More Than 65% Of Our Demand Comes From Smaller Cities: Suchit Subhas, Amazon Business

Bridging the gap between sellers and businesses across India, from bustling metros to emerging towns, Amazon Business celebrates its 7th anniversary alongside this year's Great Indian Festival. Started in 2017, the B2B arm of the ecommerce giant was born out of the idea - to help companies streamline their indirect spends and have now altered corporate procurement in India.

Growth Chapter
"Our goal is to streamline companies' procurement so that they can do what they do best while we help them save costs. The more we can help them save on purchasing, the more it improves their bottom line," explains Suchit Subhas, Director of Amazon Business.

Whether it's a service company buying laptops for employees, a manufacturing unit procuring stationery or a small hotel furnishing its rooms, Amazon Business aims to simplify the procurement process, allowing businesses to focus on what they do best.

The platform's journey from its beginning started with approximately 10,000 products and 14,000 sellers in 2017 and has now grown to its current stature into a vast marketplace with over 19 crore products from 16 lakh sellers. The exponential growth directs the platform's rising popularity and its ability to meet diverse business needs.

Festive Season Bonanza
As the Great Indian Festival 2024 progresses, Amazon Business is pulling out all the stops. The platform went on to commemorate its 7th anniversary, offering deals of up to 70 per cent off on Home and Kitchen appliances and up to 60 per cent off on office furniture and laptops in September.

However, the real game-changer this festive season is the focus on corporate gifting. "Gifting is a very relevant use case for many businesses, especially going into the festive season, Subhas notes.

Capitalising on the trend of gifting, he reveals to BW Marketing World, “We've curated a gifting store on Amazon Business with 8,500 products from thousands of sellers. When a business visits the Amazon Business website, they'll see a curated gifting store that makes it easier to find the perfect items for employees or channel partners.”

Eyeing the festive season and the convenience of the B2B marketplace, Amazon Business is providing a vast selection for its customers. "Under Amazon business, they can choose from a various array of products, whether they are looking to give fashion products or whether they are looking to give home and kitchen products, or whether they are gifting electronics or even gourmet grocery boxes with nuts and chocolates and sweets, they'll find everything within Amazon business and which our sellers today are offering at great prices", Subhas elaborates.

To sweeten the deal, Amazon Business is also offering an additional cashback of up to Rs 10,000 for bulk purchases during the festival period.

Non-metros Lead The Charge
One of the aspects of Amazon Business's growth story is its adoption by non-metro cities. Subhas reveals, "More than 65 per cent of our demand comes from smaller cities today." These markets are exhibiting 1.2 times faster growth compared to tier 1 cities, highlighting the platform's value proposition in areas traditionally underserved by organized B2B retail and the digital savviness of these markets.

"What we are doing to the small business in a small city is we are taking the best selection available to them nationally and giving it to them in 24 to 48 hours," Subhas adds. By offering faster delivery to 99 per cent of the country, Amazon Business is democratising access to a vast array of products. The approach is solving the pain point for businesses in non-metro areas, giving them access to a wider range of products and competitive pricing previously available only in larger cities.

Leveraging Technology
Amazon Business's success is underpinned by its use of technology. From enabling bulk discounts, providing GST invoices, offering business credit and delivering analytics reports, the platform uses machine learning and advanced tech to solve real business problems.

"Technology is at the backbone of everything we do," Subhas emphasises. He further shares that features like 'Build To Ship To' for simplified GST filing and 'Request for Quote' for large orders showcase how the platform uses tech to create a seamless procurement experience.

As Amazon Business enters its 7th year, the focus is on scaling new heights. "The theme will be just bigger and better. We will have more selection on the marketplace this year. We will deliver products faster this year. The deals will be better this year," Subhas promises.

Reema Bhaduri

BW Reporters The author is the Editorial Lead at BW Businessworld. Majorly writes on marketing, advertising, experiential marketing and retail. She closely looks upon the vertical of BW Marketing World and BW Retail World.