Amazon is preparing for its signature sale event Prime Day in India around the end of July after a comparatively slower-than-expected first quarter for retailers in this country, according to sources with knowledge of the preparations. On July 11 and 12, the largest US e-commerce company will celebrate Prime Day worldwide; however, the dates for India have not yet been properly announced.
Amazon officials have instructed brands and sellers to hold adequate stock for the sale scheduled for later next month.
“Amazon has started placing orders for Prime Day in India for July. It will likely be in the second half of July but it is yet to be told formally. We are finalizing the terms and keeping the products in warehouses,” one of the online sellers, who has his brand, told ET. Multiple other online merchants echoed the same. Internally, the company has started testing Prime Day-related updates on the platform as well.
Amazon held Prime Day on various dates in India throughout the Covid years compared to other international markets including the US, the UK, and others.
A spokesman for Amazon India did not answer ET’s inquiry about the event on Monday, but the business is anticipated to announce in the next few days.
Before beginning to prepare for the Diwali sales, which last for a month, Prime Day is a major selling event for Amazon to drive sales in the mid-year period. A 48-hour sale period is known as Prime Day. To capitalize on shoppers searching for bargains and encourage them to do business on the site, rival Flipkart often stages a special event to counter Amazon’s Prime Day around the same time. Prime Day is exclusive to Prime users in India, who often use the site more frequently than in other countries, unlike its other discount occasions.
“These big sellers have been working with a smaller set of sellers but Cloudtail and Appario had established large-scale operations working smoothly with Amazon. The change even with a select set of smaller sellers will take some time to settle and that’s impacted Amazon’s overall sales,” said another person aware of Amazon India’s ongoing sales.
This year’s Prime Day also coincides with Appario Retail’s cutting down on its activities as a seller and the distribution of its inventory among a smaller group of sellers, as reported by ET in April. Appario Retail was one of its major sellers after Cloudtail ceased operating as an online merchant on Amazon. Amazon has a shareholding in Frontizo Business, the parent company of Appario, but announced that Appario will also stop selling on Amazon India.
“This would be a good precursor to the Diwali sales and may give an indication of consumer appetite for the third quarter around festivals,” Meena added.
Recently, Amazon celebrated ten years of business in India. Manish Tiwary, vice president, and national manager of Amazon India’s consumer division said in an interview with ET that the e-commerce company remains “optimistic” and “committed to the Indian market” despite the “ups and downs” it has seen over the last ten years.
