Amazon is hosting its annual Prime Day sale in India on July 23 and 24 and while the e-commerce giant is readying itself for big sale days battle, what’s interesting is that the craze for online shopping and participating in such sales have extended across India. Earlier, customers from urban cities used to mostly splurge on Prime Day but now Amazon India claims that they are witnessing a massive interest in these sales from places like Ananthnag in Jammu & Kashmir, Bokaro in Jharkhand, Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, Mokokchung in Nagaland) among other regions.
Akshay Sahi, Director, Prime and Delivery Experience, Amazon India in an interaction with News18 Tech, answers some key trends around the Amazon Prime Day sale craze.
Q: How has been Prime’s journey in India?
Akshay Sahi: We have had a fantastic response to Prime since its launch in India, and we have seen new members signing up as we continue to add benefits. Prime membership has continued to be a “bestseller" during all key sale events, and we now see a lot of our members coming from smaller towns. For example, in 2021, more than 70% of new Prime members shop from outside of the top 10 cities including towns like Ananthnag (Jammu & Kashmir), Bokaro (Jharkhand), Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh), Mokokchung (Nagaland), Hoshiapur (Punjab), Nilgiris (Tamil Nadu), Gadag (Karnataka) and Kasargod (Kerala). We continue to innovate on behalf of our customers with unique first for India benefits all of which make the Prime membership more valuable for customers.
In 2021, more than 70% of new Prime members shop from outside of the top 10 cities including towns like Ananthnag (Jammu & Kashmir), Bokaro (Jharkhand), Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh), Mokokchung (Nagaland), Hoshiapur (Punjab), Nilgiris (Tamil Nadu), Gadag (Karnataka) and Kasargod (Kerala).
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Q: Change in consumption patterns over the last few years. What are the latest trends you observed?
Akshay Sahi: In the last two years, the pandemic created unprecedented challenges for people and economies globally and India has been no exception. As ‘stay at home’ and ‘work from home’ became the new normal, we saw the critical role e-commerce has played to serve people in the safety of their homes. In the face of this disruption, it was heartening to see how lakhs of sellers, delivery and logistics players and others step up to serve and support customers. The pandemic has accelerated technology adoption which has brought a structural shift in online shopping behaviour and we are seeing more and more customers coming online for their shopping needs. Through this period, sellers on Amazon.in have seen high demand in categories such as groceries, work-from-home & online schooling enablers like laptops, smart devices, headphones, furniture, consumer electronics and apparel amongst others.
The pandemic has accelerated technology adoption which has brought a structural shift in online shopping behaviour and we are seeing more and more customers coming online for their shopping needs.
Q: What’s in store for Prime Day 2022?
Akshay Sahi: This year, Prime Day will offer best deals and savings across categories. Over 30,000 new product launches from over 400 top Indian & global brands like Samsung, Xiaomi, Intel, boAt etc, and 2,000 new product launches from over 120 Small & Medium Businesses (SMBs) like XECH, Cos-IQ, Himalayan Origins, SpaceinCart, Mirakii, Karagiri, Nirvi Handicrafts across categories including electronics, fashion & grooming, jewellery, handmade products, and many more.
Discover joy by shopping for unique offers and deals from hundreds of young brands from the Indian start-ups under Amazon Launchpad; Amazon Karigar, Amazon Saheli and Local Shops on Amazon. Thousands of deals across TVs, Laptops, Smartphones, Fashion & Beauty, everyday essentials, and more.
Save big with 10% savings on payment using ICICI Bank credit/debit cards, SBI credit cards and EMI transactions on ICICI Bank credit/debit cards and SBI credit card.
Get the year’s best deals on Amazon Echo, Fire TV and Kindles devices this Prime Day. Get started on your smart home with up to 55% off on latest smart speakers, smart displays, and Fire TV products.
Prime Video has announced an entertainment bonanza for Prime members, with an exciting line-up of highly anticipated Amazon Original series and popular movies across multiple languages this Prime Day. Also, as a special Prime Day offer, many of our partners will be offering up to 50% discount on add-on subscriptions through Prime Video Channels this Prime Day
Not to forget, save big with 10% savings on payment using ICICI Bank credit/debit cards, SBI credit cards and EMI transactions on ICICI Bank credit/debit cards and SBI credit card.
Q: What makes Prime membership useful in the current e-commerce market?
We introduced Prime in India in July 2016. Since then, we have laid the foundation for an exclusive world of shopping and entertainment for customers in India. Prime plays a huge role in how Amazon is making e-commerce a part of everyday life in India. Prime offers functionally what you need and emotionally what you love. Fast, free shipping is the foundation of Prime and overwhelmingly still the primary reason new customers join Prime for the first time. But entertainment changes the behaviour. Prime members who have watched Prime Video or listened to Amazon Music renew their membership at higher rates and shop more. So, we often say, they come for shopping but they stay for entertainment.
Prime has disproved the myth that the Indian customer will not pay for convenience. We continue to invest in making Prime even more valuable for members.
As the need for safety is paramount, the value of Prime is immense providing members with the opportunity to enjoy the best of Amazon. Prime is used by tens of millions of members around the globe and has become a part of our customers’ lives every day. Prime has disproved the myth that the Indian customer will not pay for convenience. Today, we have millions of paid Prime members in India. Members can shop, save and experience entertainment and more with Prime. We have witnessed that members are more engaged as they shop more, and more frequently and are discovering joy with its many benefits.We continue to invest in making Prime even more valuable for members.
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