Amazon onboards 50,000 small sellers under ‘Local Shops’ programme for shopkeepers in less than a year

Amazon onboards 50,000 small sellers under ‘Local Shops’ programme for shopkeepers in less than a year

Technology for MSMEs: The small sellers selling under the Local Shops on Amazon programme belonged to metros, Tier-II, and III cities offering flowers, home and kitchen products, furniture, electronics, books, toys, etc.

Amazon had recently announced a collaboration with UN Women to launch a special storefront on its marketplace ahead of International Women’s Day. Image: Reuters

 

Technology for MSMEs: Amazon India’s hyperlocal programme for offline retailers and neighbourhood stores to cater to nearby customers has scaled to over 50,000 sellers from 450 cities in less than one year of launch, according to a company statement on Sunday. Launched in April 2020, Local Shops on Amazon had more than 20,000 sellers participating in Amazon.in’s Great Indian Festival hosted in October 2020. Amazon said that the programme supplements the existing footfalls at sellers’ offline stores with a digital presence. The programme enables online product discovery for customers from shops in their vicinity.

“It underlines how digital enablement and digital inclusion can help them scale and contribute to a digital economy. We remain committed to work closely with the millions of MSMEs including the vast network of neighbourhood stores across the country as part of our focus on transforming the way India buys and sells,” said Manish Tiwary, VP, Amazon India. The micro sellers selling under the Local Shops on Amazon belonged to metros apart from Tier-II and III cities such as Sangli, Osmanabad, Jamnagar, Gorakhpur, Jabalpur, Ratlam, Bikaner, Tumkur, Jalpaiguri etc. The sellers offered products including flowers, home and kitchen products, furniture, electronics, books, toys etc.