Indian Online Shopping Market: Is Duopoly Dominance Hurting Sellers?

Indian online shopping market is mainly dominated by Amazon and Flipkart, creating a duopoly that benefits consumers with a wide range of products, competitive prices, and fast delivery. However, this also puts sellers at a disadvantage with limited options and forced competition based on the terms dictated by these platforms.

• Emergence of the Duopoly: Amazon and Flipkart have been vying for dominance in the Indian online shopping market for several years with hefty discounts on products and bank offers. Both platforms boast a diverse range of products, competitive prices, and rapid delivery, making them the top choice for many customers. 
• Power Struggle: While customers benefit from the duopoly, sellers suffer from a disadvantage. Having only major two major platforms with huge customer base and wider shipping coverage across country, the sellers have limited options and are required to compete on the terms set by both Amazon and Flipkart’s biased sales management team. Having different terms and policies for sellers based on their volume and interest preference from customers. 
• Seller Concerns: Some of the primary concerns for sellers include high sales commission rates, knockoff products with different branding, and the potential for bias towards sellers who advertise more on these platforms. These problems make it difficult for small and medium-sized sellers to compete and succeed on these platforms. 
• Necessity for Change and Competition is good: To alleviate these concerns, greater competition is required in the Indian online shopping market. This could be achieved by introducing new players to the market or improving the services and offerings of existing players. An alternate solution is for the government to regulate the market and enforce fair competition practices. This may include imposing caps on sales commission rates or implementing guidelines for seller rankings and product listings. 

With potential issues like high sales commissions and biased rankings, greater competition and regulation are required to ensure a fair and competitive market for both sellers and consumers. To read more such articles, please feel free to follow articles published in “G R Team Sites”