Amazon allays slowdown fears ahead of festive sales

New Delhi: E-commerce giant Amazon on Monday sought to allay concerns over any slowdown in demand, saying it sees no "signs of anxiety" from sellers and brands that are lining up new products for the festive season ahead.

Amazon.in, which will host its festive sale from September 29-October 4, expects about 70 per cent of its customers to come from smaller cities and towns. "We have 500,000 sellers.

The rate of new sellers joining is strong, we have grown from 350,000 to 500,000 over the last 12 months and more importantly, selection has also gone up.

We don't see any signs of anxiety," Amazon India Vice President (Category Management) Manish Tiwary said.

He added that brands like Samsung, Xiaomi and OnePlus, large appliance manufacturer like Bosch as well television makers will launch their products on its platform. "You wouldn't do that if there was a slowdown.

Starting from weavers to larger sellers, we see no signs of doubt in their minds. With speed, affordability and selection, this Diwali promises to be a far bigger one for us," he said, adding that Amazon has seen Prime membership double on the customer side.

India's GDP growth decreased for the fifth consecutive quarter in April-June 2019 to 5 per cent, the lowest in six years. This was on the back of faltering domestic demand, with both private consumption and investment proving lackluster.

The government has taken a number of measures to stimulate the economy, including support for automobile sector, reduction in capital gains tax, and additional liquidity support for shadow banks.

Accompanying structural reforms included further easing of foreign direct investment (FDI) regime and consolidation of the public banking sector.