GST relief to act as sales multiplier: Amazon India exec Saurabh Srivastava

Amazon India expects GST revisions to drive stronger festive demand as its Great Indian Festival starts September 23 with expanded delivery reach and seller participation

Revisions in the goods and services tax (GST) slabs will serve as a growth multiplier for the upcoming Great Indian Festival, boosting adoption and sales across categories, said Saurabh Srivastava, vice-president (categories), Amazon India. The platform’s flagship sale kicks off on September 23 — just a day after the new tax changes come into effect.

 

“We are expecting a very large positive impact on two fronts. First, the rates have been reduced across a wide range of categories, which will shape offers and deals. Second, the government has improved the ease of doing business, as sellers no longer need a physical office in every state where they want to hold inventory. On top of this, lower prices due to the GST changes will act as another multiplier,” Srivastava said on the sidelines of an event announcing the festival dates.

   

While the sale begins on September 23, Amazon Prime members will get 24-hour early access. Shoppers will be able to choose from over 100,000 products offered by more than 1.7 million sellers. Rival Flipkart’s Big Billion Days Sale also starts the same day. Srivastava noted that the festival has grown in scale and scope every year. 

 

“Last year, we saw 1.4 billion customer visits during this period. For us, Prime Day is generally a strong indicator of demand trends. This year, we recorded 18,000 orders per minute — 50 per cent higher year-on-year. We expect a similar demand pattern for the festival, but with the GST changes, the scale could be even larger.”

 

Asked whether sales of electronics and other big-ticket items have slowed ahead of the GST rollout, Srivastava said: “Whenever we announce our sale dates, there’s always a lull in high-ticket categories — that happens every year. But this time, the GST changes are more pronounced, widely publicised, and strongly backed by the government. Customers are well aware of them, so we expect a bigger spike in these categories from September 22 onwards.”

 

On the quick commerce front, Srivastava said Amazon is focused on capacity expansion in the grocery category. “We are adding capacity and expanding as quickly as possible. More importantly, the selection we’re adding is centered on everyday essentials, because that’s where demand is strongest. We are literally launching micro-fulfilment centres every day, which helps us service more pincodes.”

 

As part of its festival preparedness, Amazon also announced 45 new delivery stations in Tier-II and Tier-III cities such as Raebareli and Bulandshahr (Uttar Pradesh), Srinagar and Udhampur (Jammu & Kashmir), Ranchi (Jharkhand), and Silchar (Assam). With this addition, the company now operates around 2,000 last-mile delivery stations across India.

 

“Compared to last year, we are already delivering same-day to 50 per cent more cities and next-day to twice as many locations. The launch of 45 new delivery stations enables us to deliver faster and more reliably to customers across India, including those in smaller cities,” said Abhinav Singh, vice-president (operations), Amazon India and Australia.