Empowering local shopkeepers and retailers, to leverage the best of both worlds.
Over the last 6 months, Amazon has been running a pilot with 5,000+ offline retailers and local shops to bring the benefits of online selling closer to them. Code-named ‘Local Shops on Amazon’ this program helps customers discover products from local shops in their city (many they already trust and love!) from the convenience of their homes, while helping shopkeepers supplement their footfalls with a digital presence and expand beyond their normal catchment. It is expected that this will be a win-win situation for customers who will benefit from access to greater selection, faster deliveries, and additional value-added services, and local shops as well who can transform themselves into digital stores. Additionally, shops can sign up for our existing programs that help them earn additional income – ‘I Have Space’ to act as delivery and pickup points, and ‘Amazon Easy’ to offer expanded selection to their walk-in customers. Thousands of shopkeepers, from across the country, are already taking advantage of the pilot to showcase a wide range of products, ranging from consumer electronics to mattresses, kitchen items to grocery and consumables, apparel and shoes to gifts, and even fresh flowers and cakes. With this expansion, Amazon will also encourage and train retailers and shopkeepers who have no prior experience. India will become one of the first markets where Amazon will try the program. Earlier in January, Amazon announced a $1 billion investment for small Indian businesses online by 2025. The move by Amazon also comes just days after Facebook invested a nearly 10 percent stake in Reliance Jio. Reliance and Facebook on Wednesday announced that WhatsApp is set to power Reliance Retail's e-commerce venture JioMart. As a result of the partnership between Jio platforms, Reliance and WhatsApp, customers will be able to access their "nearest kiranas who can provide products and services to their homes by transacting seamlessly with JioMart using WhatsApp", Reliance Industries said in a statement.
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