Table of Contents

1.INTRODUCTION
2.ECOMMERCE PLATFORM
3.ECOMMERCE IN INDIA
A PROJECT REPORT ON COMPARISON STUDY BETWEEN FLIPKART AND
AMAZON INDIA
1 INTRODUCTION

OBJECTIVES
To understand and estimate the consumer perception and factors affecting their behavior
for choosing e-commerce sites. To understand tactics and methods thatare used by e-
commerce players to grab the customers in India. To know how consumers are evaluating e-
commerce sites for their purchases. To understand the work flow of Amazon and Flipkart
which are leading in India. To study complexities and barriers those are there in between e-
commerce sites and customers. To find out new opportunities and to succeed in those
procedures.

PROBLEM DEFINITION
In India e-commerce evaluated like a giant with huge opportunity and success rate. There
are so many big and small players in market. Are they really going to sustain in market for a
long time and is there success rate for them. What are customers expecting from them and
are they ready to fulfill their requirements. The study is to understand both parties’
requirements and procedures.

Data Collection
The goal for all data collection is to capture quality evidence that then translates to rich
data analysis and allows the building of a convincing and credible answer to questions that
have been posed.

Primary Data
Primary data was collected from various people and their opinion and information for the
specific purposes of study helped to run the analysis. In essence, the questions asked were
tailored to elicit the data that will help for study. The data was collected through
questionnaire to understand their experience and preference towards their loyal company.

Secondary Data
To make primary data collection more specific, secondary data will help to make it more
useful. It helps to improve the understanding of the problem. Secondary data was collected
from various sources such as different business websites and published papers.

Limitations
 There was so much confidential data of companies that are not exposed.

 Survey was restricted to particular age group because respondents willing to fill are
college students.

 Analysis was done based upon personal opinion of respondents individually, not from any
focus groups or experts.
E-commerce in India

India has an internet users base of about 475 million as of July 2018, about 40% of the
population. Despite being the second-largest userbase in world, only behind China (650
million, 48% of population), the penetration of e-commerce is low compared to markets like
the United States (266 million, 84%), or France (54 M, 81%), but is growing at an
unprecedented rate, adding around 6 million new entrants every month. The industry
consensus is that growth is at an inflection point.
In India, cash on delivery is the most preferred payment method, accumulating 75% of the
e-retail activities. Demand for international consumer products (including long-tail items) is
growing much faster than in-country supply from authorised distributors and e-commerce
offerings.
In 2017, the largest e-commerce companies in India
were Amazon, Flipkart, ShopClues, Paytm, Snapdeal and e-bay.

Market size and growth

India's e-commerce market was worth about $3.9 billion in 2009, it went up to $12.6 billion
in 2013. In 2013, the e-retail segment was worth US$2.3 billion. About 79% of India's e-
commerce market is travel related.According to Google India, there were 35 million online
shoppers in India in 2014 Q1 and was expected to cross 100 million mark by end of year
2016. CAGR vis-à-vis a global growth rate of 8–10%. Electronics and Apparel are the biggest
categories in terms of sales.
According to a study conducted by the Internet and Mobile Association of India, the e-
commerce sector is estimated to reach Rs. 211,005 crore by December 2016. The study also
stated that online travel accounts for 61% of the e-commerce market.
According to Google India Research, by 2021 India is expected to generate $100 billion
online retail revenue out of which $35 billion will be through fashion e-commerce. Online
apparel sales are set to grow four times in coming years.
India's retail market is estimated at $470 billion in 2011 and is expected to grow to $675 Bn
by 2016 and $850 billion by 2020, – estimated CAGR of 10%. According to Forrester, the e-
commerce market in India is set to grow the fastest within the Asia-Pacific Region at a CAGR
of over 57% between 2012–16.
As per "India Goes Digital", a report by Avendus Capital, the Indian e-commerce market is
estimated at Rs 28,500 Crore ($6.3 billion) for the year 2011. Online travel constitutes a
sizable portion (87%) of this market today. Online travel market in India had a growth rate
of 22% over the next 4 years and reach Rs 54,800 crore ($12.2 billion) in size by 2015. Indian
e-tailing industry is estimated at Rs 3,600 crore (US$800 million) in 2011 and estimated to
grow to Rs 53,000 crore ($11.8 billion) in 2015.
Overall e-commerce market had reached Rs 1,07,800 crores (US$24 billion) by the year 2015
with both online travel and e-tailing contributing equally. Another big segment in e-
commerce is mobile/DTH recharge with nearly 1 million transactions daily by operator
websites.
A new sector in e-commerce is online medicine, selling complementary and alternative
medicine or prescription medicine online. There are no dedicated online pharmacy laws in
India and it is permissible to sell prescription medicine online with a legitimate license.
Online sales of luxury products like jewellery also increased over the years. Most of the
retail brands have also started entering into the market and they expect at least 20% sales
through online in next 2–3 years.
Infrastructure
There are many hosting companies working in India, some of which offer SaaS for hosting
web stores.
India has got its own version of Cyber Monday known as Great Online Shopping
Festival which started in December 2012, when Google India partnered with e-commerce
companies including Flipkart, HomeShop18, Snapdeal, Indiatimes
shopping and Makemytrip. "Cyber Monday" is a term coined in the US for the Monday
coming after Black Friday, which is the Friday after Thanksgiving Day. Most recent
GOSF Great Online Shopping Festival was held during Dec, 2018.
In early June 2013, Amazon.com launched their Amazon India marketplace without any
marketing campaigns. In July 2014, Amazon had said it will invest $2 billion (Rs 12,000 crore)
in India to expand the business, after its largest Indian rival, Flipkart announced $1 billion in
funding. In June 2016, Amazon agreed to invest another $3 billion to further pressure rivals
Flipkart & Snapdeal Amazon has also entered grocery segment with its Kirana now in
Bangalore and is also planning to enter in various other cities like Delhi, Mumbai and
Chennai and faces stiff competition with Indian start-ups. A large proportion of traffic
towards e-commerce sites is driven by coupon sites.

Funding
Examples of venture capital firms having invested in e-commerce companies in India are as
follows: Flipkart.com raised about USD 2.3 billion. On 10 July 2013, Flipkart announced it
had received $200 million from existing investors Tiger Global, Naspers, Accel Partners, and
ICONIQ Capital, and an additional $160 million from Dragoneer Investment Group, Morgan
Stanley Wealth Management, Sofina, Vulcan Inc. and more from Tiger Global.
In February 2014, online fashion retailer Myntra.com raised $50 million from a group of
investors led by Premji Invest, the investment company floated by Azim Premji, Chairman
of Wipro. May 2014 also witnessed an acquisition of Myntra by Flipkart reportedly for
₹2,000 crores.
In September 2015, PepperTap raised $36 million from Snapdeal and others.
How and when E-commerce emerged?

The E-commerce emerged firstly in the year of 1960’s when the transfer of data started over
the internet and the organizations started using the technology named Electronic Data
Interchange, that is, EDI where the files or documents has started to transfer through
internet for the business purpose.

From the year 1990, online shopping business started and went on the thirteen sky since
then, as it has lowered the burden of time and distance from the shoulder of the buyer, with
time after the smart phones came into our hands, buying became the concept of just a
single click where you can purchase your desired product sitting anytime and anywhere, just
need of the internet connection is there like a thread. And now you can visit the virtual
Online Shopping Store and can browse millions of product online on the screen of your
smart phone.

B2B Ecommerce

A B2B model focuses on providing products from one business to another. While many
ecommerce businesses in this niche are service providers, you’ll find software companies,
office furniture and supply companies, document hosting companies, and numerous other
ecommerce business models under this heading.

B2B ecommerce examples you may be familiar with include the ExxonMobil Corporation
and the Chevron Corporation, Boeing, and Archer Daniel Midlands. These businesses have
custom, enterprise ecommerce platforms that work directly with other businesses in a
closed environment. A B2B ecommerce business typically requires more startup cash.
B2C Ecommerce

The B2C sector is what most people think of when they imagine an ecommerce business.
This is the deepest ecommerce market, and many of the names you’ll see here are known
quantities offline, too. B2C sales are the traditional retail model, where a business sells to
individuals, but business is conducted online as opposed to in a physical store.

Examples of B2C businesses are everywhere. Exclusively online retailers include

Newegg.com, Overstock.com, Wish, and ModCloth, but other major B2C brick-and-mortar
businesses like Staples, Wal-Mart, Target, REI, and Gap.
C2C Ecommerce

B2B and B2C are fairly intuitive concepts for most of us, but the idea of C2C is
different. What does a consumer-to-consumer ecommerce business look like?

Created by the rise of the ecommerce sector and growing consumer confidence in online
sales, these sites allow customers to trade, buy, and sell items in exchange for a small
commission paid to the site. Opening a C2C site takes careful planning.

Despite the obvious success of platforms like eBay and Craigslist, numerous other auction
and classified sites (the main arenas for C2C) have opened and quickly closed due
to unsustainable models.
C2B Ecommerce

C2B is another model most people don’t immediately think of, but that is growing in
prevalence. This type of online commerce business is when the consumer sells goods or
services to businesses, and is roughly equivalent to a sole proprietorship serving a larger
business.

Government / Public Administration Ecommerce

The models listed above are the primary ecommerce retail structures, but they aren’t the
only ones. Other types of ecommerce involve government/public administration conducting
ecommerce transactions with businesses or consumers.

B2G (also called B2A), for businesses whose sole clients are governments or type of public
administration. One example is Synergetics Inc. in Ft. Collins, Colorado, which provides
contractors and services for government agencies.

C2G (also called C2A): typically individuals paying the government for taxes or tuition to
universities.

Two sectors that are closed for entrepreneur owners but are growing include G2B for
government sales to private businesses, and G2C, for government sales to the general
public.
WHAT IS AN ECOMMERCE PLATFORM
Ecommerce has emerged as the single biggest growth driver in the worldwide marketplace.
EMarketer, a leading independent market researcher, predicts global B2C ecommerce sales
will reach $1.5 trillion this year, a 20 percent increase from 2013. And according to Forrester
Research, B2B ecommerce spending in the U.S. alone reached $559 billion in 2013. If
ecommerce is important to your business then the solution you choose is arguably one of
the most important business decisions you will make.
At its simplest form, ecommerce software enables a business to sell products and services
online. Traditionally, businesses had to purchase on-premise, standalone ecommerce
software that required extensive IT setup and in-house management with specialized
development teams. These solutions were generally costly, not scalable, challenging to work
with, and time consuming to customize and integrate with other systems.
Ecommerce software provides the customer facing front end component of an online
business. Online businesses, like all other businesses, need additional software to manage
back end functions such as accounting, order management, inventory management, and
customer service. Piecing together different software solutions to create a complete
ecommerce business platform is complicated, requires frequent maintenance and rarely
functions efficiently.
Fortunately, a new breed of business software integrates all the needed commerce and
business functionality into a single ecommerce platform via a software-as-a-service (SaaS)
model. With an infrastructure that unifies business applications and the data that feeds
them, it is possible to create relevant, engaging and personalized online experiences.
Imagine an ecommerce platform that allows customer service reps to have a single view of a
customer across all channels, a centralized order and inventory management system that
can efficiently fulfil orders from all your sales channels, including brick and mortar stores, or
utilize a customer's order history data to provide personalized and relevant offers. The
possibilities brought to light with the advent of a complete ecommerce platform for
business optimization and improved efficiencies as well as deepened customer engagement
and satisfaction are limited only by one's creativity.
E-commerce businesses may also employ some or all of the followings:

 Online shopping for retail sales direct to consumers via Web sites and mobile apps,
and conversational commerce via live chat, chatbots, and voice assistants[3]

 Providing or participating in online marketplaces, which process third-party business-

to-consumer or consumer-to-consumer sales

 Business-to-business buying and selling;

 Gathering and using demographic data through web contacts and social media

 Business-to-business (B2B) electronic data interchange

  Marketing to prospective and established customers by e-mail or fax (for example,
with newsletters)

 Engaging in pretail for launching new products and services

 Online financial exchanges for currency exchanges or trading purposes.

Key Features of an Ecommerce Platform

Any viable ecommerce software will enable customers to buy your products and services
from your online store. Where solutions differ is the degree to which they can unify and
leverage both front and back-office applications with both their unique and shared data.
Ecommerce platforms provide the unification of core business processes, where businesses
can gain complete visibility across their company and ultimately meeting their most
discerning customers' expectations. An ecommerce platform should:

 Run on a single, unified platform. Eliminate integrations between separate systems with
natively unified ecommerce, accounting, POS, inventory and order management, marketing,
merchandising, customer service and financials on a cloud-based platform.
 Provide a 360° customer view. Deliver consistent and personalized cross-channel
experiences, targeted marketing and superior customer service with a single view of all
customer interactions and transactions across all touch points and channels.
 Intelligently managing orders. Exceed and set new customer expectations for buying,
fulfilling and returning purchases, both online and in stores. Maximize profitability by
centralizing order management and having a single view of inventory across all channels and
supply chain business units.
 Deliver innovative customer experiences. Rapidly create unique, personalized and
compelling mobile, web and in-store experiences to differentiate your brand and exceed
customer expectations.
 Support unlimited expansion. Quickly deploy sites for multiple business models, channels,
brands, countries, currencies and languages all on the same platform.

An ecommerce platforms include all core business functions, integrated into a single
solution; it fosters improved collaboration, aligns operational processes and provides real-
time data visibility across entire organizations. This integrated platform drives the following
functions in a cohesive manner:

 Analytics and reporting

 Customer support
 Order and inventory management
 Procurement
 Content management
 Marketing
 Pricing and promotions
The ecommerce platforms of today have moved beyond single purpose software that
enables people to simply buy products and services online. Today's best cloud-based
ecommerce platforms integrate both the front- and back-office systems to provide a unified
business environment that is easily scalable, endlessly customizable and provides timesaving
automation functionality. Such a platform enables businesses to meet their customers'
demands for providing a seamless shopping experience across all channels, and provides the
flexibility and adaptability needed to keep up with the pace of business, reduce operational
costs, increase efficiencies and eliminate the hassles of managing hardware and software.
Whether you do business in the B2B or B2C realm, your ecommerce platform needs to do
more than just facilitate transactions if you want to be competitive in fast-moving and
hyper-competitive markets. In the end, a complete ecommerce platform can provide
significant advantages over competitors not leveraging similar technology.
INVENTORY & MARKET PLACE MODEL
What is a Marketplace Model?
A Marketplace model is an online store where multiple vendors come together to sell their
products and services to make the profit. In another word, it is a type of eCommerce that
helps sellers and buyers to find each other online and hence they can interact. Amazon,
Flipkart, eBay, Snapdealetc are the examples of Marketplaces.

What is an Inventory-Led Model?

In this model, Retailers or Company sources the products directly from Brands or Sellers and
then Stock these. There are no multiple sellers selling one product. The Seller is the
eCommerce company and invoice is issued to the customers on the company’s name.
Mergers and acquisitions.
According to a report by Grant Thronton, as much as US$2.1 billion worth of mergers and
acquisitions were inked in 2017 in the booming Indian e-commerce industry. Here is the
list of Mergers & Acquisitions which happened in India over a period of time:

Mergers & Acquisitions in Indian E-commerce Market

Dat Merger/Acquisitio Ref

Companies Involved Cost
e n s

May
Acquisition Flipkart acquires Myntra US$300 million
2014

April Snapdeal acquires FreeCharg

Acquisition US$400 million
2015 e

June
Acquisition Myntra acquires Jabong US$70 million
2016

July Axis
Acquisition US$60 million
2017 Bank acquires FreeCharge

April
Acquisition Flipkart acquires PhonePe Undisclosed
2016

₹120
May
Acquisition Infibeam buys Unicommerce crore (US$17 million
2018
)

May
Acquisition Walmart acquires Flipkart US$16 billion
2018
 PRODUCT OR SERVICE ALLIANCES

FLIPKART:
Flipkart used to work on the inventory model once upon a time when the government of
India had no interest in the functioning of Indian e-commerce and Flipkart was growing at a
break neck speed. Then suddenly they woke up in 2014 and released a circular stating that
FDI is not allowed in B2C(Business to Consumer) ecommerce business though it is allowed in
B2B(business to business). By this time Flipkart had already raised huge investments from
the foreign investors which suggests that Flipkart was about to fall in the mesh of Indian
bureaucracy. So, to save itself Flipkart changed itself from B2C(online retailer) to B2B.

How it did that?

To align with the policy of Enforcement directorate Flipkart adopted marketplace model. In
a marketplace model, any vendor wishing to sell its product online can do so after
registering with the e-commerce portal. The e-commerce portal doesn’t hold any immediate
inventory rather it relies on the decentralized vendors for supply. So earlier when you
ordered book from Flipkart you were actually buying from it now it’s another way round.
Now if you order anything you are actually buying it from a vendor who is registered with
Flipkart and located at some part of India. In the entire process Flipkart just plays the role of
intermediary i.e. they virtually they converted themselves from a shopping store to
shopping mall which is a B2B model and which saved them from the wrath of Enforcement
Directorate. See how easily our laws can be manipulated to save crores of rupees.

Flipkart uses a Continuous review model. The inventory stocks are replenished when the
inventory levels reach Reorder point (ROP). The company employs first in first out(FIFO)
method for its inventory management. Under the FIFO method, shipment request is sent to
a particular warehouse where the oldest inventory items are shipped first. This model
makes sense for electronics since technology becomes obsolete very quickly. Flipkart uses
sales to predict the levels of inventory.
Flipkart has & major warehouse spread across the Metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and
Chennai and in the cities of Pune, Bangalore and Noida. They further have smaller regional
distribution centers at over 500 locations. Company has tie-ups with more than 15 courier
companies like Blue Dart, First Flight etc. to deliver their products and Indian post for areas
where courier do not reach.

You may be interested on some articles on supply chain management. Please visit our
website (Hesol Consulting) and go through the blogs under supply chain.

Over the past few months, it has been accelerating a shift to the marketplace model from an
inventory-led business. The company may also do away with its website and become an
app-only retailer starting September to dominate mobile commerce, according to various
media reports.

Flipkart started with the strategy of "Direct Online Retail". But Indian Law does not support
FDI(Foreign Direct Investment) in online retail. So Flipkart has now shifted to "MarketPlace
Model" which allows third party merchants to sell goods to consumers through flipkart
website.

ACHIEVEMENTS IN E- COMMERCE
In september 2015, sachin bansal and binny bansal entered forbes India rich list debuting at
the 86th position with a net worth of $1.3 billion each. Co-founder of Flipkart, sachin bansal,
got entrepreneur of the year award 2012-2013 from economic times, leading Indian
economic daily. Flipkart.com was awarded young turk of the year at cnbc tv 18's 'India
business leader awards 2012' (ibla). Flipkart.com- got nominated for Indiamart leaders of
tomorrow awards 2011.

Marketing Strategy of Flipkart

Flipkart is using brand promotion and word of mouth strategies to create more awareness
about their brand name. Customer satisfaction is their prime marketing strategy. Flipkart
very wisely used SEO (Search Engine Optimization) & Google Ad-words as the marketing
tools to have a far reach in the online world. All in all to create a great customer experience.
Kids were used to creating the adverts to send out the message -if a kid can do it, we can
also do it. Marketing strategies of Flipkart.com:-

• Word of mouth

• Good use of SEO- To get better rank in Search engine result page like Google’s first page.

• Flipkart DO NOT sell used books or old books. Only new books listed at Flipkart.com. Listed
books at Flipkart.com are NOT available in eBook or PDF format for free download.

• Good use of Google AdWords.

• Ads placing for the highly targeted keyword at proper places and use pay per click to pay
for ads.

• User-friendly website and more convenient for customers.

• Payment convenience.

• Cash/card on delivery – People feels more secure for their money when they pay on
delivery.

• EMI –by targeting price-sensitive customers.

• Wallet – customers can keep money in their online wallet and they can recharge and
purchase online whenever they want.

• The conversion rate of the customer is more than 70%.

• Personalization of the user page.

• Product recommendation to customers with their previous purchases.

FAILURE IN MUSIC INDUSTRY
In october and november 2011, Flipkart acquired the websites mime360.com and
chakpak.com. Later, in february 2012, the company revealed its new flyte digital music
store. Flyte, a legal music download service in the vein of itunes and Amazon.com, offered
drm-free mp3 downloads. But it was shut down on 17 june 2013 as paid song downloads did
not get popular in India due to the advent of free music streaming sites.
 AMAZON

Amazon Retail

Amazon Retail operates similar to large big box stores and is a lot like adding Amazon as a
retail trading partner. Suppliers negotiate wholesale prices for their items, which Amazon
then purchases, merchandises and resells on the Amazon.com website. In this case, the
seller is focused on keeping one customer happy – Amazon. The margins are set, the
product is sold directly to Amazon, the order is sent to their fulfillmentcenter and the
transaction is done – there’s no need to worry about the end-user beyond providing a
quality product. Returns are sent back to Amazon, not to the supplier. Typically, Amazon
Retail products do not compete for the buy box. Amazon Retail is great for high performing
products for shipping in bulk.

Amazon Marketplace

Amazon Marketplace is the platform that facilitates anyone to sell directly to the end-user
or online customer. Amazon takes a referral fee from each sale. The seller takes on
merchandising responsibilities and manages their prices. Some suppliers use the
Marketplace to introduce new products with greater control over prices. It’s also a good
way to sell slow-moving items, such as last year models or accessories. When selling on
Amazon Marketplace, there are two fulfillment models:

Fulfilled by Merchant – The seller takes on the responsibility and overhead of shipping to
the consumer. By default, the products fulfilled by merchants are ineligible for Prime, except
for merchants with proven fulfillment operations.

Fulfilled by Amazon – The seller leverages Amazon’s world class fulfillment operations by
shipping quantities to Amazon’s Fulfillmentcenters for fulfilling consumer orders on behalf
of the seller. Items fulfilled by Amazon are Prime eligible. In addition to Amazon’s referral
fees for sales, storage fees, shipping fees and other fees may apply, similar to a 3PL. The
seller is responsible for ensuring Amazon Fulfillmentcenters are stocked with inventory for
Amazon to Fulfill so products maintain a presence on Amazon.com.

The Power of Amazon

Amazon Marketplace and Amazon Retail play a big part in providing all those everyday and
hard to find items. Amazon Marketplace is a collection of independent retailers and vendors
who sell their products through the Amazon system. These retailers use Amazon’s services,
such as promotion and fulfillment, and in return pay Amazon a percentage of the items sold.
Very often, the Marketplace retailers can go beyond borders to tap new markets by selling
their products throughout the world via Amazon’s infrastructure.

In many cases, consumers won’t even know they’re buying from a Marketplace seller, unless
they watch carefully. There’s a note on the screen about who will fulfill the product, but it’s
easy to overlook. The people most likely to notice are Amazon Prime users, when they see
the little note that says the product doesn’t qualify for Prime’s free shipping.

But not qualifying for Prime doesn’t deter shoppers. According to Inc. magazine, nearly half
of the products ordered and shipped through Amazon are from Marketplace sellers, totaling
as much as $132 billion in sales each year.

ACHIEVEMENTS IN E- COMMERCE

On the mobile app side, Amazon had the fastest growing app download rate in 2015. In
october alone, downloads increased 200 per cent. Amazon web traffic was the highest in
october as per comscore data, at 30 million visitors. Amazon active customers have gone up
230 per cent year on year. The awards were conferred at etailing India's flagship conference
and exhibition 2014, an event that brought together major stakeholders in the retail and e-
commerce business in the country. The "path-breaking debut of the year" award went to
Amazon.in.

Marketing strategy of Amazon India

Amazon India doesn’t expose much about its marketing techniques and strategies. Most of
the customers of Amazon India form online marketing channels, so it seems Amazon India is
more focused on online marketing. Amazon states that we have direct customers to our
websites basically through online marketing channels, like sponsored search, portal
advertising, email marketing campaigns, and associates program. Amazon India
continuously increasing its spending on promotion and advertising to make its brand
stronger. Amazon India is continuously improving its website and tries to make it more user-
friendly and convenient for customers. Marketing techniques of Amazon India: - We have
earlier discussed these strategies in the literature review.

• Affiliate Marketing

• Email Marketing
• Offline Advertising

• Word of mouth

• Pay per Click Advertising

• Interactive ads on portals

• Social media Marketing

• Search engine optimization

• Cooperative advertising

• Banner Advertisement

Amazon India is targeting millions of keywords through SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
and AdWords. According to my personal observation Amazon India was not on the top in
Search engine result page, whenever I searched in google for any online product, most of
the time and for most of the keywords, I found Flipkart was on the top. Flipkart is a very
strong competitor for Amazon India in every aspect but soon Amazon India learned from
Flipkart’s mistakes and lacking. Amazon India paid more attention to SEO and AdWords and
soon they got the first rank in Search engine result page.

FAILURE

Amazon starts using India post and screws up its delivery system in India. At the time when
the competition among online shopping portals in India is at its highest level possible and
each player is pooling in millions from funding’s and trying to beat each other with never-
before discounts and amazing services, Amazon has taken the worst step ever possible.
Amazon India has chosen India post as its primary delivery partner and all “Amazon fulfilled”
orders are now being shipped through India post. Anyone who lives in India or has some
experience with the postal system in India needs no introduction about India post.
 LOGISTICS

Speed of delivery is as important as the product quality for a customer. It would not be
wrong to say that logistics could be the defining factor for success of e-commerce
companies in retaining their customers. Indian logistics market itself is estimated to grow at
a cagr of 12.17 per cent by 2020. Innovations are very important in this sector, as the
demand is always for more reach and faster shipping at lower costs. Yet, the companies will
need to invest in automation, while utilizing existing resources well.

Logistics

Logistics is the most important factor for setting up an online retail store. Flipkart beats
Amazon here because it ships most of it’s products via it’s own logistics arm, Ekart. While
Amazon has also launched it’s own logistics arm, Amazon transportation services, the
number of products delivered via it is very less compared to Ekart. Amazon has had to face
many embarrassing situations due to delivery by courier partners. One also needs to
remember that Amazon delivers to a larger area compared to Flipkart. A 50-50 battle!

Exclusive partnerships
Flipkart began the trend of having exclusive partnerships beginning with Motorola and then
expanding. Amazon too got on the trend and has got exclusive rights to sell Yu and Redmi
Note 3 phones. Both the companies have done well with the exclusive tie ups and there is
no clear winner in this segment of the Flipkart vs Amazon battle. But the customers are the
losers in this segment as we don’t get lower prices due to competition. Booh!

Low Prices and Discounts

It’s a known fact that everyone wants to buy things at the cheapest price possible. Both the
e-commerce giants are pretty good at this and it is really difficult to pick a winner from this
segment of the battle of Flipkart vs Amazon. The only issue is that Flipkart needs to give it’s
users some time to check out the products which are already in the cart. When you
purchase anything from an Amazon lightning deal, you get a checkout time of 15 minutes to
complete your payment while on Flipkart you have no such time period. Both the companies
have begun using flash sales. These two borrow so much of each other. Phew!

Overall User Experience

A quick visit to both of the sites will give you a basic idea of the overall user experience. On
the Flipkart homepage itself you will be asked to input your number and almost forced to
download their mobile app. Amazon doesn’t force itself down on it’s users. Flipkart has just
realized the blunder they made by shifting to app only for mobile phones and have re-
opened the mobile site. Amazon made a smart move by offering more discount on the app
rather than forcing people to download their app. Another very useful feature with Amazon
is the ability to deliver parts of an order to multiple places. Moreover, we Indians really love
to have lots of options to choose from. Both Amazon and Flipkart have a large enough
inventory to satisfy this criterion even though Amazon has the most number of products.
VEHICLE TRACKING CRUCIAL IN E-COMMERCE

Vehicle tracking plays a significant role in providing necessary control and effective route
planning for faster delivery. Since the logistics market is highly unorganized in India,
underutilization of resources is not surprising. Increasing adoption of technology in
operations is essential to keep up customer satisfaction. Amazon added that fast, reliable
and resourceful internet connectivity across devices will help us use technology better for
vehicle tracking.

Flipkart benefited by its investment in blackbuck in capturing data on vehicular movement

and utilization, and utilizing the data for better planning. “the efficiency improvement on
information gathering and orchestration is a primary focus area for us in the next year as
well”. Logistics solutions provider loginext–which caters to paytm, myntra and Amazon
among others– even, provides ‘heat maps’ for giving information on those areas where
maximum delays are happening. Loginext working with cold chain logistics service providers
for delivering perishables. Our scheduler takes input from the system about the products
being transported and accordingly schedules the deliveries. Also, the temperature and other
settings required for a particular product could be set via their app used by delivery boys.
FLIPKART
1. Delivery within two days: the first few e-commerce web sites broke the trust of many
Indian customers by not delivering the order product on time. Flipkart realized this problem
and in order to bring the customer back to on line shopping it came up with idea of
delivering the product in 2 days and if there is a delay then the customer is paid interest on
the value of product.

2. Thirty days return policy: in order to satisfy the Indian customer after the product is
delivered, Flipkart came up with idea of providing thirty day return policy. This is done to
ensure that the product delivered to the customer is not faulty.

3. Card swipe on delivery: Flipkart realized that most of Indian customers are not
comfortable sharing their credit card details online, as there is always a risk of fraud. For
solving this problem it came up with the idea of card swipe on delivery. The delivery guy
brings the card swipe machine so that all the transaction happens before customer.
LOGISTICS PARTNER
E-kart provides logistic solutions for Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart. Flipkart today is 3
companies: ws retail, which is the primary retailer on Flipkart.com, ekart logistics, the
shipping partner for ws retail and others, and Flipkart itself, which builds, maintains and
runs the marketplace. Flipkart tied up with partner stores that act as alternative delivery
channels (such as ecom express, blue dart, gatti etc), so that customers can pick up their
shipments at their convenience. “by bringing together core capabilities of iot, devices, data
and automation, we have started implementing the automation technology to pick and
move packages to designated picking station, among several other applications that make
warehouse processes quicker and smoother.

PROCEDURE
Flipkart team will map their supply chain end to end and know exactly how many hours and
minutes would it take for the item to reach from one step to next. E.g. How long would it
take to pick an item in our fulfillment centre (fc), how much time would it take to pack it and
finally how soon can them handover to the logistics partners for transport? Then they
proceeded to do a thorough analysis and optimization to achieve the best-possible timelines
for each step. In logistics, they needed to know the exact transport connection timings with
their transport time and reliability. They had to work closely with vendors/airlines to ensure
reliable connection and delivery of in-a-day packages without any offloading. In fact, there
were some airline partners which were piloting their express delivery capabilities along with
their pilot for in-aday. Airlines were even helping our partners grow. In the last mile
logistics, they had to ensure that the delivery is attempted within the promised time
without fail and had dedicated field executives to guarantee the delivery.

TECHNOLOGY USED
To promise in-a-day guarantee to the customers, Flipkart developed a new product called
promise engine. This engine knew all about our fulfillment capabilities and thus exactly
where the item would be shipped from (depending on seller's inventory location). Hence, it
could calculate an accurate promise date for the customer. This engine also needed to be
able to provide multiple delivery speed options to customers to choose from. Once an order
is placed, the fulfillment system gave an exact hour and minute’s deadline to fcs to process
the item. This deadline also accounts for the transport connection between the source and
the destination. The deadline feature helps us to ensure seamless processing of both in-a-
day and regular orders. Flipkart claims that its algorithm on routing makes delivery and pick-
up more accurate and faster than anyone else in this business. Flipkart’s investment in
mapmyIndia has helped the company too. Ekart spokesperson said: “the accurate address
data for both sellers and buyers will allow us to better schedule deliveries and pickups.”
AMAZON
Amazon India, the company received 65 per cent orders from tier ii and iii cities in 2015. To
establish rural distribution centers in rural India, Amazon has been training teams in
packaging, checking shipments, tracking deliveries through a mobile app, route planning to
make deliveries on time etc. Many of these centers have witnessed a five-fold increase in
the number of deliveries. Amazon has a ‘service partner’ programme too for last-mile
delivery in remote areas. “budding entrepreneurs in these areas act as Amazon.in’s local
distribution network providers and create the last-mile delivery footprint. This programme
now covers more than 100 satellite towns and tier ii and iii towns and villages.

LOGISTIC PARTNER
Cloudtail India pvt. Ltd, a joint venture between Amazon.com inc. And n.r. Narayana
murthy’s catamaran ventures, has become the biggest seller or merchant on Amazon India’s
platform, underlining how the world’s largest online retailer has used loopholes in the law
to deploy a mix of the marketplace and the direct-selling business model in India. Cloudtail
is now the key growth driver for Amazon India, generating at least 40% of the company’s
sales in some months, three people familiar with the matter said. Cloudtail is particularly
dominant in electronics and fashion sales, two of the three largest categories for Amazon
India (promoted by Amazon seller services pvt. Ltd). Since it launched as a seller on Amazon
in july 2014, cloudtail has expanded aggressively. Its capital was increased to rs.500 crore
last month from just rs.500, 000 last july, according to documents available with the
registrar of companies (roc). The equity capital has been pumped in jointly by Amazon asia
and catamaran through an entity called prione business services pvt. Ltd. Apart from the
rs.500 crore in equity capital, cloudtail has access to secured loans totaling rs.300 crore, roc
documents show. Atsl will be one of the logistics partners for Amazon's Indian marketplace.

PROCEDURE
Amazon has set up a logistics company in India to deliver products directly to consumers,
opening a new front in the battle for top honours in the country's fast-growing online retail
industry. Amazon transportation services private limited, a subsidiary of us-based Amazon,
will ship goods from sellers who transact on the company's online marketplace in India.
Such a service is already on offer from Flipkart through logistics company ekart, and
snapdeal, which bought a stake in delivery firm gojavas last week. The logistics arm has
been set up to aid in lastmile delivery as products can be shipped faster. Amazon currently
operates nine fulfilment centres, ecommerce jargon for warehouses, in eight Indian states.
It was the first online marketplace to offer two-day and one-day guaranteed delivery in
India, a norm in the us market. Amazon India also recently launched easyship, an assisted
shipping platform for 12,000 out of its 20,000 sellers, a platform which the company has
now taken global. With easyship, our sellers can now choose their courier partners, and ship
even on the same day. More than 60% of our customers are eligible for next-day shipping
on products fulfilled by Amazon. Amazon has struggled with deliveries in cities where snarl-
ups are frequent and road signs unreliable. In response, firms have set up logistics networks
and use motorbikes instead of trucks. Another service introduced in India in may and
considered for export to other markets, seller flex, allows sellers to have the flexibility to
store goods and ship them to customers on their own, instead of routing them through
Amazon. Amazon provides technology and training to ensure goods are packed, labelled and
delivered as the company would. While Amazon in developed markets may not want to
tweak its model for best selling goods, analysts said, it could consider the made-inIndia
seller solution to cut down on warehousing and delivery costs for thousands of “non-core”
products which are offered, but infrequently bought. “Amazon is becoming a lot more
flexible about how it services its customers.

TECHNOLOGY USED
Amazon.com inc said it has acquired Indian payments processor emvantage payments pvt
ltd for an undisclosed sum. Emvantage's employees will join Amazon's India unit that will
use the company's technology on its e-commerce website, Amazon said in a statement.
Online retailer Amazon.com inc. Is localizing its technology operations in India by freeing up
its engineers to launch new features and customize its smartphone app for shoppers. These
changes have significantly improved both the company’s user addition and retention rates.
More shoppers installed Amazon India’s smartphone app than any rival’s app in the last
three months of 2015, the online retailer said, citing data compiled by app annie, an
analytics company. Downloads of Amazon India’s shopping app tripled in the key shopping
month of october compared with the year-ago period. These numbers are significant as a
majority of online shopping in India is expected to happen on smartphones over the next
five years. Already, Amazon and its rivals Flipkart ltd and snapdeal (jasper infotech pvt. Ltd)
get more than 70% of their traffic from smartphones. Amazon’s tech expertise in consumer-
facing products, predictive analytics, supply chain, among other areas is one of the reasons
it is catching up fast with Flipkart and snapdeal. Another change was the sign-up process for
mobile customers. “the sign-up process was you enter the email, then password, then you
verify it, etc—that was too much. Now, we pre-detect the mobile number and the new user
only has to enter a password. You get an otp, which is read and entered automatically. This
is another feature we have opened up in other markets. Overall, the goal is to understand
where there is friction for the customer and then eliminate that. Initially, however, Amazon
adopted most of the features of its global app in India. Those features included things such
as barcode scanning, which were of no use to Indian shoppers. Apart from irritating
customers, the features also caused the app to become very heavy in terms of taking up
space on smartphones. This was particularly problematic as a majority of Amazon’s current
and future customers will own low-end smartphones that offer limited storage space.
Clunky apps also don’t tend to work best on cheap smartphones.
 MARKETING STRATEGY

FLIPKART
Flipkart's business model is much deeper and much expansive that could possibly elaborate
here. However, a few key points -

Rationalized supply chain - inbound logistics Strategic warehousing and distribution

capability - operations Well aligned fulfillment process - outbound logistics

All the three processes are extremely well integrated - first by a sound strategy, around
which the organizational structure is built. So they have a strategy, and a complementing
structure to support their strategy. The third critical success factor for Flipkart is the
technology as an enabler. A strong information systems is at the core of the organization,
which drives visibility and end-to-end integration across their supply chain processes
(inbound - operations - outbound) resulting in a well lubricated efficient machine.

Flipkart, must be seen as a logistics company rather than a retail business. Although it sells
products to consumers, and hence is academically classified as a b2c business, the core of
the business lies in its efficient logistics, which allows it to sell products at attractive prices.

However, its competitive advantage is not in its retailing capabilities. Infact that aspect of
the ecommerce business is easily imitable and hence not sustainable. The sustainable
competitive advantage of Flipkart, lies in its logistics and operations infrastructure - which
has a very high barrier to entry: owing to its extensive capital investment and difficult to
replicate strategystructure-culture mix.

Cons: potential threat of the original replacing the imitated.

It is important to reflect upon the fact that its founder members (the bansal's) have had an
early stint with Amazon and have successfully modeled Flipkart's business on Amazon
strategy. So, it would be fair to say that Flipkart imitated Amazon's model to an extent.
However, owing to governmental regulation and international trade barriers (read retail fdi
restrictions), Amazon has not yet been able to compete with Flipkart on an even keel.
(Amazon operates as a marketplace rather than a retailer). Amazon has all the
infrastructure, culture, and technology enablers in place that Flipkart has - and on a much
larger scale. One other thing that they have is huge financial muscle power - much larger
than what Flipkart has. And the moment when these restriction on fdi in retail are lifted,
Amazon will be a major threat to Flipkart. And all these acquisitions that Flipkart has been
making, is to bulk up and brace up for the competition it faces.
AMAZON
E-commerce giants like Amazon uses demographic & psychographics segmentation to
segment the markets. Amazon’s segmentation is based on actual purchase behavior: not
what people might have expressed interest in, but what they actually did. Amazon’s micro-
level segmentation targets each customer individually, allowing the company to convert
visitors into long-term, high-value customers. Customer segmentation often involves
creating personas who will buy in a certain way & certain products. Similarly Amazon targets
the middle class & upper class people who have got hands on experience in the basic
technology but don’t have time or prefer convenience over shopping from the physical
outlets. Amazon has successfully positioned itself as a glocal (go global act local) e-
commerce giant where one can buy anything & get it delivered at any remote locations.
Using the catchphrase aurdikhao in its most recent campaign in India, it has further helped
them carve a distinct space in the consumer’s mind.

MARKETING STRATEGY
In order to differentiate itself, company acquired many it & e-commerce start-ups like
pets.com, audible.com, junglee.com, imbd.com, zappos.com, woot etc. Which helped them
in providing high value to their customers using existing technology of the acquired partners
at low cost? Amazon has also achieved economies of scale through extensive product
offerings which in electronics, toys and games, apparels, diy and many more. These
offerings help Amazon to keep its prices low thereon passing on the benefits to the
consumers. Amazon’s robust customer centric approach to analyse the customer buying
behavior based upon preferences has helped them to have competitive edge over their
competitors. More than 50% of the consumers are the repeat buyers at Amazon.com.
Furthermore, Amazon is one of the longest players to be present in the online sector and
has a solid hold in European countries and us. This bottom line is helping the company to
expand in new markets.
 ADVERTISING AND SALES PROMOTION

ADVERTISING STATISTICS FOR E-COMMERCE FIRMS

2015 was the year when e-commerce companies opened up their war chest, built over
years, and spent heavily on advertising on garnering market share and brand building. The
advertising amount was spent across channels – tv, print and digital media – with tv ad
spends getting the lion’s share. It was an interesting year. Advertising budget for a startup
had a direct correlation with the amount of funds raised by it. For eg. Limeroad, grofers and
craftsvilla collectively raised close to rs. 60 crores iof which rs. 28.5 crores were spent in
advertising

FLIPKART:
1. Product Listing Ads:
To achieve more sales you need to drive higher traffic towards your products. The more
clicks your products get, the higher the probability of them getting sold. The easiest way to
get more clicks for your products on flipkart.com is through Product Listing Ads. Here is how
it works:

 You choose a product and create an ad campaign for it

 Flipkart shows these products as ‘Featured Products’ on relevant pages of its website
 Buyer sees your ad while browsing through products that he wants to buy and clicks
on your product

2. Participate in spike sales:

You’ll get immense opportunities to grow your business with our exciting shopping events,
also known as, spike sales. During spike sales we provide exciting offers on almost all the
categories. This attracts maximum number of buyers and drives huge traffic to our website
as well as through the mobile app. You don’t just get to hike your sales with minimal effort
but also reach more buyers at one go. Participating in spike sales also helps you achieve
higher buyer satisfaction and become a seller that buyers will prefer. From extra logistics
personnel to TV commercials and promotions on online platforms—we make sure that
during a sale you get a large number of buyers.
3. Good packaging:
 The look and feel of your product, when it is delivered to the customer, has a major
impact on buyer experience. Packing products with good packaging material
minimises the chances of in-transit damage. But more than that, it reflects quality
service and increases buyers’ trust in you and your brand, which in turn, can increase
your sales. We have observed that 52% of buyers make repeat purchases from
sellers who deliver premium packaging, and 5% of buyers expect their online orders
to arrive in premium packaging. Investing in packaging can result in a gain of 30%
more sale.

4. Better cataloging:
 Your catalog represents your product on the e-commerce website and plays a prime
role in influencing buyers. Having a well-crafted catalog with a crisp description of
your products is crucial to convert the traffic on your products into sales. Remember,
most people shop online to save time and your product description should impress
them without making them spend much time trying to understand your product.
Another important element of cataloging that can help you increase your sales is
adding your product in the right category and sub-category. This will help buyers
search for your products easily and contribute to the traffic.

5. Stick to the rules:

 Flipkart’s selling policies and business practices are designed to increase buyers’
trust in Flipkart sellers like you and help you get better ratings and reviews. Buyers
shop more from sellers with good ratings and reviews. Observing all our selling
policies and not indulging in unethical business practices like selling fake products
and shipping empty boxes to the buyer will win you many happy Flipkart customers.

6. Stock up your inventory:

 Inventory is an important part of any retail business and e-commerce is no different.
You should always have a sufficient stock of items and different variants of your
products to fulfill orders faster and do more business. Stocking up also keeps you
ready for a shopping festival at any moment.

7. Deliver on time:
 If you want to increase your sales, you must always meet the buyers’ expectation––
whether it is the quality of the product or time taken to deliver it. Keep products
ready for delivery and mark them RTD (Ready to Dispatch) on time to help our
logistics partners deliver your products in the quickest time possible. Fulfilling a
return or exchange request on time is just as important too to get good customer
ratings and reviews.
8. Images:
 On a digital platform, images are the closest the buyer can get to the look and feel of
the real product, making it a critical element to online selling. The images of your
product ought to be of high resolution and with every detail visible. What looks
good, sells more, so make sure product images are photographed well to generate
buyer interest.

9. Become a Flipkart Advantage seller:

 Flipkart Advantage service has many advantages. Through this service you can avail
of our best-in-class fulfilment centres. All you need to do is store your products with
us and we will take care of the rest—from packing your products to handling return
requests. Flipkart Advantage offers you in addition to storage space, quality check of
your products by experts, faster delivery and much more. This will mean maximum
sales, minimum returns and better buyer experience.

10. Keep customer delight a priority:

 To increase your sales and become a successful seller on Flipkart, you should always
work towards spreading cheer to your customers. Commitment to serve your
customers to the best of your ability is key to meet their high expectations. As a
seller, you sometimes need to get into the shoes of your customers to understand
their concerns and resolve it speedily. Acknowledging feedbacks and working
towards providing them better service will give them more reasons to smile.
 When trying to increase sales on Flipkart, you should not only be focused on the
quality of products and services, but also make small investments in boosting traffic
to your products. Participation in spike sales and running ad campaigns are essential
investments for benefits in the long run.
AMAZON
 The main advantage of Handmade at Amazon is a large customer base – over 250
million users.
 An extensive review of the products. Handmade at Amazon attempts to limit
the wholesalers and resellers, as well as mass production. The main emphasis is
made on the real handmade items.
 Free shipping and prime shipping options are available.
 Comparing to the other trading platforms, Amazon provides less competition
due to the smaller amount of products and sellers.
 The interface of Handmade at Amazon is designed for the sale of custom items
and is very usable.
 No difficulties with the tax paperwork because Amazon makes everything for its
users.
 Seller support is available by phone.
 Organic Traffic - Drive more targeted traffic to your listings. Become an
authority on the product, use and related interests of what you are selling.
Understand your target market deeply. What do they like, what do they dislike,
where do they gather, what websites do they use etc. The better you
understand your target market, the much more likely you are in being able to
help them. Write very high quality articles. Co-publish on bloggers who work in
your industry. Try to get your articles published in sites like forbes,
fastcompany, huffingtonpost etc. as these website will drive a lot of traffic and
also be great for your brand image.
 Build a List - There a thumb rule that you need between ‘8 - 13’ touches before
making an online sales. If you think people would just see your product and buy
it, as you know, most of the time this is not the case. People need reminding,
educating and nudging over periods of time. This is effectively done through
emailing. You also lose a LOT of potential customers from your website if you
don’t try to gather their email. Offer something really worthwhile to get them
to sign up. A report on your competition or whatever, just make sure it helps
them and not just to promote your product. In short, try to offer them real
value rather than sales talk.
 Paid Traffic - If paid you need to know your conversion and cost metrics before
you can increase expenditure on advertising. You can use facebook, google and
amazon ads but the important thing will be to have and tweak your ads and
landing page consistently.
 Retargeting - Building on the last two points you can and should use retargeting
to get your potential customers to come back to your website.
 Reviews - You probably already know that reviews are one of the most
important things to help boost sales. Make sure to motivate your customers to
provide reviews. Follow-up or make it exciting and worthwhile for them to do
so. Be sincere in letting them know that this is what your business depends on.
 SEO - Make sure, or your best efforts to rank in the top 3 results of google for at
least long tail keywords of your product. Over time increase the number of long
tail keywords and you will find your ranking for more basic and competitive
keywords also increasing.
 Competitions & Prizes - Who doesn’t like a game? Throw a little competition
every month between your customers or potential customers and reward them
with a gift. This is a great way to generate online interest, buzz & referral
marketing.
 Co-branding - Tie up with other companies selling products which make
complement yours but don’t act as a substitute. So if you’re selling tennis balls
tie up with a tennis racquet seller. Offer discounts to those customers.
 Distribute coupons to your customers (at least 2) - This is to encourage repeat
sales as well as them referring your product to their friends.
 Amazon SEO - There are lots of detailed tutorials online how to do this so make
sure your listing page has the right optimization.
 Listing Page conversion - Are you tweaking and testing? What’s your listing page
conversion ration? I’ve seen conversion ratios as high as 20% or more.
 Customer Support & Experience - The happier your customers are they more
likely they are to buy from you or refer you. Referral sales are the cheapest
means of advertising so what are you doing to boost it? Have you really
sweated it out to try and make them feel ‘wow, what an experience?”. I knew a
guy who used to sell just shoelaces and would followup every sales with a call to
understand their level of satisfaction. He now generates 5 figures revenue every
month. He had his own unique way of conversing with customers so be
prepared with your approach if you want to go this way.
AMAZON SPONSORED PRODUCTS
Amazon sponsored products are an easy and effective way to target your products to the
potential customers.

With the help of amazon spnsored products you can increase the visibility of your products
on amazon but Sponsored products are not enough to convert the tarffic conversion into
sales.

Good performance metrices, Clear product description and bullet points, High qulaity
images, Promotions such as free shipping,Buy one get one free, Percentage discounts all
help to increase the sales.

Buy Box

The Buy Box is the box on a product detail page where customers can begin the purchasing
process by adding items to their shopping carts

Te seller who has the buy box will enjoy the maximum sales.

Buy Box eligibility is determined by -

 seller performance metrics,

 status as a seller, and
 time and experience on the Amazon selling platform.
 SWOT ANALYSIS OF FLIPKART AND AMAZON

Flipkart:

If there was a list of top Indian online companies, then Flipkart will surely be on top. There
are very few Indian companies worth more then 2 billion dollars and Flipkart as on date is
worth more then 11 billion dollars. The company was started in 2007 by the brothers
Sachin and Binny bansal who took it to staggering heights. This article presents
the SWOT analysis of Flipkart.

Strengths in the SWOT analysis of Flipkart

1. India’s Largest E-commerce Retailer: Flipkart is the India’s largest E-commerce

company & had sold GMV (gross merchandising value) of $1 billion till now.
2. Experienced founders: The Founders of Flipkart, Sachin & Binny bansal are Ex-
Amazonemployees. Having prior experience in the E-commerce industry helped the
founders to work strategically and differentiate their business in a highly competitive
market.
3. Acquisition: With its series of acquisitions like Letsbuy.co,, chakpak.com, weread.com,
Mine360 & the recent one Myntra in 2014 has helped the company to expand in the
E-commerce space & used the capabilities and existing resources of acquired
companies.
4. High Brand recall: Flipkart has established itself as a renowned E-commerce company
in India through TV ads, online branding and through its presence on social media.
Brand activities like the “Big billion day” have really increased the brand recall of the
company.
5. Own Payment gateway & Logistic arm: Having its own Logistics arm E-kart &
payment gateway Payzippy has helped the company to control its Expenses. Thereby
passing the benefits to the end customers.
 6. Exclusive & broad range of products: From having Exclusive rights to launch some
products like MotoG MotoX, Xiaomi Mi3 as well as personal designers segments in
garments category, has helped the company to differentiate and localize its offerings.

Weaknesses in the SWOT analysis of Flipkart

1. Limited Distribution channel reach: Although its logistics arm has kept cost’s low, the
reach has been affected which is a weakness for Flipkart. Due to use of outsourcing,
Global giants like Amazon & eBay can deliver the product anywhere in the country.
However, Flipkart is still struggling in this field.
2. Cost of Acquisition: Due to stiff competition in the market & low customer retention,
the cost of Acquisition is high because Flipkart acquires a lot of customers through
online advertising. As per Flipkart data, the company spends R.s 400/- on acquiring a
new customer on an average.
3. Power in the hand of buyers: Since this industry is flooded with many players, buyers
have a lot of options to choose. Switching costs are also less for customers since they
can easily switch a service from one online retail company to another. Same products
will be displayed in several online retail websites. Product differentiation is almost
absent and the fight then begins on the basis of price only.

Opportunities in the SWOT analysis of Flipkart

1. Expansion of business: By targeting other emerging markets company can increase their
revenues as well as it can have Economies of scale.
2. Expanding their Product categories: This will increase their customer base & at the
same time will reduce the cost of acquisition and customer switch.
3. Changing mentality of Indian customers: With increasing numbers of customers getting
comfortable with online shopping & increase in numbers of Internet users in India, there
is huge potential in this Industry.
4. Supply chain: By optimizing their supply chain they can compete with the other players
& can manage the loosing sales on account of not making the product available due to
delivery constraints.
5. Establishing in other developing economies: Like Amazon, Flipkart can slowly start
expanding out of India and establish operations in other countries as well which will
help improve revenues.

Threats in the SWOT analysis of Flipkart

1. Competition: Stiff competition from the global players like Amazon, eBay as well as local
player like Snapdeal, Tolexo and Shopclues who are continuously trying to eat each
other’s market share.
2. Government regulations on the issues related to FDI in multi branding retail has been a
big hurdle in the success of the E-commerce industry in India.
Amazon

SWOT Analysis of Amazon

The SWOT analysis of Amazon is given below:

Amazon’s Strengths – Internal Strategic Factors

1. Strong brand name – As a global e-commerce giant, Amazon has a strong position and
successful brand image in the market.

2. Customer oriented – Amazon caters to a large number of customers for everyday needs
at inexpensive prices. This has made it a customer-oriented brand.

3. Differentiation and Innovation – Amazon frequently brings creative ideas and innovative
additions to its product line and service offerings like Withings Aura Smart Sleep System.
This creates a differentiation from other companies.

4. Cost Leadership – Amazon doesn’t incur costs in maintaining physical retail stores by
selling everything online. With economies of scale, Amazon efficiently controls its costs and
lowers its inventory replenishment time. The company has formed numerous strategic
alliances with many companies like Evi Technologies, Thalmic Labs, Shoefitr, The Orange
Chef etc. It has a strong value chain system which also helps in maintaining a low-cost
structure.

5. Largest Merchandise Selection – Amazon owns extensive product mix which attracts
online customers to make their majority of purchases from it rather than other online
retailers. As of 2018. Amazon has sold 562.3 million products in its Amazon.com
Marketplace.
6. Large number of third-party sellers – Due to the high traffic volume on Amazon’s sites, a
large number of third-party sellers have joined the platform of Amazon to sell their own
merchandises. The data from Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) reveals that there are more than
2 billion items available from third-party sellers.

7. Go Global and Act Local strategy – This strategy has benefitted Amazon the most.
Amazon develops partnerships with local supply chain companies that help it in competing
against domestic e-commerce rivals. It understands the local needs and launches its services
as per the country’s culture.

In India, for example, it has launched a market campaign “Aur Dikhao” to encourage users
to search more of its products.

8. Large number of acquisitions – The successful acquisitions of Whole Foods, Zappos.com,

woot.com, Junglee.com, IMBD.com, and many others have produced significant revenues
and profits for Amazon.

9. Involved into 3 key business – Amazon Marketplace, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and
Amazon Prime are 3 key businesses of Amazon which work and support each other. As a
whole, they generate massive profits and advantages for the company.

10. Highest revenues in the industry – With over $778.39 billion market capitalization and
above $200 billion annual revenues, Amazon is the market leader with the highest revenues
in the industry.

11. Superior logistics and distribution systems – Amazon uses highly efficient logistics and
distribution systems. It even has fixed rates for different delivery time periods. Thus, it
executes reliable, secure, and fast delivery of goods and products to the customers.

Amazon’s Weaknesses – Internal Strategic Factors

1. Easily imitable business model – Online retail businesses have become quite common in
this digital world. So imitating Amazon’s business model for rival firms is not so difficult. A
few businesses are even giving Amazon a tough time. These include Barnes & Noble, eBay,
Netflix, Hulu, and Oyster etc.

2. Losing Margins in Few Areas – In few areas such as India, Amazon has faced losses. It’s
free shipping to customers can be one of the reasons that expose the risks of losing margins
in some markets.

3. Product Flops and Failures – Its Fire Phone’s launch in the US was a big failure while its
Kindle fire device didn’t even grow well.

4. Tax Avoidance Controversy – Tax avoidance in Japan, UK and US has sparked negative
publicity for Amazon. President Trump has recently criticized Amazon over taxes on social
media network.

5. Limited brick-and-mortar presence – Amazon owns very limited physical stores. This
sometimes hinders to attract customers buy things which are not sellable on online stores.
Amazon’s Opportunities – External Strategic Factors
1. Amazon can gain the opportunity to penetrate or expand its operations in developing
markets.

2. By expanding physical online stores, Amazon can improve competitiveness against big
retailers and engage customers with the brand.

3. Amazon has the opportunity to improve technological measures and organizational

policies to reduce counterfeit sales. One case of counterfeit sales came into light
when Amazon sold a fake My Critter Catcher. The product was sold for $1 less than the
original product.

4. Can do backward Integration by bringing in-house brands in distinct product categories

to differentiate its offerings.

5. More acquisitions of e-commerce companies can increase the company’s capacity and
reduce the competition level.

Amazon’s Threats – External Strategic Factors

1. Few controversies have caused a dent in Amazon’s brand image. People critically reacted
and boycotted Amazon sites in 2010 when they found that it’s selling the book “The
Pedophile’s Guide to Love & Pleasure: a Child-lover’s Code of Conduct.”

2. Government regulations can also threaten the business proceedings of Amazon in some
critical countries. Amazon does not ship to Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Styria.

3. Increasing cybercrime can affect the network security system of the company.

4. Aggressive competition with big retail firms like Walmart and eBay can give Amazon a
tough time in the future.

5. Imitation is easy as many new entrants are coming up in the market usually with the
same business model of Amazon
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS

METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS

For the analysis purpose spss was used. Factor analysis was performed to determine the
correlation between the variables and highly correlated variables are combined and
represented by a factor. This is to ensure data reduction, instead of several variables they
are represented by few major factors. Regression analysis, to identify the impact of the
factors identified in factor analysis (independent variables) on customer satisfaction
(dependent variable).

HOW OFTEN RESPONDENT SHOP ONLINE

Valid
Frequency Percent percent Cumulative percent

Valid Once in
month 21 30 30 30

Once in two
month 11 15.7 15.7 45.7

More frequently 17 24.3 24.3 70

Very rare 21 30 30 100

Total 70 100 100

PREFERRED ONLINE SITE BY RESPONDENT

Valid
Frequency Percent percent Cumulative percent
Valid
flipkart 29 41.1 41.1 41.4
Amazon 29 41.4 41.4 82.9
Snapdeal 6 8.6 8.6 91.4
Paytm 3 4.3 4.3 95.7
Others 3 4.3 4.3 100
Total 70 100 100

RESPONDENT PAYMENT METHOD

Frequency Percent Valid percent Cumulative percent

Valid Debit
Card 19 27.1 27.1 27.1
Credit Card 7 10 10 37.1
Cash on
Delivery 44 62.9 62.9 100
Total 70 100 100

RESPONDENT IS MORE SATISFIED WITH WHICH SITE PRICING

Frequency Percent Valid percent Cumulative percent

Valid Flipkart 24 34.3 34.3 34.3
Amazon 25 35.7 35.7 70
Snapdeal 7 10 10 80
Others 14 20 20 100
Total 70 100 100
Findings of the study
 Female respondents are showing more interest to do online shopping than male
respondents.

 Customers are preferring quality product from e-commerce sites, even it is bit expensive.

 Flipkart is trying very hard to reach the top position but Amazon India is giving very tough
competition.

 Amazon is leading in every aspect of survey such as price, preferred and also suggesting to
friends.

Paytm have to take care of its products and customer service because of its cheap product
quality and less variety of products making it loose customers.

 Undoubtedly Flipkart and Amazon made their impact on customers very strongly and
captured loyal customers. And they are ready suggesting their online shopping site to rest of
their friends.

 Both Flipkart and Amazon India advertisings were very innovative and attractive. Both
companies are expending so much money on advertising and promotions.

 Every age group people are interested in offers, if they are in need or not they want to
purchase.

• Male respondents are showing more interest in online shopping than female respondents.

• Respondents from age group 17-25 are more interested in online shopping and they are
master and bachelor qualified. • Respondents are preferring the good quality products from
online shopping websites, even it is little bit expensive.

• Flipkart was leading company before Amazon but Flipkart lost its position because Amazon
India is giving very tough competition to Flipkart.

• Amazon is leading E-commerce company in every aspect of surveys like product quality,
pricing, suggesting to friend and family.
• Amazon is the first E-commerce company, who started to provide delivery service in the
remote areas of India. It was the advantage for Amazon and got many new customers from
these areas.

• Most of the respondents consider loyal themselves towards Amazon India.

• Amazon India is providing more fast delivery service rather than Flipkart. Most customers
don’t like to wait long for their orders.

• According to survey majority of respondents are choosing E-commerce website on the

behalf of online reviews, and maximum respondents gave negative reviews for Flipkart.

• Most of the respondents are not happy with Flipkart’s return policies. So this thing put the
negative impact on customers about the company.

• Amazon India is more focused on customer satisfaction as compared to Flipkart.

• Amazon India is providing better comparison shopping facility on their website.

• Flipkart has to take care of its products quality and customer service because of its cheap
product quality and unresponsive customer service making it loose customers. 57

• No doubt, Flipkart and Amazon made their strong impact on customers rather than other
E-commerce companies. And they are ready to suggest their online shopping site to with
rest of their friends.

• Advertising and promotions of Amazon India and Flipkart are very innovative and
attractive. And both companies are spending so much money on promotions and
advertising.
“Comparative study between Amazon and Flipkart”
Introduction
Ever since internet has been introduced to the world, it has made a huge impact on people;
business is one of such example where internet has made the difference. In July 1995
Amazon.com started selling books online and the response they received was unexpected as
in short time span books sold online in all 50 states of USA and 45 countries. Amazon
presently offers music, movies, toys; electronics and home equipment, there are seven
different international websites of Amazon with distributed customer service centers in
seven countries and over 17,000 people work in Amazon worldwide. Today there are over
100 popular ecommerce websites are providing online services worldwide. An e-commerce
opens the global market to the customer, it helps the customer by providing huge options
while buying a product or a service, the online searching and comparing facilities enables
customer to select right product or service, another major advantage of e-commerce is that
it is 24x7 available to the customer the customer can shop almost anything within his/hers
comfort zone just by sitting at home, office, during travel or almost from any place at any
time. E-commerce is trading of services and products with the help of internet. E-commerce
introduced in the end of 70s and became popular during the 90s in western countries like
USA and UK. E-commerce introduced new possibilities in trading and attracted attention of
many traders. Figure I showing the different phases in the online shopping process E-
commerce offers products and services through websites, a customer simply has to visit an
ecommerce website and browse various offering through browser catalog, a customer can
select multiple offerings and can add them to the shopping cart, once the shopping is done
the customer can checkout and proceed to payment section where various online payment
options are available like internet banking, credit card, debit card etc. Once payment is done
the customer is notified about the order and order is shipped on the postal address
provided by the customer.
COMPANY PROFILE
Flipkart:

History and growth of Flipkart

It is an e-Commerce company founded in the year 2007, by Mr. Sachin Bansal and Binny
Bansal both alumni of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. They had been working for
Amazon.com previously. It operates exclusively in India, where it is headquartered in
Bangalore, Karnataka. It is registered in Singapore, and owned by a Singapore based holding
company. Flipkart has launched its own product range under the name “DigiFlip”, Flipkart
also recently launched its own range of personal healthcare and home appliances under the
brand “Citron”. During its initial years, Flipkart focused only on books, and soon as it
expanded, it started offering other products like electronic goods, air conditioners, air
coolers, stationery supplies and life style products and e-books. Legally, Flipkart is not an
Indian company since it is registered in Singapore and majority of its shareholders are
foreigners. Because foreign companies are not allowed to do multi-brand e-retailing in India,
Flipkart sells goods in India through a company called WS Retail. Other third-party sellers or
companies can also sell goods through the Flipkart platform. Flipkart now employs more
than 15000 people. Flipkart allows payment methods such as cash on delivery, credit or
debit card transactions, net banking, e-gift voucher and card swipe on delivery. Flipkart is
presently one of the largest online retailers in India, present across more than 14 product
categories & with a reach in around 150 cities. Flipkart is currently a 10,000 member strong
team, with 3000 sellers on its platform and delivering 5 million shipments per month. It
made its presence felt in online retailing by offering path breaking services like Cash on
Delivery (COD), 30 Day replacement Guarantee, EMI options, Flipkart mobile app, etc.

EXCLUSIVE PRODUCTS
Motorola mobility, previously owned by google but then sold to lenovo, in an exclusive tie
up with Flipkart launched its budget smart phone moto gin India on 5 february 2014 more
than20,000 units were sold within hours of launch on Flipkart after this Flipkart was looking
for along term tie up with motorola mobility. They also launched their android smart phone,
the motox, on 19 march 2014. Flipkart later sold the moto e, cheaper than moto g, from 13
may 2014. The sale of high-end smart phone xiaomi mi3 produced by xiaomi tech was
launched in India on an exclusive tie-up with Flipkart. The first batch was sold out within 39
minutes on 22 july2014,the second in 5 seconds on 29 july 2014. The sale was preceded on
preregistration mode where more than 150,000 buyers booked for the 5 august 2014 sale.
This got sold off in less than 2seconds. Following this xiaomi tech sold 20,000 units in the
next sale on 12 august 2014.On 2 september 2014 Flipkart held a flash sale of the
xiaomiredmi 1s budget android smart phone which was launched in India in july 2014. 40,
000 units priced at rs 5999 each were sold within seconds. A further 40,000 units were sold
within 4.5 seconds on sept 9, 2014. The third redmi 1s sale on sept 16, 2014 sold 40,000
units in 3.4 seconds; in the 4th round of sale of redmi 1s, 60,000 units sold in 5.2 seconds on
sept 23, 2014. On 30 september 2014 60,000 units sold in 13.9 seconds. Redmi notein India
exclusively through Flipkart; 50,000 units sold in 6seconds on 2 december 2014. In july 2014
Flipkart launched its own set of tablet, mobile phones& tablet. The first among these series
of tablet phones was digiflip pro xt 712 tablet. In july2014 Flipkart launched its first
networking router, under its own brand name named digiflipwr001 300 mbit/s wireless n
routers. In september 2014 Flipkart launched its in-house home appliances and personal
healthcare brand citron. The label includes a wide range of cooking utilities and grooming
products.

Brand loyalty
Excellent user experience on the e-commerce website in term of usability speed clarity will
enhance the loyalty of existing customer and move a step ahead of brand awareness
towards customer retention.
Amazon:
History and Growth of Amazon
Amazon.com, founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994, is an American electronic commerce company
with headquarters in Seattle, Washington. Jeff Bezos incorporated the company as
“Cadabra” on July 5, 1994, and the site went online as Amazon.com in 1995. Bezos changed
the name cadabra.com to amazon.com because it sounded too much like cadaver.
Additionally, a name beginning with “A” was preferential due to the probability it would
occur at the top of any list that was alphabetized. It is the largest Internet based company in
the United States. Amazon.com started as an online bookstore, but soon diversified, selling
DVDs, VHSs, CDs, video and MP3Downloads/Streaming, Software, Video Games, Electronics,
Apparel, Furniture, Food, Toys, and Jewellery. The company also produces consumer
electronics notably, Kindle, Fire Tablets, Fire TV and Phone and is a major provider of cloud
computing services. Amazon has separate retail websites for United States, United Kingdom
& Ireland, France, Canada, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Australia, Brazil, Japan,
China, India and Mexico, with sites for Sri Lanka and South East Asian countries coming
soon. Amazon also offers international shipping to certain other countries for some of its
products. In the year 2011, it had professed an intention to launch its websites in Poland,
and Sweden. In early June 2013, Amazon.com had launched their Amazon India marketplace
without any marketing campaigns. In July, 2013, Amazon had announced to invest $2 Billion
(Rs 12,000 Crores) in India to expand business, after its largest Indian rival Flipkart too had
announced to invest$1 Billion.

EXCLUSIVE PRODUCTS
The Amazon kindle is a series of readers designed and marketed byAmazon.com. Amazon
kindle devices enable users to browse, buy, downloadand read ebooks, newspapers,
magazine sand other digital media via wireless networking to the kindle store. The hardware
platform, developed by Amazon subsidiary lab126, began as a single device and now
comprises a range of devices, including e-readers with e ink electronic paper displays, and
android- based tablets with colorlcd screens. All kindle devices integrate with the kindle
store to acquire content and as of february 2016, the store has over 4.3 million e-books
available in the us. The one plus one launched as an Amazon exclusive in India last year, but
now the device is available for purchase on rival e-commerce store Flipkart. Moto g (gen 4)
and moto g plus (gen 4) will be available exclusively on Amazon.
Amazon vs Flipkart: Which e-commerce giant attracts more eyeballs (2016-
2017)?

The past year has seen the rivalry between Amazon and Flipkart further intensify. From
funding to shopping extravaganzas, the e-commerce behemoths went all out to outdo each
other.
With both parties contesting third-party research findings about market share, the jury is
still out on who sold more products.
But a look at a few other metrics provides some interesting insights on how the e-commerce
giants grab eyeballs.
According to data from three independent platforms, Amazon's app and website are more
popular than rival Flipkart's offerings.
Between November 2016 and October 2017 - the 12-month period for which the latest data
is available - Amazon was consistently ahead of Softbank-funded Flipkart on desktop and
mobile browser visits, app downloads and average daily active app users.
Amazon ended October last year with 5.4 million downloads for the month to Flipkart's 4
million, according to app metrics tracking website App Annie (The number includes both
Android and iOS downloads, but Apple has a minuscule market share in India).
Last October, Amazon and Flipkart had each crossed 100 million cumulative app downloads.
However, adding Flipkart's subsidiaries PhonePe (digital payments) and Myntra and Jabong
(both fashion) to the mix will see India's largest e-commerce company well ahead of
Amazon on this parameter. Each of those apps has between 10 million and 50 million
downloads.
Google's Play Store provides a wide range data for the cumulative app downloads. While
downloads for e-commerce rival Snapdeal's app range between 50 million and 100 million,
smaller players such as Paytm Mall and Shopclues have between 10 million and 50 million
downloads each.
Flipkart vs Amazon India – who’s really winning?

The fear of online theft and doubts over the quality of goods sold held people back from
online shopping a few years back. Today however online shopping has blended in to our
lifestyles.The number of online shoppers is expected cross 120 million in 2018. The variety,
cost, and the ease with which you can buy, return or exchange products is so addictive.

In 1988 chennaibazaar.com sold groceries online. The following year witnessed the rise of
the first online shopping site called indiaplaza.in. But people opted for online shopping over
traditional shopping only after Amazon India and Flipkart took centre stage.

A zillion online shopping sites are encroaching the ecommerce space but the real battle is
between the giants – Amazon India and Flipkart. Amazon India, the god child of
Amazon.com (the U.S based bookstore turned online shopping giant) was born on June
2013. Flipkart was born to Indian parents, the Bansals, on October 2007.

 Amazon’s performance:-
o Global website ranking: 57
o India website ranking: 7
o Total visits: 534.13M

 Flipkart’s performance:
o Global website ranking: 99
o India website ranking: 8
o Total visits: 334.97M

Great Indian Sale Vs Big Billion Days:-

The annual sales are when the two take on each other face to face.

I still remember how people went WOW over Flipkart’s first Big Billion Days Sale, which was
launched on October 2014(mixed emotions, as there were lots of backlashes too). If Big
Billion Days is Flipkart’s signature move, then Amazon India has its Great Indian Sale. They
are the Black Friday Sale of India.

People will never outgrow discounts, offers and freebies. Personally, from the days when GI-
Joe action figures were given along with Complan drink to present day crazy online offers,
I’m a fan. To win the market, both the giants must rain offers every year and that’s the way
to pamper your customers. This year, some sources believe Flipkart emerged as the Sale
winner.
CASE STUDY
There was a time when e-shopping meant Flipkart to Indians. But all that changed with the
arrival of Amazon in India in 2013. Right from the beginning Amazon’s stress has been on
building a customer centric company. And now the hard work is paying off. Indians are
beginning to look at Amazon as an alternative. In fact, Amazon has had more hits on it’s
website than Flipkart for the past year. The battle of Flipkart vs Amazon is just heating up
for the giants but whatever maybe the result; the winner will be us getting products at the

cheapest price possible.

Before delving into the war, read about the rise of Flipkart from scratch to zenith.

Now let us make a comparison to understand the scenario better!

Ability to sustain loss over a longer time

Before discussing this, we need to understand that the e-commerce business in India is a
long term investment with all companies running in a loss to capture the market. The
outcome of this Flipkart vs Amazon battle hugely depends on which company can incur a
loss for a longer period of time. In simpler words, the company with deeper pockets is going
to be crowned as the king of e-commerce in India. Flipkart is at a disadvantage over here as
the VCs are going to want returns on their investment at some point of time while Amazon
can continue selling products at a discounted price for a longer time.

Just a case in point : Flipkart raised $1 billion from the market while Amazon announced $2
billion for the Indian market.
Customer Service

I have personally used Flipkart as well as Amazon to purchase products. From my personal
experience I can say that Amazon’s customer service is far better than that of Flipkart. On
seller fulfilled products, customers often have a lot of trouble in returning the products and
getting their money back. Amazon’s A-Z guarantee ensures that you will get the money
without much hassle. Moreover, to contact a Flipkart’s representative via phone, I have to
wait and go through the entire menu before reaching where I want to be. Amazon’s call me
feature works like a gem and I directly talk to the representative without having to deal with
any crap. So that’s another ball in Amazon’s court in this Flipkart vs Amazon battle
Case Study: The Great Indian Festive Sale vs The Big Billion Days Sale

During Diwali last year, the two biggies went head to head trying to lure the customers to
their site. It was very difficult to pick a winner based on the discounts being offered by both
the sites. Flipkart sold goods worth about $300 million. The numbers of Amazon are not far
behind. But Amazon once again notched ahead due to its superior customer experience.
Amazon had increased it’s logistics strength just for the purpose of this sale while Flipkart
resorted to warning the buyers that there may be a delay in delivering the products due to
heavy volume rush. Moreover, Flipkart’s site crashed due to the heavy load on it’s servers.
These issues may not have cost them during the sale itself but they will harm them in the
long run in this ultimate battle of Flipkart vs Amazon.
The story of Flipkart vs Amazon so far

In the initial days when Flipkart started, it used to deliver all possible goods within 2-3
business days and was gaining popularity in disrupting the offline retail chain. Then after
Amazon entered India, the minimum shopping price went up from 299 to 499 for a free
delivery. This became one of the main reasons for forcing customers to head to different e-
commerce sites which finally played as an advantage for Amazon. Amazon also had the
minimum price set to 499. But Amazon covered products from any seller that is fulfilled by
Amazon whereas Flipkart used to do this on a per seller basis. This meant that if you have
two products in cart, shipping applied to both separately. This also worked negatively for
Flipkart and somehow gave it a setback in the Flipkart vs Amazon war.

LITRATURE REVIEW
Martin Dodges (1999),”finding the source of Amazon.com: examining the hype of the
earth’s biggest book store”, center for advanced spatial analysis. Concluded that Amazon
com has been one of the most promising e-commerce companies and has grown rapidly by
providing quality service.

Miyazaki and Fernandez (2001) substantiated that the prior experience was found to affect
the intention and behavior significantly and in a variety of ways. The results of this study
imply that the technology acceptance model should be applied to electronic commerce
research with caution. In order to develop a successful and profitable web shop,
understanding customers' needs is essential. It has to be ensured that products are as cheap
in a web shop as purchased from traditional channels. According to sharma and mittal
(2009) in their study prospects of e-commerce in India”, mentions that India is showing
tremendous growth in the e-commerce.
Sharma and Mittal (2009) in their study “prospects of e-commerce in India”, mentions that
India is showing tremendous growth in the e-commerce. Undoubtedly, with the middle class
of 288 million people, online shopping shows unlimited potential in India. The real estate
costs are touching the sky. Today e-commerce has become an integral part of our daily life.
There are websites providing any number of goods and services. The e-commerce portals
provide goods and services in a variety of categories. To name a few: apparel and
accessories for men and women, health and beauty products, books and magazines,
computers and peripherals, vehicles, software, consumer electronics, household appliances,
jewelry, audio, video, entertainment, goods, gift articles, real estate and services. Ashish
gupta, senior managing director of helion venture partners and one of the first backers of
Flipkart as an angel investor: “Flipkart has been absorbing companies that have some
potential (letsbuy, myntra). In that process, some of the bets will go wrong, for sure. But
that is par for the course. The company (Flipkart) is consciously taking bets that allow it to
either grow or eliminate competition that reduces marketing spend and improves
economics.”

Samadi and Ali (2010) compared the perceived risk level between internet and store
shopping, and revisit the relationships among past positive experience, perceived risk level,
and future purchase intention within the internet shopping environment.

AbhijitMitra (2013),” e-commerce in India-a review”, international journal of marketing

financial services & management research. Concluded that the e-commerce has broken the
geographical limitations and it is a revolution-commerce will improve tremendously in next
five years in India.

D.K.Gangeshwar (2013),” e-commerce or internet marketing: a business review from Indian

context”, international journal of u- and e- service, science and technology. Concluded that
the e-commerce has a very bright future in India although security, privacy and dependency
on technology are some of the drawbacks of e-commerce but still there is a bright future to
e-commerce.

Dr. Sudha S (2015), Innovation brings with itself a new set of challenges. The E-Retailing
form of market was fairly something unheard of to the Indian consumer in 2007. Flipkart
which has carved a niche for itself in terms of market share, goodwill and popularity in the
online market to the extent that retailers are coming under threat because of its discounts
and smooth operations. The ascent of Flipkart to capture the online market in India in just
four years, the strategies implemented by it to create online business ,its ability to stand out
among numerous E-Retail sites. This case study aims to understand the marketing strategy,
brand awareness, SWOT analysis, functioning of Flipkart. It aims to predict the future
roadmap and also aims to find significant threats to Flipkart in the near future.

Pooja Gupta (2015), The study tries to recognize that, how consumer measure channels for
their purchasing. Specifically, it progresses a conceptual model that addresses consumer
value perception for using the internet shopping versus the traditional shopping. Earlier
study showed that perceptions of price, product quality, service quality and threat strongly
impact perceived value and purchase intents in the offline and online network. Observations
of online and offline buyers can be evaluated to see how value is constructed in both
channels. It is hitherto to recognize what factors influence online and offline shopping
choice progression. The objective of this study is to provide an impression of online
shopping decision process by comparing the offline and online decision making and
identifying the factors that motivate customers to decide whether to do online shopping or
go for the offline shopping. Consumer’s shop when and where they want, where they are
comfortable with the products and the choice of shopping. The study finds that female are
more into online shopping than male.

K Francis Sudhakar (2016), Internet became more powerful and basic tool for every person’s
need and the way people work. By integrating various online information management tools
using Internet, various innovative companies have set up systems for taking customer
orders, facilitate making of payments, customer service, collection of marketing data, and
online feedback respectively. These activities have collectively known as e-commerce or
Internet commerce. Online shopping made so easy for everyone with their product
variations and simple way to buy things. An attempt has been made to critically examine
various corporate and business level strategies of two big e-tailors and those are Flipkart
and Amazon. Comparison have been done considering e-commerce challenges, their
business model, funding, revenue generation, growth, survival strategies, Shoppers’ online
shopping experience, value added differentiation, and product offerings.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Objectives

 To understand and estimate the consumer perception and factors affecting their behavior
for choosing e-commerce sites.

 To understand tactics and methods those are used by e-commerce players to grab the
customers in India.

 To know how consumers are evaluating e-commerce sites for their purchases. 4.2
Research Design

Exploratory Research
Exploratory research conducted for a problem that has not been clearly defined.
Exploratory research helps determine the best research design, data collection method and
selection of subjects. It should draw definitive conclusions only with extreme caution.
Exploratory research often relies on secondary research such as reviewing available
literature and/or data, or qualitative approaches such as informal discussions with
consumers, employees, management or competitors, and more formal approaches through
in-depth interviews, focus group sand projective methods.

Descriptive Research
The objective of descriptive research is to describe the characteristics of various aspects,
such as the market potential for a product/company or the demographics and attitudes of
consumers who buy the product with the help of primary data collected.
Review

While Flipkart remains a biggie in the industry, Amazon’s arrival has increased the pressure
on them big time. Amazon has already equaled Flipkart in terms of sale if not overtaken
them. Flipkart needs to buckle up its customer service if it wants to stay in the competition.
Having said that, I think both the companies will co-exist in the Indian market trying to woo
the customers to them. As for expert advice: Shop till the frenzy lasts because one day even
these two will look to make profits!
 FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSION

FINDINGS

 Female respondents are showing more interest to do online shopping than male
respondents.
 Customers are preferring quality product from e-commerce sites, even it is bit
expensive.
 Flipkart is trying very hard to reach the top position but Amazon India is giving very
tough competition.
 Amazon is leading in every aspect of survey such as price, preferred and also
suggesting to friends.
 Paytm have to take care of its products and customer service because of its cheap
product quality and less variety of products making it loose customers.
 Undoubtedly Flipkart and Amazon made their impact on customers very strongly and
captured loyal customers. And they are ready suggest their online shopping site to
rest of their friends.
 Both Flipkart and Amazon India advertisings were very innovative and attractive.
Both companies are expending so much money on advertising and promotions.
 Every age group people are interested in offers, if they are in need or not they want
to purchase.
SUGGESTIONS
Flipkart is performing ok but not good enough. There are so many cases where people felt
that packing might have been better than this. Either it may be big or small / expensive or
not product has to be treated with care. Some of the products mostly apparel’s are turning
out with original cover of supplier, which shows negligence of them. In this issue Amazon
made a mark among us, because whatever the product is their packing will obviously safe
and secure. Amazon has become leading E-commerce company in India, few years before
Amazon India was behind in competition with Flipkart, but as we know Amazon India is a
customer-centric company. It always tries to provide better services to its customers.
Flipkart started from the very low budget but just because of its quick success, they got
funding from big investors. Flipkart successfully placed itself as India’s largest online store
with a huge range of products. However, Flipkart still needs to work on its weaknesses and
core competence. Flipkart should pay more attention to customers satisfaction and on their
queries because according to this survey majority of people are not satisfied with their
return policies and customer services. Flipkart’s products packages should be developed
because they are receiving many customers complaints about their packaging. Flipkart 59
should open warehouses in the urban and remote area for fast delivery service. Flipkart
should replace its marketing strategies with online marketing techniques, these techniques
help to build its online presence more strong through search engine optimization
techniques because most of the customers like to search from Google for online shopping
products. Flipkart is performing ok but not good enough. There are so many cases where
people felt that packing might have been better than this. Either it may be big or small /
expensive or not product has to be treated with care. Some of the products mostly apparel’s
are turning out with original cover of supplier, which shows negligence of them. In this issue
Amazon made a mark among us, because whatever the product is their packing will
obviously safe and secure.
CONCLUSION
Online shopping in India is growing between 2010 to till. Internet penetration is increasing
in India due to the increasing base of tele communicating networking sites, social networks
and sale of mobiles in India. Online shopping is one of the most attractive, widely accepted,
highly appreciated shopping trend in present world. Amazon and flipkart are the two top
leading online shopping websites. People also very much preferred and satisfied towards
them. Although the customers are satisfied with online shopping they also face some
problems due to many technological and false advertisement. This problem can be
overcome by educating the customers. The research concludes that eventhough amazon is
giving branded and quality products but customers are very much attracted towards the
best services of flipkart.

The e-commerce has been in the peak in India during past 2 years, the fast growing
technological changes has opened an option of online selling and purchase for a common
man in India. While comparison between both Flipkart and Amazon, it is observed that
Flipkart maintains more number of stock keeping units (SKU) as compared to amazon
considering the four popular electronic products. On the other hand the product sub
categories offered by Flipkart is 422 with 86 main categories on the website as compared to
186 sub categories and 16 main categories of Amazon. It has been seen that there is a tie
between both amazon India and Flipkart when compared the work satisfaction level of
employees. Both Flipkart and Amazon have established a strong base in India and a strong
competition can be seen between them in coming years.

The study consisted with all the work flows of major e-commerce players in India,
Flipkart and Amazon. How they are performing and how they are running perfectly in the
competitive world has been explained. The innovative thinking of them to reach more and
more consumers is appreciable. They increased their network as much as possible with
ultimate aim of reaching more and more customers. They made consumers work more easy
and comfortable. In this competitive market one has to be lead and rest will follow. Based
upon consumer’s survey we got our clear winner and it is Amazon. Even though it is an
international company it understood Indians very well and made its roots stronger in India.
Flipkart is also giving very tough competition to Amazon even though it is new company
when compared to Amazon. May be it takes some time to overcome, but definitely they are
doing very well in Indian e-commerce market.

The study consists all the workflows of top two E-commerce companies in India, Amazon
India, and Flipkart. It has been explained, how these companies are performing and running
perfectly in the competitive world. The innovative and customer-centric thinking of them to
reach more and more consumers is appreciable. They are increasing their network in every
corner of India with the ultimate aim of reaching more customers. They are making
customers work more easy and comfortable. In this competitive E-commerce market, one
company can be on top and rest will follow. After analysis the survey of consumer behavior
about Amazon India and Flipkart, we got our clear winner is Amazon. Amazon India’s
customers are more satisfied as compared to Flipkart because of their return policy, good
reviews from consumers, fast delivery, and delivery services in remote area across India.
Amazon’s marketing and advertising are outstanding as compare to Flipkart, it is world’s top
E-commerce company and Amazon spending so much money for advertising and promotion
its brands. Amazon studied Indian market and behavior of Indian customers and made its
roots stronger in India. Flipkart is a new company as compare to Amazon but still, Flipkart is
giving tough competition to Amazon India. Now Flipkart is trying to globalize its products in
the international market with the help of eBay India. Maybe Flipkart will take some time to
overcome, but definitely, these both companies are doing very well in Indian E-commerce
market.
References

Journals and papers

“E-Commerce in India-A Review”, International Journal of Marketing, Financial Services &

Management Research by Abhijit Mitra. (2013)

E-Commerce or Internet Marketing: A Business Review from Indian Context”, International

Journal of u- and e- Service, Science and Technology by D.K.Gangeshwar. (2013)

Bibliography
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7HAx.;_ylu=X3oDMTB0N2poMXRwBGNvbG8Dc2czBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYw
NwaXZz?p=Amazon+vs+Flipkart&fr2=piv-web&fr=mcafee

https://www.flipkart.com/advertising-sales-promotion-marketing-management-
iii/p/itmdyusstw253ggd

https://www.slideshare.net/ashishverma200/final-research-report-77868871

https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-differences-between-Amazon-and-Flipkart
Appendix

1. Age

a. < 25 b. 25- 35 c. >35

2. Gender

a. Male b. Female

3. Have you ever done online shopping?

a. Yes b. No

4. How often do you shop online?

a. Once in month b. Once in two month c. More frequently d. More often

5. Which online site will you prefer?

a. Flipkart b. Amazon c. Snap deal d. Pay tm e. Others

6. How do you make payments when shopping online?

a. Debit card b. Cash on delivery c. Credit card d. Third party (Paytm wallet)

7. Which online service is more satisfied in terms of products, customer care and delivery
services

a. Flipkart b. Amazon c. others

8. How do you choose online shopping site

a. Referred by friends b. Advertisements c. Online reviews

9. Have your encountered any problems with online shopping site? if yes, by which one

a. Flipkart b. Amazon c. Others

10. In terms of pricing, with which online shopping site you are satisfied

a. Flipkatt b. Amazon c. Snapdeal d. Yupme

11. Which online shopping site will you suggest to your family and friends?

a. Flipkart b. Amazon c. Snapdeal d. yupme

12. On which occasions do you make purchase?

a. Festival b. To Gifts c. Offers d. Wedding

13. Does promotional activities impact your purchasing decision?

a. Strongly agree b. Agree c. Neither Agree nor Disagree

d. Disagree e. Strongly Disagree

14. How confident are you that your personal information is kept confidential when buying
products online?

a. Extremely confident b. Quite confident c. Moderately confident d. Slightly

confident

e. Not at all confident

15. What kind of problem did you faced while doing online shopping?

a. Delay in delivery b. Cheap quality of a product c. Product damage d. Non delivery

16. Customer assistance after purchase from Flipkart and Amazon are good

a. Strongly agree b. Agree c. Neither Agree nor Disagree d. Disagree

e. Strongly Disagree

17. Which site do you prefer for online shopping? Flipkart or Amazon?

Amazon is more popular as 52% respondents prefer Amazon to Flipkart. 40% like
Flipkart. The rest of the respondents select website as per their need and the offer of
the site.

18. How frequently do you visit shopping websites?

 52% of the respondents visit shopping sites once in a week. This shows the
inclination towards online shopping and how popular shopping sites are among
urban youth.

19. How frequently do you do online shopping?

Most of the respondents (42.66%) do online shopping thrice a year.

20. How do you visit the shopping website?

1) Direct search 2) From Facebook 3) Through mobile app 4) Others: Please specify
Marginally over half of the respondents (50.66%) visit the shopping sites through
direct search. 32% respondents use mobile app for their shopping. 6.66% of them
visit through Facebook page and 10.66% of them see ads on various other websites
and then through those ads they land up on the shopping website.

21. What do you like to buy online?

Books and apparels are the most frequently bought things online. 48% of the r
espondents buy apparels online and 37.33% like to buy books.

22. What is the best thing about online shopping as per your experience?

It saves time, convenience of shop, offers cheap products, lots of variety and many
things on one platform, these are the main reasons why youth like online shopping.

23. Do you use mobile app of your favourite shopping site?

10 As the use of smart phones is increasing the use of mobile apps is increasing too.
The mobile apps became popular within no time. 52% of the respondents use mobile
apps of their favourite shopping website.

24. Can you compare your online shopping of 2015 with the year 2014?

1) Increased in 2015 2) Decreased in 2015 3) No change Many reports have shown

that there is a rise in online shopping in India. The research endorses the reports.
92% of the respondents said that there is rise in their online shopping as compared
to the year 2014.

25. Do you visit their social networking site pages? (e.g. Facebook, Twitter etc)

Though the social media are popular, they are not the choice of the urban young
buyers. Almost 50.6% of the respondents do not visit social networking pages of
Flipkart/Amazon, whereas the rest of them do visit the social networking sites. Those
who visit social networking site prefer visiting Facebook to Twitter.
26. Have you recommended online shopping to anyone in the family or among friends?

79% respondents have recommended online shopping to others. Some respondents

have mentioned to their family and less number of them have recommended to
their friends. But exact percentage cannot be calculated because most of them have
mentioned only ‘yes’ and not to whom