Amazon India is getting an infusion of 7 billion rupees ($95.51 million) in advance of the upcoming festive season, according to a Reuters report on Friday (Oct. 8) citing data from business intelligence firm Tofler.
The month-long festive season kicks off with sales on Saturday, Oct. 17, ahead of Hindu festivals Dussehra and Diwali. Amazon is offering cash back and other perks to incentivize people to use Amazon Pay.
Competitor Reliance is also gearing up for the festive season and raised $5.14 billion selling stakes to investors including KKR & Co, private equity firm Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala Investment Co.
Walmart-owned Flipkart is also participating in the month-long sales event.
Amazon recently injected $152 million into its Amazon Seller Services unit in India. In June, it invested more than $300 million.
The new investments will help Amazon compete against Flipkart and billionaire Mukesh Ambani-run Reliance Industries’ JioMart.
Amazon said earlier this month that there will be many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in categories including Local Shops, Amazon Launchpad, Amazon Saheli, and Amazon Karigar.
Manish Tiwary, vice president of Amazon India, said the Great Indian Festival will be “an opportunity for our sellers and partners to reach millions of customers across the country.”
“Our sellers are excited and expect this to help them in accelerating their business,” Tiwary said, according to the release. “For our customers, our aim is to help them find everything they need during the festive season and deliver it safely to them.”
Amazon India also recently introduced a new way to allow credit card users to pay bills through Amazon Pay.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More