A week after welcomed his Prime Day Sale in the United States and 15 other countries, India and a group of other Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries will follow on July 23-24.
The e-commerce giant, which claims to have more than 200 million Prime customers globally, could see muted business due to inflation and restrictions on customers’ discretionary spending, industry experts say.
Amazon’s annual sale event recorded gross merchandise value (GMV) sales of nearly $12 billion worldwide, according to multiple third-party reports for the United States and other markets where the event ended. This is a jump of 7.7% from 2021, where the event recorded GMV sales of $11.9 billion. GMV is a measure of the total value of goods sold by an online retailer over a specific period of time.
For the Indian market, the online retailer expects to replicate its success even as the growth of the global event would have stalled in 2021, compared to the boom in 2020.
Akshay Sahi, Director – Prime and Delivery Experience, Amazon India
“Today we have over a million sellers in the marketplace, and over 450,000 of them have joined in the last 24 months. Prime Day 2022 is a huge opportunity for many sellers to benefit, reach a wider audience and accelerate their growth,” said Akshay Sahi, Director, Prime and Delivery Experience at Amazon India. Your story.
He added that the sales events in India and the MENA region were held at a later date due to the celebration of Eid al-Adha.
According to Akshay, the number of Prime members is also expected to increase as part of the sale, although he did not reveal the exact number of Prime subscribers in India or the expected growth in the number.
According to a June 2021 report from Media Partners Asia, the total number of Prime Video subscribers in India stood at 18 million.
The Prime Sale event falls every year during the July to September quarter, which registers a drop in sales at the outlets before the festive October to December quarter.
“The July and August sell-off events are aimed at selling off slow-moving stocks,” says Arvind Singhal, president and chief executive of management advisory firm Technopak Advisors. He adds that while sales will continue to increase, seasonality continues to play a major role.
“Typically, the festive quarter accounts for 25% of annual sales for all retailers, including online marketplaces. In India, the numbers can reach 40%, due to the wedding season, in addition to the festivities,” says Arvind of Technopak.
Apart from smartphones where the two online marketplaces Flipkart and Amazon are the biggest sales channels, according to a report published by Counterpoint in December 2021, spending is expected to shift towards consumer devices, fashion and groceries.
“The supply chain for smartphones and home appliances is not a major obstacle, but rather it is about the revenues in the hands of consumers, which have not changed in the last three years. It will take another year for the economy to return to pre-COVID levels and there are currently early indicators of slowing inflation,” Arvind said.
As part of the Prime Day sale, Amazon Fresh is also offering discounts on groceries, as well as fruits and vegetables. According to a recent report titled New eCommerce in India per Redseer, grocery has been a major contributor to the growth of e-commerce in India.
Whether Amazon India’s Prime Day sale continues or not, the global downward trend in growth will be watched closely.
(Video analysis on online sales by Priya Sheth.)
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