Amazon stocks arsenal for sellers & buyers- promoting tribal sellers, aiding grocery shopping for buyers

US online marketplace Amazon is keen on increasing its seller base, and has been taking steps to add to its vendor base. Towards this, it hopes to attract sellers with unique products to ensure a happy set of customers. As a part of this plan (with an eye to promote indigenous artisans), Amazon has tied up with the Gujarat Tribal Development Department to provide a platform for tribal artisans.

The company will be training tribal artisans, particularly women, to sell online to reach its national and international shoppers. Gopal Pillai, director and GM at Amazon’s Seller Services explains,

“Through our collaboration with the Gujarat government involving training, marketing, selling and delivery of various tribal products, we seek to drive disruptive change and transform the lives of tribal entrepreneurs across the state. This integration will provide a massive fillip to the entire local ecosystem, thereby catalysing the economic development of the tribal community of Gujarat.”

Perhaps as a result of its efforts, Amazon’s seller base grew by 160% in 2016, said the company.

Netting the buyers with everyday essentials

In the meantime, Amazon is trying to build customer loyalty by offering its customers sweet deals on their grocery shopping. It has two types of offerings – ‘Pantry’ for bulk monthly purchases that will be delivered in 24 hours, and ‘Now’ for quick buys that will be delivered in two hours. Amazon recently included Mumbai and Delhi in its ‘Now’ service.

The company has plans to expand, confirms Saurabh Srivastava, Director of Category Management, Consumables and FMCG at Amazon,

“We plan to cater to over 80 per cent of the pin codes in every city that we foray into, with sellers in each pin code offering 700 deals at any point in time.”

Experts are lauding the approach. Rajeev Banduni, CEO of data intelligence consultancy GrowthEnabler Global says,

“With the promise of best price, daily deals on groceries and household essentials, along with the added convenience of express deliveries, Amazon’s strategy is to inculcate a habit among consumers to shop online every other day. Once the habit is formed, it is easy for Amazon to target those customers to shop across categories.”

Amazon has suffered an increase in its losses in 2016 due to its increased investments. Jeff Bezos has stated that it is a part of the expansion plan. We will have to observe how the new year and the new plans help Amazon.