Amazon Posts 67% Increase In Sales Volume Growth

Amazon India, the Indian arm of the ecommerce giant Amazon, reported a 67% increase in sales volume in the September quarter. The company claims from April to September, their gross sales rose much faster than of their rival, Flipkart.

While Amazon claimed their gross sales value increased by 72% during this quarter, Naspers previously reported Flipkart grew 43% during that period. The global ecommerce giant further added Amazon India’s gross sales rose 66% in those six months. According to brokerages and experts tracking ecommerce in India, the online retail market is estimated to be growing by roughly 25% to 30%.

However, according to a Flipkart spokesperson, the figure cited by Naspers included “a time lag” and the firm’s sales actually grew by “at least 80%” in April-September. Livemint reported, in an emailed response Flipkart’s spokesperson said, “Flipkart continues to outpace the industry and our growth has accelerated significantly during the July-September quarter on the back of a very strong festive season. This report actually refers to the January-June period and, as all growth data, has a lag of three months so the comparison isn’t like for like or relevant.”

Despite Amazon India posting an increase in sales volume, Amazon’s overall sales volume growth actually slowed considerably from the preceding two quarters, where it grew by 85% and 88%, respectively. Flipkart, which enjoys a bigger consumer base in India, also beat Amazon during the festive season sale, generating gross sales of over Rs. 5,000 crores. During its four day Great Indian Festival sale, Amazon, on the other hand, generated gross sales of Rs. 2,500 to Rs. 2,700 crores.

Nevertheless, Amazon has disputed the claim that it lags behind Flipkart and argues it is well ahead of the Bengaluru based ecommerce company in terms of metrics such as app downloads, desktop visits and mobile website visits. On the global front, Seattle based Amazon has also locked horns with technology giant Google over selling Google products on its ecommerce platform.