Amazon Edges Past Flipkart On Brand Recall In Metros, Finds Survey
Amazon takes lead over Flipkart in metros, says Redseer report.
When Indians in big cities think of buying online, Amazon comes to mind first, a recent study suggests.
The Seattle-based company’s Indian arm has edged past Flipkart in metros on popularity and brand recall in the quarter ended June, helped by its “Prime” membership programme, according to a survey by emerging marker researcher RedSeer Management Consulting. “Amazon has outperformed Flipkart on the web and app experience for the first time,” said the survey based on responses of 4,500 online shoppers in 30 cities.
Amazon has been a steady gainer on Flipkart’s lead and has finally moved ahead of Flipkart on e-tailing leadership Index.RedSeer Survey
Overall, Flipkart and Amazon have emerged as the joint leaders on RedSeer’s leadership index, but Amazon is growing slightly faster than Flipkart in terms of user experience. Flipkart continues to maintain its dominance in non-metros, it said.
India’s $15-billion e-commerce industry with 500 million internet users is expected to grow at 30 percent annually over five years, and the focus has now shifted from customer acquisition to customer retention. And Amazon’s “Prime” scheme has helped it score better, said the report.
Prime membership bundles Amazon’s offerings under one roof, a move aimed at creating a habit among the users. Prime members currently account for 35 percent of purchases on Amazon.
Amazon has been investing aggressively in India. The Jeff Bezos-led firm in June pumped in $260 million (Rs1,680 crore) in its Indian unit to expand its local business. That is over and above its earlier commitment to spend $5 billion. The effort is to expand the cart with many low-value products.
According to RedSeer, Flipkart is on top of post-delivery experience, an important lever for first-time buyers. “Flipkart has a slight lead on price competitiveness.” Flipkart too has strengthened its chest of capital. It raised $2.4 billion in July through Softbank’s Vision fund, taking its cash reserves to $4 billion.
