Flipkart may have lost its position as India’s largest e-commerce platform to its rival Amazon.com Inc. in July this year, according to a report published by Mint on Tuesday. The business daily reported that while Flipkart posted gross sales (the value of goods sold on the site) of less Rs 2,000 crore in July, Amazon’s sales were marked slightly higher than this. Snapdeal, owned by Jasper Infotech Pvt. Ltd., reported gross sales of Rs 600 crore in the same period.
However, the paper went on to add that Flipkart’s sales numbers excluded revenues from Myntra and Jabong, the two fashion-based e-commerce websites it owns. A Flipkart spokesperson said that the platform continues to “have a significant lead” over its competitors on the basis “all important customer parameters including sales”. Analysts, meanwhile, have said that the next important period for all e-commerce platforms is the festive season in India. “With Diwali on the heels, I am sure all the companies would want to showcase big revenues,” said Harish HV, a partner at Grant Thornton.
Other analysts have also speculated about a possible consolidation between Flipkart, Snapdeal, e-commerce website Shopclues and mobile payments platform Paytm to counter Amazon’s push into the country. Founded in 2007, Flipkart has been reported as India’s largest platform since at least 2011, according to the paper. However, Amazon has made steady gains against its chief rival after founder Jeff Bezos in July 2014 announced that his company would invest $2 billion (approximately Rs 13,000 crore) into its India unit.
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