Amazon India claims that sales grew 66% in the third quarter of 2017. And even more bullishly they claimed to be expanding faster than their rivals, specifically Flipkart.
An Amazon India spokesperson claimed that not only was Amazon growing strongly but is doing so a more significant pace than competitors: “We are clearly growing faster than industry peers who are posting growth at about 20-25 per cent. Authenticated data, for us and competitors, show we grew faster than competition in the six months period. We grew 66 per cent in GMS during this period, while authenticated data of rival shows they grew 43 per cent. We are also surprised by certain narratives about rival’s turnaround story despite credible data showing we are growing faster.”
The war of words between the rivals in India intensified when Flipkart rejected the claims that the two were now neck and neck in terms of market share and rubbished Amazon’s claims. Flipkart says it has seen an 80% growth in sales in the period between April and September.
A Flipkart spokesperson said: “Flipkart continues to outpace the industry and our growth has accelerated significantly during the July-September quarter on the back of a very strong festive season. This report actually refers to the January-June period and, as all growth data, has a lag of three months so the comparison isn’t like-for-like or relevant.”
For both Amazon and eBay-backed Flipkart, India is a critical marketplace and the two are fighting fiercely to not just grow but seek dominance in the country of over 1 billion people. What is clear is that both firms are growing a healthy pace in the burgeoning ecommerce environment.
Last month Amazon announced it would be making a $4.7 billion investment in its Amazon Seller Services to help develop fulfilment and logistics in India with further investment expected in the coming months.
