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Want to take advantage of Amazon India’s growing potential but not sure where to start?
More people are looking for opportunities to start a business beyond Amazon US. According to CNBC, Amazon India is expected to contribute up to 20% to Amazon’s total growth in the next five years. This means that starting a business on Amazon India now will put you ahead of the Amazon curve and allow you to be part of something BIGGER than yourself. So, where do you start?
This ultimate seller’s guide will explain the complete process of how to sell on Amazon India step by step. You will learn how to register on Amazon India, what to sell on the marketplace, and what type of return to expect. We will also give you our top tips for success. Sounds good?
For those of you who are more into Flipkart and Snapdeal, and would like to know more about Amazon India, let’s start with a quick rundown of the growing marketplace.
Amazon.in is the Indian version of the popular US-based online B2C marketplace, Amazon.com. It connects local consumers to national brands and retailers that sell 20+ million products on the platform. These products are sorted into different categories and can range anything from a stuffed teddy bear to an expensive smoked walnut 2-door wardrobe.
Amazon India has over 300,000 registered sellers, with most of them being small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). These sellers sell from well over 14,200 pin codes across the country. Delhi forms the hub of the majority of Indian Amazon sellers. [Source: Business Today]
Before you start selling on Amazon India, you must decide the business model you want to run with. There are three main types of business models Amazon sellers can work on:
In this model, you buy products from a local store and resell them on Amazon. The basic idea is to find products at a cut-price that have high demand but low supply. It is one of the quickest ways to start selling on the smiling A and make some easy money. However, it’s not the best business model if you plan to scale. Your growth is pretty much limited by the prices set by the retailers. Also, it carries risks, where your account may get suspended if you aren’t careful what you are selling. Not every product can be re-listed on Amazon.
Here, you source products from already established brands (e.g. Micromax, Funskool, Elle18, etc.) at wholesale prices and list them for sale on Amazon.in. Of course, you must contact the brands first and get their approval before creating a listing. This isn’t always easy, especially if you are a new seller, as brands may be reluctant to work with you.
This one is our absolute favourite. As the name implies, it involves launching your own private label on Amazon India. You analyze the market, study your target audience, and then design a winning product. The best part is you get to set the price on your own terms and keep all the profits. It is certainly an ambitious but also the most rewarding business model on Amazon.
Next, we’ll take a look at the benefits of selling on Amazon India.
Any business decision must be based on a solid rationale and objective assessment of facts. Here are some of the reasons why you should consider selling on Amazon India:
Amazon.in has over 100 million registered users in India. The website receives more than 300 million visits each month. By selling on Amazon India, you can significantly increase your reach and pitch your product to hundreds and thousands of new customers.
Amazon India gets a minimum of 150,000 orders per day. That’s one order for every second seller who sells on the marketplace. Not bad at all. And if you offer a high-quality product to your customers, you can absolutely slay the sales.
Almost anyone can become a seller on Amazon India. There aren’t any special requirements to join the marketplace. Just an active bank account and some ID documents, and you are good to go. We’ll expand on this more when we discuss how to sign up on Amazon India.
Despite the impressive numbers, Amazon India is still pretty much in nascent stages and has a lot more room to grow. This is the ideal time to get in before the competition increases.
Amazon’s FBA program offers an excellent shopping experience to customers, promising fast delivery and hassle-free returns. Even better, it also makes the job easier for sellers by handling the complete fulfilment process on their behalf, allowing you to focus on more important areas of your business.
More than 4000 sellers surpassed ₹10 million in sales on Amazon India last year. A further 7,036 sellers received orders worth more than ₹1 million during the 2020 Great Indian Festival alone. Selling on Amazon India can be extremely profitable if you do it the right way.
So, how much investment do you need to get started?
This totally depends on what you are planning to sell. Typically, you should have enough funds for a 90-day inventory, giveaways, and listing expenses, as well as some extra cash for running sponsored ads for the first month, at least. As you’ll start to generate sales, you’ll have enough money flowing in to cover these costs and still make a handsome profit.
Amazon India sells products in 30+ categories. These categories include Mobiles, Televisions, Laptops, Cameras, Clothes & Apparel, Watches, Jewelry, Shoes, Books, Movies & TV Shows, Music, Video Games, Home & Kitchen, Gourmet, Pet Supplies, Car & Motorbike, Toys & Games, Baby Products, Diapers & Wipes, Sports, Beauty, Health, Personal Care Appliances, Household Supplies, Home Entertainment, Musical Instruments, Office Supplies, Accessories, Luggage, Handbags, Travel Accessories, and Sunglasses.
As a seller, you can list items in most of these categories. However, some product types and categories may require Amazon’s approval before you can list in them. Examples include:
Grocery and gourmet items are sold via Amazon Fresh and Amazon Pantry India. These are free delivery services from Amazon, available to Prime members only.
It stocks fresh groceries and perishable food items. Some examples include onions, apples, oranges, bread, and organic whole wheat flour.
It deals in the sales of regular household products and pantry staples. Some examples include noodles, anti-bacterial handwash, multigrain cereal, cockroach killer kit, and baby diapers.
Amazon Pantry India has items like cooking essentials, packaged foods, personal care products, and more
Besides these products, you can also sell handmade items, paintings, and used books on Amazon India. The latter are tax exempted, so they are quite easy to get started with.
Amazon India maintains a best seller’s section, where it lists down the top-selling products in each category. This section is updated hourly. As of writing this guide, here are some items trending on Amazon.in:
Can’t wait to start selling some of these products already? We understand your excitement. In the next section, we will discuss how you can start your selling journey on Amazon India.
To become a seller on Amazon India, you need to follow four steps:
Let’s discuss them one by one.
The very first thing you need to do is create a seller account on Amazon India. Of course, we’re going to walk you through that process.☺
You need the following documents when signing up as a seller on Amazon.in:
You need to have a registered business to sell on Amazon India. This business can be a sole proprietorship, partnership firm, or limited liability company. Sole proprietorships are the easiest types of businesses to set up. You just need the Registration Certificate under the Shops and Establishment Act and GST documents from your respective state to get started.
Yes, you can. If you plan to list GST exempted products, you don’t need a GST identification number to sell on Amazon India. Examples of GST exempted products include books, plastic bangles, maps, and certain handicraft items.
Picking the right product is crucial to your success. You can’t just choose any product at random and expect to generate a decent amount of sales from it. There are plenty of things you must consider before finalizing your product to sell on Amazon.
First thing first, you need to check if there is enough demand for the product in the market. Most importantly, it must sell year round and not just during certain months. We would recommend targeting a product that gets 10 daily sales minimum.
The median annual salary in India is ₹382,800. This makes it ₹31,900 per month. If you are starting a business, you would want your business income to replace your full-time income at least, right? That means if you are selling 10 units per day (or 300 units per month), your minimum profit should be ₹120 per sale.
You need to find a product niche that you can compete in. You don’t want to be sitting out there watching your competition take all the sales. To analyze competition in your niche, look at the number of reviews your competitors have. If the majority of the sellers on the first page have more than 500 reviews, simply move to the next product.
Spotting a market gap is extremely important. It’s what will help you get entry into your niche and build a successful brand. Read what customers are saying about other listings in your niche. Are they unhappy about something? Do they want a particular feature in the product? If yes, you can capitalize on this opportunity and launch an improved product that fills this gap.
Okay, perhaps not as important as other things on this list, but it’s something we definitely value when choosing a product to sell on Amazon. The idea here is you need to find a small and lightweight product. Why? Because it will reduce your shipping, storage, and fulfilment costs. All this can contribute to big savings, which you can then reinvest into your business.
So, where do you start your product research? How do you find products to sell on Amazon.in? Let’s take a look.
You can use different strategies and methods to find products to sell on Amazon India.
For starters, you can visit Amazon’s Best Sellers page to find some great product ideas. These products are already selling well on Amazon, and you just need to find a viable opportunity to get in.
Other than that, you can use the autocomplete feature on Amazon.in and further build on your list of ideas. The drill is simple; type the name of any product in the Amazon search bar that you can think of and would be interested in selling. Then, extend your search using different combinations of letters and check what pops up. Who knows, you could well find your next winning product.
You can also use Google Trends to do product research for Amazon. Simply head over to trends.google.com. Change your country settings to India (if not already configured). Select “Trending Searches” and find the hottest topics of the moment. Tinker with the suggestions to come up with unique product ideas.
Google Trends showing trending searches for the online game PUBG, indicating that related products, like action figures and accessories, might be trending too
We have recently released our proprietary product research toolkit for the Indian marketplace. Sellers can now find golden products and vet shortlisted niches for their Amazon India store with just a few clicks.
There is certainly no shortage of manufacturers in India. You can reach out to them and get your product designed at affordable rates. If you are looking for any platform recommendations, IndiaMART, TradeIndia, and ExportersIndia are good shouts. Alternatively, you can also source your product from China using websites such as Alibaba.com and 1688.com.
Once you have decided what you want to sell and finalized a supplier for your product, you need to create a listing on Amazon India. By creating a listing, you add your product to your Amazon Seller Central account. The process is simple. All you need to do is follow these steps:
There are three types of fulfilment options you can choose from: i) Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA), ii) Easy-Ship, and iii) Self-Ship or Fulfilment by Merchant (FBM).
FBA provides the highest convenience to sellers. You send your inventory to the Amazon India Fulfillment Center, and the on-field staff does the rest. It picks, packs, and ships your product to your customers, handling any queries in the process. Even the returns are managed by Amazon. FBA has a fee, though.
Next, we have Easy-Ship. Here, you handle the storage and packaging while Amazon helps you with the delivery. All pick-ups are scheduled in advance. This can be a perfect option for those who own a place that can be used as a warehouse.
Self-Ship is best for large-scale sellers who don’t have any logistic constraints. They can store, package, and deliver the products without any problems. You can also go for Self-Ship if you’re planning to sell bulkier products on Amazon India. That way, you won’t have to pay the FBA storage fee.
Amazon selling fees for India include referral fees, closing fees, weight handling fees, and other fees depending on your selected fulfilment method. There are currently no monthly subscription charges for selling on Amazon.
To learn more about Amazon India selling fees, check out this link from Amazon.
Yes, they are tax deductible from your gross income. Make sure to consult your accountant for better guidance.
Flipkart is one of the biggest players in India’s online retail space and a strong competitor to Amazon.in. It amasses a market share of 31.9% and receives monthly visits in excess of 200 million. However, despite these impressive numbers, it remains behind Amazon in terms of features, pricing, advertising, and customer service.
Amazon India has emerged as the most desired internet brand in the country and sits at a close second in size to Flipkart, with a massive market share of 31.2%. The company only launched its operations in 2013, so to match a much older competitor in such a short time is quite remarkable. And if you consider the plans Andy Jassy has for Amazon India in the future, it makes little sense not to side with the smiling A in this battle of the ecommerce giants.
Absolutely! You can sell on Amazon India from the US (or any other country for that matter) by signing up for the Amazon Global Selling program. As an international seller selling on Amazon India, you get all the features and benefits available to Indian Amazon sellers. And the best part is you don’t need to know the local language—Hindi—to run your business.
How can you incorporate your company as a foreigner in India?
The Indian government welcomes foreigners from around the world to set up their business in the country. However, you must appoint a local director to register and legally operate your business as a foreigner in India.
Nothing makes us happier than when our readers share their Amazon success stories with us. We want you to become a successful seller on Amazon too. Therefore, we have compiled some tips that we hope will serve you well in your journey.
You should optimize both the front and back end of your listing. Many sellers ignore the latter. And feel free to check out our Amazon listing optimization guide whenever you feel stuck.
Running sponsored advertising helps drive more clicks and sales, which ultimately boosts your organic rankings in the search.
Set up Amazon Lightning deals and Prime Day discounts to skyrocket your conversions and sell like a boss.
Monitor your competition. Keep track of any listing or pricing changes they make. Look out for any new SKUs they launch in your niche.
Festive gross sales in India are huge. Plan for them in advance. Make sure you are well stocked in terms of inventory. Research what Amazon bundles you can offer to your customers to make their celebrations even more special.
Amazon India is a huge opportunity right now. And with Amazon’s investment in infrastructure and making partners with local traders, it is expected to continue rising.
To succeed, there are some key steps you will need to take: from analyzing your niche, doing keyword research, and optimizing your listing--every step is crucial. It is important that you understand how to do each one the best way so that you make your journey to the top as seamless as possible.
ZonGuru offers accurate and up-to-date data and insights for Amazon North America, Europe, Australia and India. Access easy to use tools and content on Amazon from real Amazon experts today. To get your journey on Amazon India started on the right foot, sign up to ZonGuru now.
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