Bangalore: Amazon India will start selling large appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, air-conditioners and dishwashers over the ongoing festive season sales, the online retailer said on Wednesday.
Few online retailers offer large appliances due to difficulties in delivering them to buyers. In April, India’s largest e-commerce firm Flipkart.com said it had started selling television sets on its site, re-entering the large appliances category nearly a year after it was forced to withdraw because of delivery problems.
“As home & kitchen is one of the most sought after categories during Diwali, the launch comes at a time when customers can enjoy shopping for appliances with ease & convenience,” Amazon said in a statement.
Amazon Seller Services Pvt. Ltd, the Indian unit of the world’s largest online retailer, said it will offer appliances from brands including LG, Samsung, IFB, Panasonic, Voltas and Godrej as well as from retailers such as Viveks and Next.
Amazon’s chief executive Jeff Bezos said in late July that the company would pump in as much as $2 billion into its India business as it aims to become the leader in one of the fastest growing e-commerce markets and rev up sales growth outside of North America. Amazon launched its India marketplace in June 2013.
India’s e-commerce market, excluding travel, is expected to surge sevenfold to $22 billion in five years from $3.1 billion, according to a November report by brokerage firm CLSA. By that time, it is expected to be the world’s third largest e-commerce market after the US and China.
Amazon India on Wednesday also said it launched its payment service for third party sellers, “Pay with Amazon”. This service is available for sellers on other sites too.
“By launching Pay with Amazon we aim to provide a trusted payment bridge between customers and sellers and further aid and support the growth and integration of small and medium businesses in the new digital economy. This service will expand the market by providing small sellers with efficient tools to drive conversions and also help customers to shop with confidence,” said Srinivas Rao, general manager, payments, Amazon.
Amazon India has signed up with sites such as shopyourworld.com, babyoye.com and a few others for its payment service.
Flipkart in August said it was shutting its payment gateway PayZippy, after the company failed to sell the service to as many customers as it had initially expected. Flipkart also made a “strategic investment” in ngpay, a payment service and marketplace that primarily gets most of its business from its mobile app.
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