 "Amazon's $2bn vs Flipkart's $1bn: Who is leading India's e-commerce race?")
It doesn’t look there’s going to be a lull in the Indian e-commerce sector any time soon. Investor funds have been flowing into the sector, with a few big players like Flipkart and Amazon leading the pack.
Indian e-commerce site Flipkart yesterday announced that it has raised $1 billion in a single round of funding, while Amazon India today announced that it will invest an additional $2 billion in its operations to support its growth.
These two sites have been neck-and-neck for the #1 spot in the e-commerce sector since Amazon’s entry in June 2013, but just how do they stack up?
Here’s a quick rundown of the services available from both Amazon India and Flipkart.
Inception
Flipkart - Started operations in 2007
Amazon - Started operations in 2013
Inventory
Flipkart - 15 million products on sale across more than 70 categories.
Amazon - 17 million products on sale across 28 categories.
Cash on delivery
Flipkart - First to offer cash-on-delivery option in India
Amazon - Adopted COD model for Indian market
Next day delivery
Flipkart: In-A-Day guarantee delivery launched in December 2013
Amazon: Guaranteed one-day delivery launched in December 2013
Same day delivery
Flipkart: Same-day guarantee delivery launched in April 2014
Amazon: Same-day delivery launched but still in pilot mode
Scheduled delivery
Flipkart: Scheduled delivery launched in June 2014
Amazon: Scheduled delivery for large appliances launched in Mumbai on pilot basis.
Try and Buy service
Flipkart: Try and Buy pilot project launched in Bangalore in 2014, allowing customers to order apparel home and try it on before deciding whether to purchase it or not.
Amazon: NA
Subscription services
Flipkart: Launched Flipkart First, a subscription service, earlier this year.
Amazon: Yet to introduce Amazon Prime, a subscription service available to US customers, in India
Pick-ups
Flipkart: No options for pick-ups yet.
Amazon: Has partnered with BPCL’s In&Out Stores in Mumbai and Delhi (March 2014) to allow customers to pick-up orders placed on the website. Also working with kirana stores in Bangalore to allow similar services (April 2014)
Tablets
Flipkart: Android-based DigiFlip
Amazon:Amazon tablets run on Fire OS, a fork of the Android OS and which has its own app store, etc.