Barclays issues clarification on Amazon beats Flipkart report, says both have $11.2 Bn GMV run rate for FY19

Investment bank Barclays has issued a clarification regarding its report, published on last Wednesday, that Amazon has not beaten home-grown e-tailer Flipkart but both e-tailers have $11.2 billion run rate in gross merchandise value (GMV) for fiscal 2019.

The conclusion that Amazon India is beating Flipkart was erroneous by many media who covered the report, the investment bank was quoted as saying by ET.

The exclusion of the business distorts the lagging data on profit/losses of the Flipkart entity. Since Myntra and Jabong have not filed financials, we were not able to include the entity’s positive contribution to profitability, Barclays added in a clarification.

On last Wednesday, however, Barclays had said that Amazon and Flipkart were neck and neck on GMV in FY17 while in FY18 Amazon overtook Flipkart with a GMV of $7.5 billion compared with the latter's $6.2 billion on a standalone basis, excluding GMV of its subsidiaries Myntra and Jabong.

It had further said Amazon is expected to rise to $11.2 billion, 30 per cent more than Flipkart estimate of $8.7 billion in gross sales in the financial year that ends in March.

Both firms combined losses are expected to go by $3 billion in FY19, Amazon is expected to contribute $1.8 billion and Flipkart $1.3 billion. It also marked that Amazon was growing faster at 82 per cent compared with Flipkart's rate of 47 per cent.

According to the report the e-commerce market in India will be doubled to $40-50 billion in the next two years. Online shoppers are expected to climb to 200 million by that time from 90 million.

Meanwhile, Flipkart has maintained that it is way ahead of US e-tailer both in terms of revenue and market share. Whereas Amazon continues to believe it is the most visited marketplace in the country.