixed closing fee (which varies depending on the price range), and weight-based processing fee (i.e. shipping fee). , starting from Rs. 30, varies depending on volume and distance).

Seller mode

Amazon India offers two seller models to choose from:

• FBA model: Sellers who adopt the FBA model can effectively solve the problem of last-mile delivery services. However, one thing to note is that if you need to use the FBA model of Amazon India, you must be a company that opens a store locally in India.
• International Sellers model: This model is one of the main methods currently promoted by the Indian website. Sellers can transport goods to India through self-shipping.

Seller collection

Amazon India settles sellers once a week. Within 7 days from the date of order shipment, the platform will transfer the payment to the Amazon seller account.

Conclusion

Amazon India is still growing rapidly and has become one of Amazon’s fastest growing markets, ranking third in terms of the number of sellers. For sellers who want to explore the Indian market, the simplified entry process makes registration easier and more efficient. The Indian website is a good choice for sellers with brand names, strong supply chains, and cost-effective products.