Amazon stakes claim to top fashion platform; vertical grows 90% in 2017

US e-commerce giant Amazon’s big push into fashion retail in the Indian market seems to be paying off, with the company on Tuesday announcing a jump of nearly two-and-a-half times in sales during the third edition of its Wardrobe Refresh Sale.

Arun Sirdeshmukh, business head of Amazon Fashion, said this was the biggest-ever sale for the company.

The firm, which has competitors like Myntra and Jabong, is staking claim to top spot, citing it is the largest fashion store in India in terms of selection. “We have grown over 90 per cent in terms of both volume and value in 2017,” it said.

“Tier II and Tier III cities reported faster growth, with markets such as Indore, Pune and Vadodra growing at 3X to 4X. The Amazon Fashion exclusive brands also showed strong growth. Our sports exclusive Under Armour grew 6X, and GAP grew 8X. Our wide reach covered 100 per cent serviceable pin codes in India, with Amazon Fashion witnessing 2X growth in first-time shoppers,” Sirdeshmukh said.

According to the company, over the last one year, it has been incorporating technology as well as backend processes it uses in the US. The firm has been making buying experience more interactive by adding new features such as video catalogue of for women’s products, higher priced products.

The firm had earlier indicated that it had plans to have various regional language platforms, though Sirdeshmukh did not comment on the issue.

Fashion, one of the most important categories for the company, will be among the first few verticals to have the platform available in various Indian languages. The company plans to provide everything from product descriptions to helpline numbers in as many as seven Indian languages to begin with. The move, it hopes, will help bring in customers from Tier III and smaller towns.

The company said the sale also saw a strong repeat customer base with 70 per cent of the total being repeat customers. “More than 50 per cent of our customers visited the store on multiple days during the event. One out of every three ‘New to Amazon’ customers comes through fashion, which accounts for close to 30 per cent of the total contribution,” it said.

Amazon Fashion has two private labels, Mix and Symbol, and around 15 made for Amazon brands. The company, which bought a minor stake in retail major Shoppers Stop sometime back, also plans to start its own offline experience zones soon.

According to the company, it is still testing the concept and will run pilots over the next few months.

These experience centres will be a mix of online and offline experience and will help users see what all is available on Amazon.in.

While there are no plans as of now, the company might take these experience zones to tier-III and rest of India markets to bring in more users.