TechCrunch reports Amazon has invested an additional $260 million into its India-tied operations — formally known as Amazon Seller Services Pvt Ltd — just ahead of the holiday shopping season for the autumn Dussehra and Diwali festivals.
The $260 million investment adds to the $2 billion allocated to India-based operations in 2014 and the $3 billion added during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s U.S. visits in 2016.
Competition for shoppers’ hearts, minds and wallets remains fierce, and the landscape is dotted with well-funded rivals like India-based Flipkart. The online store raised $1.5 billion in a recent funding round. Other marquee eCommerce names include eBay and Alibaba-supported Paytm.
India has some lure for online behemoths such as Amazon, TechCrunch noted, with online sales slated to reach $4 billion by 2021 and showing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) north of 31 percent. The country has embarked on a sweeping program to phase cash out of circulation in favor of mobile and online payments.
A recent report by Seeking Alpha estimated the internet penetration rate in the country at approximately 34 percent — a jump from a 7.5 percent participation rate in 2010 — and projected the eCommerce market could be worth $2 trillion in 2034.
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