Amazon India cuts commission fee by 50% for small sellers

Amazon India said it has slashed its commission fee by 50 percent till June-end for sellers on its platform who sold goods worth Rs 10,000 or less before the coronavirus outbreak in India.

The e-commerce giant, which competes with Walmart-owned Flipkart, will also waive storage fees for products at its warehouses till April 30 as part of its efforts to support seller partners during the COVID-19 crisis that has disrupted businesses globally.

"A significant number of our 600,000 seller base in India include micro entrepreneurs, small and medium businesses as well as women sellers, artisans and weavers. We are taking several steps to support and stand by our partners in this tough situation and help them navigate through this challenge," Amazon India vice president Seller Services Gopal Pillai told PTI.

Amazon expects tens of thousands of small sellers to benefit from the 50 per cent fee waiver and the other steps being taken, he added.

The company has waived the commission it charges sellers by 50 per cent till the end of June 2020. The SoA or referral fees is paid by all sellers for selling their products on Amazon's platform and is a percentage of the total sales price.

This waiver will apply to all sellers whose average GMS (Gross Merchandise Sales) for January and February 2020 is Rs 10,000 or below. Sellers will also get incentives for bringing in more high priority products (like food, grocery and health products) into Amazon's warehouses. It has refunded all fulfilment and referral fees for orders cancelled during the lockdown period to help reduce the impact of these cancellations on seller partners.

Walmart-owned Flipkart said it has extended its CareTouch Select service, a premium service that allows sellers to get quicker resolutions for their business-related queries, to include the lockdown period in their subscription terms.

The subscription will continue to extend depending on when the lockdown lifts. Also, Flipkart has waived the storage fee for April, under its Fulfilled by Flipkart service that allows sellers to store their inventory in Flipkart Fulfillment Centers for faster deliveries. It has also offered all its sellers a health insurance plan, specific to COVID-19, in partnership with Digit Insurance at special rates.