Amazon is setting its sights on expanding merchandise exports from India to reach a staggering $20 billion by 2025. With plans to onboard thousands of small-scale sellers onto its e-commerce platform, the tech giant aims to drive significant growth in cross-border trade. Bhupen Wakankar, the Director of Global Trade at Amazon, expressed his enthusiasm for the number of entrepreneurs who have already signed up, confirming that there is a strong demand for products such as organic health supplements, homeware, and robotic games. This drive for increased exports coincides with the Black Friday Cyber Monday sale, providing ample opportunities for Indian businesses to tap into global markets.
Since its inception in 2015, Amazon Global Trade, the business-to-consumers (B2C) exports platform of Amazon, has gained significant traction in the Indian market. Initially launched with only a few sellers, it has now successfully onboarded over 100,000 small-scale manufacturers. These sellers offer a diverse range of products to customers worldwide. Wakankar notes that many of these sellers are venturing into the world of exports for the first time, with some even leaving their corporate jobs to start e-commerce exports. Through Amazon’s logistics support and access to over 200 million Amazon Prime members globally, these small-scale exporters have experienced a remarkable annual business growth rate of 70 percent.
India’s overall exports of goods have faced a decline of 7 percent year-on-year during the first seven months of this fiscal year. However, the e-commerce platform has witnessed substantial growth in categories such as beauty, apparel, home goods, kitchenware, furniture, and toys. The festive seasons and holidays, including Halloween, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, and New Year, have significantly boosted the sales of Indian products in markets like the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, and Germany. This surge in demand presents a unique opportunity for Indian businesses to showcase their products to a global audience.
To further encourage exporters, Amazon has taken a proactive step by reducing the subscription fees for its global selling program. The subscription fee has been substantially lowered from $120 to just $1, making it more accessible for small-scale sellers to expand their reach globally. By removing this entry barrier, Amazon aims to enable more Indian entrepreneurs to seize the opportunity of cross-border trade.
The success stories of small-scale exporters utilizing Amazon’s e-commerce platform are a testament to its efficacy. Thousands of exporters, who previously faced challenges in accessing global markets, have achieved remarkable growth rates and expanded their businesses through the platform. With logistics support and access to millions of Amazon Prime members worldwide, these entrepreneurs have harnessed the power of e-commerce to overcome traditional trade barriers and unlock new avenues for exporting their products.
Amazon’s ambitious goal of reaching $20 billion in exports from India by 2025 exemplifies the untapped potential of e-commerce for small-scale exporters. By providing a platform that enables seamless access to global markets, logistics support, and favorable pricing structures, Amazon is revolutionizing the way Indian businesses engage in international trade. With India’s export sector facing a decline, Amazon’s initiative comes as a ray of hope, offering a new path to growth and economic prosperity.