Slow and steady Amazon to host Prime Day in India, outsmarts Flipkart

Celebrating Prime Day, Amazon annual mega discount sale will be making debut in India on July 11. Though already Prime Members will be able to get 30 hours of discounts on goods starting at 6 pm on July 10.

US e-commerce giant launched its Prime subscription services in July 2016 in India. It has still kept introductory offer rate at Rs 499 annually. Prime customers will also get exclusive access to over 30 new launches from top brands.

Amazon is extending its Prime Day festivities to 13 countries including the US, UK, Spain, Mexico, among others this time around. Amazon is hosting this for the first time in India, to which it has committed investment of $5 billion.

What it means to be Prime Member

Prime Day is just a discount program for members. If you are Amazon Prime member or are on trial, the account will provide many lucrative offers and deals.

For Indian customers, Amazon Prime offers four benefits, including fast and free deliveries, a 30-minute preview to lightning deals, Amazon Prime Video (introduced in December 2016) and Amazon Family (introduced in May 2017). In the US, its Prime offers about 20 benefits including music, deliveries from preferred restaurants, membership sharing between family members and a 5% cashback on the use of Prime credit cards.

Last week, Amazon declared that its Prime Membership numbers have grown three-time between January-June 2017. Orders from Prime customers contribute up to 30% of the orders on the Amazon India platform, with 50-60% orders coming in for Amazon Pantry, the FMCG goods service.

Prime Day is an annual attempt by Amazon to further market its Prime membership, which is required to take advantage of any sale offerings during the period. With lightning deals, Prime members get early access (30-minutes earlier than the public) to deeply discounted products ranging from fashion to tech. Apart from discounts on tons of products, Amazon has also partnered with several brands to launch exclusive products on or before July 11 in India.

Amazon Prime Vs Flipkart First

There is no doubt that Amazon is aggressive in its push to get more loyal members on its platform through Prime member program in compare to its rival Flipkart. While Amazon appears to be firmly integrated with one consumer needing one account across services, Flipkart seems to more bullish on being a e-commerce marketplace.

Home-grown marketplace had lead in this regard as it launched supscription-based membership model at Rs 500 in 2014. But it did not show preservance and enthusiasm to take it to another level.

It never became as hit among customers as Prime did in Indian ecosystem. The reasons could be aplenty. If we compare Flipakrt First and Amazon Prime offers, while Prime bundles different and unique services. Flipkart First offers merely a priority service to its customers.

Flipkart First also does not provide additional deals or preview of deals for its members. Flipkart had a chance to do the same with it’s Flyte, its digital music store which was launched in 2012, but later shut down in 2013 due to lack of micropayments ecosystem and due to slow adoption.

Amazon Prime brings the promise of free video at Rs 499, which will appeal to people who have been wanting to watch some of these Amazon Exclusive shows. Amazon Prime’s cancellation policy appears to be better on paper, which ensures you’re not charged for a month where you don’t use the benefits. In Flipkart’s case, the subscription cost is lower, although same-day delivery costs more than Amazon Prime.

Besides, Flipkart has nothing to match Amazon’s Prime Video service, which has just launched a locally produced Amazon original. Flipkart also has nothing to offer that can compete with Kindle service despite coming up with eBook reader before arrival of Amazon in India.

Entrackr had last week reported that Flipkart-owned Myntra could launch similar product in line with Prime in next two-three months.

Also Read: After Amazon’s Prime success, Flipkart-owned Myntra to launch loyalty programme

But until that happens, Amazon Prime seems to be consolidating its position in Indian market better than its rival.