The Juggernaut

Amazon's Turbo-charged Rise In India Is Changing The E-commerce Market.

- Goutam Das

An orange van pulls up outside a nondescript building on a sunny April morning at a market in Mohali's Phase 7. The three-storied structure houses watch, footwear, handbag, garment, air ticketing and jewellery stores. It also has a 'Spoken English' centre. Over the course of the day, many shop owners visit the van. Some come out of curiosity, and a few because of what they have heard goes on inside.

The van is a veritable studio on wheels. Shop owners walk in with their products and get them shot and catalogued. A training video played inside provides a step-by-step guide to selling online. Amazon India, the local business of the world's largest e-tailer by revenue and market capitalisation, calls this seller enrolment drive 'Tatkal'. There is a reason to it. If all goes well, a seller can be "on-boarded" and launched on the site in less than an hour.

Gurpreet Singh owns a mobile accessory shop in Zirakpur, 15 kilometres from the Mohali market. He came to know about this van from friends and landed up with two products, a mobile charger and an extension cord. He thinks Amazon will help him "sell 24/7". Then there is Anil Mittal, owner of a paint and hardware store who was approached by Snapdeal a few months back but didn't give in to their demand for higher commission. He now sits at the cash counter of his store, sips tea, flirts with a pen, and says he is registering on Amazon. Most of his customers are locals. "I will be able to access a wider market. My main goal is to increase sales. If I earn lower margins, it doesn't matter," he says.