Amazon India Launches Step

A few days ago, Amazon launched a performance-based benefits program in India called "Step", which aims to help approximately 700,000 sellers to accelerate their growth in the Indian market.

Amazon said that with the launch of the “Step”, the platform will also adjust its fee structure for sellers. The new fee structure has been officially implemented after Diwali. In the  plan, Amazon offers a partial waiver of commission to sellers to bring back variety to its product listings.  

In March to May, the financial pressure of many small Indian sellers has increased sharply due to the impact of Covid-19. Amazon believes that the new plan can lessen the financial stress of these sellers.

Under Step, Sellers can enjoy the following benefits:

1. Fee waiver;

2. Faster disbursement cycle;

3. Priority seller support;

4. Free account management.

In addition, Step will also provide sellers with customized and feasible recommendations, simplify the seller's operation process, so as to help them improve customer experience metrics, and therefore to achieve growth. Manish Tiwary, vice president of Amazon India, said: "Step will help sellers to improve their performance in a predictable manner."

Amazon also mentioned that Step will help sellers to improve a number of performance metrics, such as order cancellation rate, rate of delayed shipments, and rate of goods return.

Amazon India announced last week that customers from more than 99% of the country’s pin codes had shopped on its platform during its month-long festive season sale and the total sales have also reached a new high.

However, Amazon India did not disclose the detail performance during the promotional period. It is only said, during the promotional period, around 600 sellers clocked sales of more than Rs 1 crore and about 6,500 sellers clocked sales of more than Rs 10 lakh.