Amazon expands product basket for India marketplace, adds computers & accessories

Amazon.in, the marketplace launched in India by Amazon Seller Services Pvt Ltd, part of the world's largest e-commerce firm Amazon.com, has added two new categories to its offerings – computers and related accessories. To begin with, the company is offering more than 7,000 products from 180 brands. Earlier this month, the marketplace kicked off with just two categories – books and movies & TV shows.

Commenting on the launch, Amit Agarwal, VP and country manager of Amazon India, said, "We are excited to launch a dedicated store for computers & accessories and expand the product range already offered on Amazon.in."

As of now, the products on offer include laptop, printer, router, external hard drive, pen drive, keyboard, mouse and other accessories from leading brands such as HP, Dell, Sony, Lenovo, Acer, Samsung, Logitech, Microsoft and Belkin, among others.

Popular retailers including Croma, Vijay Sales, Compuindia.com and GadgetsGuru are currently using Fulfillment by Amazon. As a limited period launch promotion, customers will enjoy free delivery with no minimum order value on all orders fulfilled by Amazon. Its services include cash on delivery (COD), delivery tracking to the doorstep and free-of-cost pick-up for goods returned.

Note that in most countries where Amazon operates, a seller (of any size) who wishes to opt for 'selling on Amazon' service, can set up his/her own account and begin selling online on the Amazon platform. But in India, the company first evaluates a seller's ability to maintain high standards of customer experience and only then extends an invitation to the seller.

Although you will find a number of online marketplaces offering the same products, we feel that the key differentiators for Amazon will be global customer reviews (integrated with the categories) and its personalised recommendation engine. This is crucial as people looking to buy electronics, cameras or mobile phones refer to these reviews before making a purchasing decision.

The India-specific platform started in June 2013, initially launching just two product sections – books and movies & TV shows. Under the books' section, it is currently offering over 7 million printed books across 200-plus categories. Amazon followed it up by officially launching its Kindle tablets and e-book readers in India (note that the e-book readers were already available in a number of offline stores). The devices launched in the country included Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite (both e-book readers), as well as Kindle Fire HD 7 and Kindle Fire HD 8.9 tablets.

Post that, the company added three new categories to its offerings – mobiles and accessories, cameras & photography, and portable media players. With the latest inclusion, there are now seven categories on offer including books & e-books, movies & TV shows, the Kindle family of e-readers & Kindle Fire tablets, mobile & accessories, camera & photography, portable media players and computers & accessories.

(Edited by Sanghamitra Mandal)