E-Commerce Market Competition Brings War Of Sales To Benefit Consumer End

Amazon Vs Flipkart

Time for the evoking battle in global e-commerce market competition is around the corner. A comparative study about the pros and cons of the giants’ tie up in Indian retail market to throw light on the changes which could be possibly seen. Too many sneaks in and brainstorming through varied reliable sources give us a vivid picture on Walmart, the world’s biggest retailer. The American multinational retail chain, Walmart is investing in India. The fervor to establish itself in e-commerce market has driven Walmart here to India. Although, to establish itself in the Indian market is a mammoth task and Walmart has taken a huge leap.

Walmart has clenched hands with Flipkart, India’s first billion dollar company that brought a revolution in the Indian retail market through online shopping. Flipkart has about one-fourth of its market sales in Indian sub-continent which appealed the Bentonville giant to tie-up with Flipkart. Flipkart controls 34 percent of online sales in India with a wide range of product categories from apparels to electronic goods. It is going to be the major stakeholder of Flipkart which has high revenue base in the Indian retail market. Walmart has invested about $15 billion for this venture and is remaining poised with fingers crossed.

All this arouse competition with another e-commerce giant, Amazon for which Walmart sensed India to be the better platform. Amazon has a significant customer base and already established a strong foothold amongst Indian consumers. The customers of this Seattle based giant spend about a double-triple time of those spent by Flipkart customers. The Amazon’s app has the highest downloads compared to Flipkart and its sister concern, Myntra.

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The Competitor’s Insight

As Amazon already holds a stand-in India, it is a demanding situation for Walmart to creep in with varied strategies. This US-based retailer which has already dug its feet in the cash and carry wholesale market in India is ambitious to get a toehold in the e-commerce sector. Walmart has come with a clever strategy to target Amazon. Flipkart has already acquired Myntra in 2014 and also Jabong through Myntra. It’s evident that by acquiring the Bangalore based retailer, Walmart predicts to have a customer base before its arrival in the e-commerce market. To land and grow on an established branded market seems quite easy which might be Walmart’s insight, but this may even turn out the other way.

Walmart, the world’s largest company by revenue has an edge over Amazon in India with its brick and mortar stores. The marketing strategy goes this way: Both physical and online presence might cater to customers effectively. This is because shipping charges are really expensive and this can be overcome with in-store access so that they can collect from the local stores. This ultimately allows both the retailer and customer to save money for packaging and shipping costs. Walmart hereby shows its Omnichannel marketing strategy by considering in-store and e-commerce as complementary sectors and not as two different streams. As a matter of fact, Amazon is planning to acquire More’s Outlet of Aditya Birla Group which will give a shoulder to shoulder competition with Walmart.

The battle has already begun between the US-based rivals and Flipkart is a tool for Walmart to play its turn on Amazon. Though the win is unpredictable, initially the battle itself will bring in more changes and benefits at the consumer end.

Also Read: Amazon Experimenting In Food Delivery Services In India

With Amazon Fresh has entered the food and groceries delivery space where Flipkart announced its new program, FarmerMart to give Amazon a run for its money. While the program is yet to be launched, it’s already a large threat to existing e-commerce entities that operate in same field.

Taking Amazon Prime head on, Walmart-owned Flipkart entered into original video content in India with the launch of 'Flipkart Video Originals' as the over-the-top media services (OTT) war heats up in the country.

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