Amazon has invested a mere Rs 2,800 crore in its Indian market this year, one-third in comparison to its Rs 9,450 crore in 2018, even as the US e-commerce leader continues to build an omnichannel play by clasping the stakes on some of the largest offline retailers in India.
Unless the conglomerate paces up during the last quarter, this will the first time that Amazon’s yearly investments in its Indian market would have come down since it set-up shop in the year 2012. The reports also suggest that the last year’s spike in investment might be because of Amazon’s entry into the grocery business and the supply chain required for the same.
Growth despite lower investment
The low investment this year can also be a result of the already built infrastructure, services, and logistics. Despite expanding and enhancing its services this year, the company’s expansion must have costed a lower denomination in comparison to when the firm was starting from the bottom.
An Amazon spokesperson said that the company has been infusing its committed capital of $ 5.5 billion in India as and when required across its business enterprises. The majority of the investments of the firm in its Indian marketplace are towards infrastructure build-out, technology, seller enablement programs, and talent.
Along with having other units such as Amazon Retail India and Amazon Wholesale India, Amazon Seller Services has attracted a large share of online retailer’s investment, which has cumulatively touched $ 4.25 billion, at today’s rate of exchange.
According to data from paper.vc, the global online retail giant started with an investment of Rs 4.58 crore, and the number grew to Rs 732.68 in 2014 to Rs 5,340 in 2016.
