Amazon launches ‘Global Store’ in India

Amazon’s ‘Global Store’ will give Indian customers access to over 4 million products from international brands on US website and pay in local currency

New Delhi: E-commerce giant Amazon has launched ‘Global Store’ in India that will allow its Indian customers to buy products sold on the US website and pay in local currency.

The move will give customers in India access to over 4 million products from international brands and help Amazon compete more aggressively against domestic rival Flipkart in the booming Indian e-commerce market.

“Enhancing shopping experience for customers is one of the key pillars for us. With Global Store, customers in India will now have direct access to thousands of international brands and a starting selection of over 4 million global products,” Amazon India VP and Country Head Amit Agarwal told PTI.

At present, a host of products available on Amazon US would be available in India, later on more categories and countries from where products can be bought will be added, he said.

Customers could order items from Amazon’s US portal to India earlier as well but they would have to pay in dollars. With this launch, Amazon.in will become the single largest online destination for buying both local and global products in India, he said.

Amazon will now have a dedicated page showcasing all eligible products that it will ship to India under the Global Store. It will make products across categories like books, apparel, shoes, office supplies, home, kitchen, sports as well as niche categories like fishing equipment and bakeware. India is the third market after China and Mexico to get the Global Store.

“They will also have access to unique brands like Nixon (Watches), Jessica Simpson (Shoes), Zumba (Sports) and Gaiam (Sports) etc that not available in India,” he said. Customers will be able to see prices in local currency inclusive of import fee deposits and get delivery in 2-12 days.

“Prices shown to customers will include product price, import fees deposit and shipping fees (based on delivery option selected) in INR for ease of purchase,” he said.

India Post, DHL and Aramex will be the third party logistics providers for products ordered from the Amazon Global Store. Customers will also be able to return most unused items within 30 days of delivery for full or partial refund based on the reason for return.

Like its competitors Flipkart and Snapdeal, the Jeff Bezos-led firm has been aggressively expanding the range of products available on its platform to woo customers.

A report by Kotak Institutional Equities said the Indian e-tailing market could reach $28 billion by 2019-20, registering a compounded annual growth rate of 45%.

(Source – http://www.livemint.com/Industry/JuHQucyO6o6DdH...)