Amazon India sees 250% annual growth in sellers

US-based Amazon today said it has witnessed a 250 per cent year-on-year growth in bringing new sellers on board as it looks to tap into the booming ecommerce market in India. The company, which is making multi-billion dollar investments in India, has over 85,000 sellers on board.

"We started with 100 sellers three years ago and now we have over 85,000 sellers growing at 250 per cent year-on-year and adding over 90,000 products a day," an Amazon India spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Amazon, which competes with the likes of Flipkart and Snapdeal, has cut its commissions by 25-30 per cent across categories like mobile phones, PCs, electronic devices and personal care appliances. "We think these revised rates can significantly help sellers to perform even better and succeed in their business. In addition, we continue to innovate and offer best in class services such as Fulfilment by Amazon, Easy Ship, Seller Flex, etc to help them with fulfilment/logistics so that they can focus on their business," the Amazon spokesperson said.

Flipkart, on the contrary, had recently increased its commissions across key segments and asked sellers to bear the costs of logistics in case of returns. Recently, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos had said the company will invest USD 3 billion in India. This is in addition to the American e-commerce giant's USD 2 billion infusion in 2014, taking its total investments here to over USD 5 billion.

The funds will be channelled towards enhancing customer and seller experience, Amazon India managing director Amit Agarwal had told PTI.

"India is a key market for Amazon and we will work towards continuing to reduce operating costs for sellers backed by good logistics and fulfilment capabilities," he added.