In second most important market, it is still Day 1 for Amazon in India

His online marketplace might be the most visited shopping site in India, but for Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive officer of technology giant Amazon, it is still Day 1 in the second most important market for the company outside the US. From talking about how Alexa, its cloud-based voice service, plays devotional songs in local Indian languages to Amazon India working closely with communities in rural areas, Bezos tried to ascertain that the online marketplace had now become part of the culture in the country and had adapted all its services and offerings accordingly.

Making it clear that Amazon India was at the top spot not just now but for the last two years, Bezos said Amazon India was the most visited site in the country.

Amazon, which completed five years in India, has managed to reach the top spot, taking on local favourites Snapdeal and Flipkart. Bezos, in a letter to customers, said Amazon now had customers in 100 per cent serviceable pin codes in the country and was shipping packages from more than 50 fulfilment locations in 13 states. “We are five years into our journey, but as we say at Amazon, it’s Day 1, and I am energised and humbled by the opportunities ahead. Amazon.in is India ki apni dukaan,” he said in the letter.

Bezos also said the firm was working with “tens of thousands” of third-party developers to increase the capabilities of its Alexa voice assistant. In the past five years Amazon has grown from one seller to 300,000. In the past year itself, Amazon.in had expanded its network of third-party affiliates and service providers to ensure that sellers from non-metros and smaller towns had easy access and the required support to start and manage their online businesses, he added. According to industry analysts, Amazon has pumped about $3 billion into its Indian operations. Amazon Seller Services, has received $1.28 billion during 2017-18 from the US parent, according to documents filed with India’s corporate affairs ministry.

Bezos had committed investments of $5 billion for the Indian market. However, industry insiders believe the investment number is going to increase significantly over the next few months with Walmart planning to expand the operations of Flipkart in India. Investments have also been made in other Amazon entities in India, including Amazon Pay and its wholesale business here.

According to sources, the global e-commerce giant has also started preliminary discussions with Indian supermarket, hypermarket and retail companies to buy a stake in any one of these firms. The company plans to increase its offline reach in India.

While talks are still at a preliminary stage, sources said major retail players had held discussions with Amazon. Recently, after the announcement of the Flipkart-Walmart deal, Future Group’s founder Kishore Biyani had indicated he was ready to sell a stake to the strongest global retailer.

Sources said Biyani had held discussions with Amazon and Walmart. Some of the regional hypermarket and supermarket players have also held discussions with Amazon.

Sources said these discussions were not a reaction to Walmart buying 77 per cent of Flipkart for $16 billion, as Amazon had had offline plans for a long time.

“Just like in the US, it wants to expand its reach in retail. Amazon has had discussions with some of the companies but things are still at an early stage. If things fall in place, then a deal with a major retailer might happen by the end of this year,” said the source. Amazon India, however, refused to comment on the issue.