Flipkart eyes 4.2 lakh seller base by December with 1.2 lakh new MSME sellers ahead of festive season

Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: Walmart-owned Flipkart on Thursday said it is on track to add 1.2 lakh new sellers to its marketplace by December this year to take its tally of sellers to 4.2 lakh from 3 lakh earlier. Amazon’s arch-rival said it has already onboarded around 75,000 sellers, of its 1.2 lakh target, over the past few months as MSMEs and small businesses “continue to be enthused by the potential of e-commerce ahead of the festive season.” Post pandemic, as e-commerce adoption among consumers increased, marketplaces have been adding more sellers to cater to the growing consumer base. For Flipkart, its new sellers and MSME base predominantly belong to Tier-II and Tier-III towns such as Agra, Indore, Jaipur, Panipat, Rajkot, Surat, etc.

Flipkart said the rise is also in categories such as general merchandise, home and kitchen, and personal care. “This festive season, MSMEs and seller ecosystems across the country have come forth even more resilient and rejuvenated and we are excited to support their learning, financial, operational, and business needs as they offer a wide selection of products on our platform. Our continuous effort is to ensure that every small business, MSME, women-entrepreneur, artisan, weaver or handicraft marker is an active participant in the upcoming festive season,” Rajneesh Kumar, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Flipkart Group said in a statement.

The company said the incoming 1.2 lakh sellers have the potential to create additional 4 lakh direct and indirect jobs in the ecosystem. Among seller-support initiatives during the upcoming festive season, Flipkart had enabled a next-day payment programme for sellers to receive their order payments within a day. While there is a 30-day free trial for this programme, sellers would be charged a “nominal transaction fee” for the extended period if they choose to continue with the programme. “This construct allows a continuous flow of working capital for the sellers, many of whom face financial challenges that hinder their business growth.” Flipkart said it is also offering customized finance offerings for sellers from its lenders based on “projected growth”.

Flipkart has added 66 new large-scale fulfillment and sortation centers across India in the run-up to the festive season to strengthen and expand its supply chain. The company had also hosted a 45-day learning and development event for sellers base with respect to best practices and insights to boost their business during the upcoming festive season.

Amazon, which has over 8.5 lakh sellers in India, had also launched a new version of its Delivery Service Partner (DSP) programme in India that allows aspiring entrepreneurs to set up and launch their own package delivery business to strengthen deliveries during the festive season. It had also announced an MoU recently with the Gujarat government’s Industries and Mines department to push e-commerce exports from the state.