E-commerce firms woo sellers with offers ahead of resuming operations

Amazon has already announced waiver of commissions for small sellers by almost half, larger rival Flipkart said that it is taking proactive steps to settle the payments related to cancelled orders

E-commerce companies such as Flipkart, Amazon, and Snapdeal are launching initiatives to motivate their network of sellers as they get ready to resume operations, especially for selling non-essential goods. Amazon has announced waiver of commissions for small sellers by almost half.
 

Its rival Flipkart on Friday said it was taking proactive steps to settle the payments related to cancelled orders in the lockdown period, in the upcoming payment cycles. As part of the steps to support the sellers, Flipkart has announced special offers on loans for its sellers under the company’s Growth Capital programme.
 

“Through the programme, over 100,000 sellers are able to avail of credit at competitive interest rates with an approval time of one day and disbursal within 48 hours,” said the company.
 

Flipkart said a three-month moratorium period had also been implemented on existing loans availed through the Growth Capital programme, which is designed for small businesses. Further, any additional amount on seller’s existing loans, sanctioned during this period, will have an extended financial limit with a six-month moratorium period.

For SPF (seller protection fund) claims, sellers have been given an extension for all the returns received between March 7 and 23 to ensure they have enough time to raise their claims, once the company fully resumes its operations.
 

Flipkart said the supply chain team continues to maintain an intense focus on safety and health procedures in all Flipkart facilities and staff that will support the movement of goods for sellers. The firm has provided its sellers with the flexibility of choosing to work or not work during the lockdown period, without any concerns of their performance metrics being hampered.

Sellers who are servicing in the essential items categories are being given regular updates on the product demand and what they should be adding in their inventory to maintain a healthy stock. Flipkart has offered all its employees and sellers Covid-19 health insurance plans to cover them and their families.

Flipkart has extended the premium services availed of by sellers such as Paid Account Managers, where sellers get dedicated managers who work with them closely to grow their business. “Flipkart has also 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,” said the firm.
 

Snapdeal, in addition to its automated process of new seller registrations, has deployed teams to provide manual assistance to new sellers as they register online. Other than metros, it is seeing new seller sign-ups from business centres like Ludhiana, Surat, and Salem.

The SoftBank-backed firm said these efforts were directed towards swiftly and efficiently scaling up its operations so that liquidity is restored in the system. “We have waived penalties for delayed shipments and cancelled orders so that sellers are protected from any such levies,” said a Snapdeal spokesperson.
 

Amazon has announced waiving the commission fees charged on small sellers, by almost half. The initiative, which is valid till June 30, will benefit tens of thousands of sellers on Amazon.in.