Flipkart Loses Race, IRCTC Ties Up With Amazon To Capture Indian Ecommerce Market

Flipkart Loses Race, IRCTC Ties Up With Amazon To Capture Indian Ecommerce Market

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has tied up with Amazon.in to foray into ecommerce once again. IRCTC has added a new tab on its website “Shop on Amazon” which on clicking redirects customers to the Amazon website.

Screen Shot 2015-03-02 at 3.36.53 pm

IRCTC had floated a tender to find a new player who could run the co-branded ecommerce marketplace last year. Earlier, there were reports that both Amazon and homegrown Flipkart were in talks to sell their merchandise through IRCTC’s portal.

With this deal, the customers can now be accorded seamless online shopping opportunities in addition to booking travel tickets and hotel accommodations. They would be able to buy products ranging from consumer electronics, books, shoes, apparel, bags to toys, exotic food products, personal hygiene products, pet supplies, musical instruments and many more, at the click of a button and benefit from Amazon.in’s wide distribution network.

“The tie-up will give crores of our travellers and customers the joy of an easy and convenient shopping experience as we have made the online shopping site as our preferred partner for a period of two years,” a senior IRCTC official said.

While this is something Amazon can rejoice about, but on the other side, this seems to be bad news for the homegrown Flipkart which is doing every bit to exceed in the Indian ecommerce segment.

The partnership follows in the backdrop of the ecommerce portal it had launched with fashion etailer Yebhi in 2013.The portal was marketed at the main IRCTC page and upon clicking it, users were redirected to a different page. However, this stint with Yebhi failed miserably and the contract was rescinded.

While IRCTC, is a subsidiary of the Indian Railways and India’s largest eticketing platform, that also handles the catering and catering operations of the railways, Amazon is the largest Internet-based retailer in the United States.The company produces consumer electronics and is a major provider of cloud computing services.

Recently, IRCTC  introduced the CoD– cash on delivery option for travellers to buy tickets from its platform. It partnered with Gurgaon-based Anduril Technologies which owns and operate Bookmytrain.com to offer COD services to the company.

Let’s see if Amazon and IRCTC are able to  leverage IRCTC’s 21 Mn consumers and how the tie up pans out.

You have reached your limit of free stories
Become An Inc42 Plus Member

Become a Startup Insider in 2024 with Inc42 Plus. Join our exclusive community of 10,000+ founders, investors & operators and stay ahead in India’s startup & business economy.

2 YEAR PLAN
₹19999
₹7999
₹333/Month
Unlock 60% OFF
Cancel Anytime
1 YEAR PLAN
₹9999
₹4999
₹416/Month
Unlock 50% OFF
Cancel Anytime
Already A Member?
Discover Startups & Business Models

Unleash your potential by exploring unlimited articles, trackers, and playbooks. Identify the hottest startup deals, supercharge your innovation projects, and stay updated with expert curation.

Flipkart Loses Race, IRCTC Ties Up With Amazon To Capture Indian Ecommerce Market-Inc42 Media
How-To’s on Starting & Scaling Up

Empower yourself with comprehensive playbooks, expert analysis, and invaluable insights. Learn to validate ideas, acquire customers, secure funding, and navigate the journey to startup success.

Flipkart Loses Race, IRCTC Ties Up With Amazon To Capture Indian Ecommerce Market-Inc42 Media
Identify Trends & New Markets

Access 75+ in-depth reports on frontier industries. Gain exclusive market intelligence, understand market landscapes, and decode emerging trends to make informed decisions.

Flipkart Loses Race, IRCTC Ties Up With Amazon To Capture Indian Ecommerce Market-Inc42 Media
Track & Decode the Investment Landscape

Stay ahead with startup and funding trackers. Analyse investment strategies, profile successful investors, and keep track of upcoming funds, accelerators, and more.

Flipkart Loses Race, IRCTC Ties Up With Amazon To Capture Indian Ecommerce Market-Inc42 Media
Flipkart Loses Race, IRCTC Ties Up With Amazon To Capture Indian Ecommerce Market-Inc42 Media
You’re in Good company