E-Commerce in India : a case study of Amazon & Flipkart (India)

Abstract

In the last two decade, world has witness an incredible growth of Internet and has changed the way organization conduct business. It has provided a new option for conducting business named e-commerce. It is basically selling and buying through internet using computers. The purpose of this study is to first understand the e-commerce and its impacts. Further understanding of logistics and its role in e-commerce. A case study of Amazon and Flipkart India is then done to explore its business strategies, operation, logistics functioning etc. Cross analysis of Amazon and Flipkart in term of market share, revenue etc. is done next. A SWOT and PORTER analysis is then performed based on it. It helped in coming to the conclusion about future strategies needed by both companies to remain competitive. To reach this purpose, a qualitative research approach was used where case study on Amazon India is conducted. The data is collected through books, Internet and interviews. The finding of our analysis shows that despite increased revenue and sales both Amazon and Flipkart still faces many challenges such as IT security - vulnerability to hacking, low margins due heavy discounting, loopholes in distribution system etc. During festival time when sales are usually at peak many complain occurs such as late delivery, website non-functioning which seriously impact the company image and operational capabilities. In the conclusions, some of the major threats that are affecting both the companies is discussed such as heavy losses due to discount, logistics inefficiency, expansion to smaller cities etc. To counter it, the steps taken by both the companies such as new payment gateways etc is also discussed.