Amazon Eyes $8 Bn Worth Of Exports From India This Year

Ecommerce major Amazon on Wednesday (July 5) announced that the cumulative exports from its platform in India are on track to cross the $8 Bn mark in 2023. 

The proposed target is part of the company’s Amazon Global Selling program which claims to have onboarded more than 1.25 Lakh exporters since its inception. 

In a statement, Amazon said that more than 1,200 exporters achieved sales exceeding INR 1 Cr in 2022. In addition, Indian exporters hosted their products on Amazon’s eighteen international marketplaces across countries such as the US, the UK, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Italy, among others. 

As per the geographical distribution of exporters in 2022, Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh were the states with the highest number of exporters. Notably, the roster of exporters also included businesses from Tier II cities and beyond. 

Locations such as Kolhapur in Maharashtra, and Tiruvallur in Tamil Nadu significantly contributed to the growth of Indian exports. Moreover, last year witnessed exports from 25 cities in India surpassing $10 million.

“… Our focus remains on removing pain-points associated with running an exports business and we have reduced the average go-to-market time for entrepreneurs on the program exporting to the US by 35% in the last two years… We will continue working with all stakeholders and lakhs of small businesses and startups to enable $20 Bn in cumulative ecommerce exports from India by 2025,” said director of global trade at Amazon India Bhupen Wakankar.

Exporters Eye Global Markets

As per Amazon, toys emerged as the fastest-growing export category in 2022, experiencing a year-on-year(YoY) growth rate of over 50%. Kitchenware followed closely with growth exceeding 35%, while beauty and luggage witnessed growth rates of over 25% and 20% respectively. 

Amazon said that it has noticed ‘remarkable growth’ in a number of smaller cities. The cumulative sales emanating out of 25 Indian cities surpassed $10 Mn in 2022. In this regard, cities such as Ganganagar in Rajasthan surpassed the $13 Mn export mark last year while Haridwar’s sales surpassed $23 Mn during the same time period.

At the heart of this growth is the Amazon Global Selling program, an ecommerce export initiative that enables Indian small businesses and entrepreneurs to expand their reach and sell their products globally through Amazon’s international websites. 

Launched in 2015, the initiative provides a platform for sellers to showcase their “Made in India” products to customers worldwide. Amazon India currently has more than 1 Lakh exporters from all across India participating in the program.

Apart from this, the ecommerce major also announced the launch of its cross-border logistics platform SEND in November last year to spur the participation of Indian sellers. 

Amazon Eyes India Growth Story 

Amazon has left no stone unturned to scale its presence in India to cash in on the burgeoning local digital ecosystem. As more and more users join the digital bandwagon on the back of dirt-cheap internet and smartphones, Amazon wants to leverage this opportunity to shore up its revenues and scale. 

Earlier this year, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US, and pledged an additional investment of $15 Bn in India over the course of the next seven years. This brought the company’s total investment in India to $26 Bn. 

However, the country is still not a rosy picture for the company. The company has been mired in regulatory troubles in India and was even forced to shut down its subsidiary sellers – Appario and Cloudtail – fearing an ongoing investigation from the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

Previously, the company also faced scrutiny over its alleged anti-competitive practices. Making matters worse has been rising competition from Walmart-backed Flipkart and local players such as Meesho.

Walmart has also upped the ante against Amazon in India as the former’s ecommerce arm Flipkart has been pitching Indian manufacturers and D2C brands to sell their products in the US and Canada. While both players have been investing in technology and infrastructure in the country, both continue to post heavy losses in India. 

Despite the challenges, India continues to be an attractive opportunity for Amazon. As more and more global brands emerge out of India, Amazon aims to leverage its first-mover advantage in the country to shore up its bottomline. For now, it remains to be seen if the growth momentum continues or fizzles out in the face of global headwinds.