case study on amazon india

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How Amazon Adapted Its Business Model to India

• Vijay Govindarajan
• Anita Warren

Mom-and-pop store owners are partners, not competitors.

When Amazon decided to enter the Indian e-commerce market, it was clear from the outset that something would have to give. That something was the very business model that had made Amazon an internet powerhouse in the U.S.

• Vijay Govindarajan is the Coxe Distinguished Professor at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business, an executive fellow at Harvard Business School, and faculty partner at the Silicon Valley incubator Mach 49. He is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. His latest book is Fusion Strategy: How Real-Time Data and AI Will Power the Industrial Future . His Harvard Business Review articles “ Engineering Reverse Innovations ” and “ Stop the Innovation Wars ” won McKinsey Awards for best article published in HBR. His HBR articles “ How GE Is Disrupting Itself ” and “ The CEO’s Role in Business Model Reinvention ” are HBR all-time top-50 bestsellers. Follow him on LinkedIn . vgovindarajan
• AW Anita Warren is a business writer and marketing consultant in New Hampshire.

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Home » Business » Start Online Store » Amazon Case Study: Amazon Business Model In India

Amazon Case Study: Amazon Business Model In India

From selling books online in 1994 to becoming the world’s largest e-commerce company, Amazon has certainly come a long way. In a complex Indian market which is full of opportunities, most economic experts counted Amazon off when it was about to enter India in 2013. However, the e-commerce giant surprised everyone by registering a six-fold jump in sales revenue to Rs 1,022 crore in 2014-15 from INR 169 in its first year of operations (2013-14) in India. How did Amazon India become so successful in such a diverse economy? What was the business model that led Amazon to hit a revenue of INR 1,769 crore in the 2020-21 period? We have got all these answers and more in this blog. Keep reading for an insightful case study on Amazon business model in India.

Before we move on to the Amazon India business case study and its aspects, first let us go through how Amazon has evolved as an e-commerce giant over the last few years. 

Table of Contents

Origin of Amazon in India

Amazon.com, an American international e-commerce company, was started by the computer scientist Jeffrey P. Bezos in the year 1994. The online shopping platform initially started as a bookstore and soon expanded and became  the everything store . It went online in 1995 and issued an IPO in May 1997. Amazon was launched as  Amazon India  in India in  June 2013 . Since its launch in India, Amazon has built the most prominent online marketplace in the country.

Amazon India covers every serviceable pin-code in India for the delivery of its products. Moreover, It has the largest storage capacity in India, with 41 fulfilment centres across 13 states. Also, as a matter of fact, there are more than 20,000 Indian sellers on Amazon marketing their products worldwide.

Amazon Value Proposition

The value proposition provided by Amazon is simple. They primarily offer convenience, the widest range of products and the lowest prices. Their prices are so low that they have displaced Walmart as being the leader in the low-price category! The amazing part about Amazon is that they deliver goods at extremely low cost without compromising on quality by any means. But, how does it do that? 

Amazon makes the lowest prices possible by leveraging technology in such a way that it does not have to stock inventory of any kind. While other stores are reeling under the massive cost burdens of stocking inventory, Amazon can afford to undercut the competition on the same.

Hence, Amazon can be termed as a mix of a retail company and a technology company. Unlike retail companies, Amazon rarely hires stock clerks and floor managers. Their employees have high technological skills including optimised software development, data mining, data analysis and more.

Amazon Business Model

Amazon opted for a marketplace model, to begin with. The marketplace model provides small businesses with a huge scaling opportunity without having to build the technical or operational infrastructure of scale. 

Now Amazon is the largest marketplace in the world selling over 40 categories of goods, from books to electronics, auto parts to jewellery and even groceries. 

The company is also an internet technology platform, a fulfilment and logistics platform, a search technology, an internet advertising platform and even an internet startup breeding hub. 

In terms of operating income, the growth is mainly driven by the high margins deriving from the service sales. By looking in-depth at the revenue sources, subscription and Amazon AWS services have accelerated the income growth.

Amazon Revenue Model

Amazon has a diverse revenue model.

• The primary source of revenue for Amazon is the commissions and fees that it obtains by making the customers and sellers meet. Amazon doesn’t sell a lot of stuff on its own. It just provides a marketplace guaranteeing a standardised experience for both the buyers as well as the sellers.
• Amazon additionally derives a huge chunk of its revenue from affiliate programs. Amazon provides affiliates with stores within their sites. It then charges a larger commission on their sales.
• The e-retail giant also sells advertising space on its website. The Amazon site is one of the most visited pages in any region. Hence, sellers can expect to boost sales by advertising on it. This is a miniscule portion of the revenue that is generated by this company but is nonetheless significant.
• Moving forward, Amazon also makes a huge chunk of money from the Kindle marketplace. Their internally-developed tablet-like device, Kindle, is widely used by readers who prefer e-books. Thanks to this device, Amazon has a 75 percent market share in the eBook market. This market is the most profitable one for Amazon.
• AWS or Amazon Web Services offers cloud enterprise solutions for businesses, and is currently one of the world’s biggest and most popular cloud technology platforms. 
• The first and a popular one is the video streaming platform – Prime Video (launched in 2016 in India), which streams movies and other video content online. 
• Secondly, Amazon Prime members are entitled to lightning-fast delivery of the products purchased from Amazon. Hence, giving the users premium experience and extra convenience.

The revenue model of Amazon is therefore very dynamic. It has been repeatedly venturing into newer areas. Also, technology is the backbone of these newer sources of revenue which many retailers had not thought about earlier.

Is the Amazon Business Model Scalable?

The business model of Amazon is not a capital-intensive model. It also doesn’t depend extensively on human resources. This makes it scalable. Amazon can easily enter another country and start selling products and it requires very little groundwork. This is the reason that Amazon went from being an American company to being a multinational in such a short period of time. This asset-light business model is also preferred by investors who have pumped in billions of dollars for Amazon to beat its competition with its deep pockets.

Does Amazon Face Close Competition?

Amazon faces a wide variety of competition from different types of companies apart from the brick-and-mortar stores. E-commerce sites like Flipkart, Jio-Mart are the closest competitors in the retail space, and video streaming sites like Netflix are in the entertainment space. However, none of these competitors seems to be formidable. Amazon is the aggressor in almost all lines of business and is consistently taking over the competition in every industry that it is operating.

How Is Amazon a Technology Company?

• Amazon has always been at the center of several technological advancements since its inception in 1994. 
• Starting from optimised inventory planning through technology to selling cloud SaaS to enterprises, it has always been a technology company. 
• In 2016, they pioneered a new technology in the U.S. called contactless stores. These stores have been branded as “Amazon Go” stores. The unique selling point of these stores is that there are no humans involved. 
• Amazon has achieved such high levels of automation that they can run an entire departmental store without having any employees.

It is technological advancements like these that will allow Amazon to reach its ambitious revenue targets. Although at first, the revenue targets seem ludicrous, Amazon seems to have a plan!

Why is Amazon Synonymous with E-Commerce in India?

Amazon performs exceptionally efficiently in terms of revenue per visitor, which is one of the key plans for any commercial website. That allows the company to grow fully to its potential and market its services optimally. Additionally, Amazon is a brand well respected for prices and customer convenience. It has accumulated technological expertise in retailing and customer management technology. 

Achieving customer loyalty and repeated purchases has been the key to Amazon’s triumph. Many ecommerce store failed because they succeeded in achieving awareness, but not loyalty. Amazon achieved both.

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Case Study 6: Junglee.com: Amazon’s Entry in India

• First Online: 01 January 2013

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• Sanjit Kumar Roy 4 &
• Rajdeep Chakraborti 5  

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On February 02, 2012, Amazon.com announced the launch of its much awaited Indian website called Junglee.com (Junglee means “wild” in Hindi). Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Amit Agarwal (Amit), VP, Amazon.com commented that, “We are excited to give customers in India a single online starting point where they can shop a wide selection of products sold by local and global retailers, and make informed purchasing decisions.” True to the promise, Junglee.com was comprised of a selection of a wide variety of Indian and global brands. Another unique feature of Junglee.com was that the customers had access to both online and offline buying options, including Amazon.com, in 1 place. At the time of launch Junglee.com included 10.2 million products with the option of buying from hundreds of online and offline retailers, which included well known Indian retailers like Homeshop18, UniverCell, FabIndia. The current selection on Junglee consists of around 9 million books, and products worth more than US$ 3 million from approximately 14,000 Indian and global brands. The site has more than 25 product categories, including consumer durables, books, music and jewellery.

If you look at our corporate culture, we’ve always had a customer obsession, and we’ve always been pioneering. ---Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com.

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Rajdeep Chakraborti

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Roy, S.K., Chakraborti, R. (2014). Case Study 6: Junglee.com: Amazon’s Entry in India. In: Mutum, D., Roy, S., Kipnis, E. (eds) Marketing Cases from Emerging Markets. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36861-5_9

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BUSINESS MODEL OF AMAZON INDIA A CASE STUDY.

• Symbiosis Centre for Management Studies, NOIDA, Symbiosis International University, Pune.
• Cite This Article as
• Corresponding Author

Amazon is an American international e-commerce company. It was started by Jeffrey P. Bezos in the year 1994. And it was launched in India in June 2013. Three years back, Amazon had no infrastructure in India, and now it dominates the Indian markets. At the very start it was perception of investors that in India It will not go long like China as in the year 2004 when Amazon entered in China it hasn?t seen much success there with Alibaba, its Chinese competitor, dominating the e-commerce market. After its bad run in China, Bezos is going all in for India. Fact behind formation of Amazon in India was its huge number of headcounts i.e. 1.25 billion four times as big as the U.S.?s and more than doubles Europe?s. Of these, 500 million, around 35 percent, are internet users. As per researches the yearly growth rate of internet users is highest in India around six million users join every month. Researchers expect the online shopping market in India to reach $15 billion by 2016 up from only $35 million in 2014.

• Entry and expansion strategy
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• http://fortune.com/2016/04/08/amazon-regulatory-hurdles-india/
• http://www.bgr.in/news/amazon-india-launches-tatkal-studio-on-wheels-to-help-people-sell-products-online/
• https://www.amazon.in/b?ie=UTF8&node=8520698031
• http://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/internet/amazons-studio-on-wheels-service-tatkal-to-help-people-sell-products-online/51429341
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[ Bharti Wadhwa and Anubha Vashisht, Davinder Kaur (2017); BUSINESS MODEL OF AMAZON INDIA A CASE STUDY. Int. J. of Adv. Res. 5 (Aug). 1426-1433] (ISSN 2320-5407). www.journalijar.com

Article DOI: 10.21474/IJAR01/5200       DOI URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.21474/IJAR01/5200

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BUSINESS MODEL OF AMAZON INDIA ? A CASE STUDY.

Amazon is an American international e-commerce company. It was started by Jeffrey P. Bezos in the year 1994. And it was launched in India in June 2013. Three years back, Amazon had no infrastructure in India, and now it dominates the Indian markets. At the very start it was perception of investors that in India It will not go long like China as in the year 2004 when Amazon entered in China it hasn?t seen much success there with Alibaba, its Chinese competitor, dominating the e-commerce market. After its bad run in China, Bezos is going all in for India. Fact behind formation of Amazon in India was its huge number of headcounts i.e. 1.25 billion four times as big as the U.S.?s and more than doubles Europe?s. Of these, 500 million, around 35 percent, are internet users. As per researches the yearly growth rate of internet users is highest in India around six million users join every month. Researchers expect the online shopping market in India to reach $15 billion by 2016 up from only $35 million in 2014.

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Today, the market place is flooded with several e-commerce options for shoppers to choose from. A variety of innovative products and services are being offered spoiling customers for choice. Online shopping is no more a privilege enjoyed by your friends and family living in the US or UK. Today, it is a reality in India. In the last couple of years, the growth of e-commerce industry in India has been phenomenal as more shoppers have started discovering the benefits of using this platform. There is enough scope for online businesses in the future if they understand the Indian shopper’s psyche and cater to their needs. Internet is changing the way consumers shop and buys goods and services, and has rapidly evolved into a global phenomenon. Many companies have started using the Internet with the aim of cutting marketing costs, thereby reducing the price of their products and services in order to stay ahead in highly competitive markets. Companies also use the Internet to convey, communicate and disseminate information, to sell the product, to take feedback and also to conduct satisfaction surveys with customers. Customers use the Internet not only to buy the product online, but also to compare prices, product features and after sale service facilities they will receive if they purchase the product from a particular store. Many experts are optimistic about the prospect of online business. In addition to the tremendous potential of the E-commerce market, the Internet provides a unique opportunity for companies to more efficiently reach existing and potential customers. Although most of the revenue of online transactions comes from business-to-business commerce, the practitioners of business-to-consumer commerce should not lose confidence. It has been more than a decade since business-to-consumer E-commerce first evolved. Scholars and practitioners of electronic commerce constantly strive to gain an improved insight into consumer behaviour in cyberspace. Along with the development of E-retailing, researchers continue to explain E-consumers’ behaviour from different perspectives. Many of their studies have posited new emergent factors or assumptions that are based on the traditional models of consumer behaviour, and then examine their validity in the Internet context.

Electronic commerce or E-commerce allows consumers to electronically exchange goods and services with no barriers of time or distance. More customers moved from traditional purchase to e-commerce because it is often faster and cheaper. Besides, e-commerce offers more convenience and flexible for customization option of products and services.

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LUIS DANIEL SALGADO ROMERO

maidul islam

Lisa Sainato

The purpose of this paper is to provide a case study on Amazon itself as a company; its CEO, corporate headquarters, ranking on the Fortune 500 and its financial and sales performance over the past fiscal year. This paper also seeks to provide and analysis of Amazon’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) as it relates to sustainability and CSR performance. And lastly, I will offer my opinion of Amazon’s overall level of performance as it relates to social responsibility.

International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing

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Thoughtful insights on business model components of top e-retailers based in India have been achieved through content analysis of reliable books, reports, journals and the web. Six major e-retailers are compared on the basis of monthly traffic data obtained from similarweb.com. It is observed that online retail is a meager 0.5% of overall retail in India and future potential is huge. Due to FDI restrictions all top e-retailers under this study except HS18 prefer marketplace model in pure/hybrid form and earn revenue through transaction fee. Their marketing strategy essentially includes social media and internet. They operate with lean manpower and functional departmentalisation except Flipkart which employs massive 10,000 plus employees and prefers to recruit generalists. National capital region and Bangalore are preferred locations for establishment of their headquarters. This review will be useful to businesses and researchers interested in developing/benchmarking successful e-retail business model to win and sustain competition.

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Amazon in China and India

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Amazon Business Case Study [2024]: In-depth Analysis

How does an online book retailer become a behemoth dominating the global e-commerce industry? The 28-year-old history of Amazon’s growth is a masterclass in building a successful business strategy that has revolutionised the retail experience forever! The company has achieved eponymous status with a global presence and diversified business. No wonder its sales are expected to reach an astounding USD 746.22 billion with a valuation of USD 2 trillion in 2024! From being an online bookseller headquartered in a garage to becoming the second most valuable brand in the world , the saga of this global brand is a case study in all the leading business schools.  

So what is the secret behind the explosive success of Amazon? This article provides a comprehensive case study of Amazon and its winning business strategy. 

Study Product Management Courses online from the World’s top Universities. Earn Masters, Executive PGP, or Advanced Certificate Programs to fast-track your career.

Glimpsing Back: A Brief History of Amazon

With a small team, the budding company made headway in the book-selling market by offering a wide virtual selection of books compared to brick-and-mortar stores with doorstep delivery. With a user-friendly interface, easy-to-search engine, and focus on creating a ‘virtual community,’ the business grew by leaps and bounds. The emphasis on customer choice, experience, and convenience serves the company well even today. 

The name was aspirational with a nod to the largest river in the world- Bezos’ Amazon sought to be the largest e-commerce bookseller in the world. By July 1995, Amazon was marketing itself as the “Earth’s Biggest Bookstore,” selling over one million titles to all 50 states in the US and across 45 countries . It provided stiff competition to brick-and-mortar giants like Barnes and Noble and Borders. 

The company went public with its IPO in 1997 ; since then, there has been no looking back. Since its listing, the company has significantly diversified its offering by including music, electronics, toys, kitchen utensils, clothes, and more on its e-commerce site. From the Earth’s Biggest Bookstore, Amazon shifted its tagline to “Books, Music and More.” The company expanded to Germany and the United Kingdom by purchasing online bookstores, thus increasing its revenue. At its core, the company established a dynamic, efficient, and successful distribution and logistical model that helped capture a global market.

The year 1999 marked two critical moments for Amazon. First, the company patents the “1-Click” technology allowing users to purchase a product with one click. Second, it launches the 3rd party seller marketplace to allow third-party sellers to sell their produce through Amazon. These measures exponentially increased the sales on the platform. The company’s success put Bezos on the map as he received the prestigious accolade of the “Time’s Person of the Year” in 1999 at 35 years of age. 

The company survived the dot-com bubble burst and got only stronger. In 2003, the company took a momentous step by launching Amazon Web Services , a web-hosting business, that marked its arrival into the tech business. It provides cloud computing services to individual developers, companies, and governments through the platform’s IT infrastructure. The strategic shift from an e-commerce platform to a tech company was instrumental in Amazon’s diversification strategy and revenue generation. 

The company took further measures to develop brand loyalty through its Amazon Prime program in 2005. Prime membership has since expanded its services significantly and is one of the most valuable assets for the company today. It reshaped consumer expectations and experiences of shopping across the world. 

Amazon has been on a path of extensive acquisition and alliance . From the online shoe retailer Zappos to the robotics company Kiva Systems and the grocery delivery service Whole Foods- each acquisition captured pre-existing markets and distribution networks of the acquired assets. With every move, the company strategically entered new markets, removed competitive businesses by acquiring them, made distribution and logistics more efficient, and improved consumer experience. These moves catapulted the company to a 1 trillion dollar valuation in 2018. The company’s profits surged during the pandemic as Bezos’ hourly wealth increased by USD 11.7 million . The following year, Bezos stepped down as the CEO and found his replacement in Andy Jassy, the CEO of Amazon Web Services.

Now that we know the history of Amazon, its business strategy becomes easier to decipher. Before we unravel its key business strategies, let’s look at its many businesses. 

Amazon and its Diversified Business Model

A case study of Amazon is incomplete without an understanding of the many businesses that it has a foot in. Here are the diverse businesses that help Amazon generate revenues from multiple streams and have made it a leader in the global market. 

Online retail store

Amazon began as an online seller of books, and it continues its operations as an e-commerce site. Today the site offers a variety of products for the best prices to the consumer’s doorsteps. With an easy-to-use interface, easy return policy, “1-Click” buying, customer reviews, and suggestions, the e-commerce site knits an unrivalled retail experience. 

Amazon Marketplace

Amazon opened its platform to third-party sellers who could leverage its large customer base to sell products. It brings a diversity of products to the retailer without holding inventory. Amazon would, in turn, charge the sellers a percentage of their revenue as a commission fee. It is estimated that third-party sellers generate a gross merchandise value (GMV) of USD 300 billion for the platform.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Amazon’s cloud platform offers individual developers, start-ups, established businesses, and governments a range of cloud computing services through its IT infrastructure. It is the fastest-growing business segment for the brand clocking a global net revenue of USD 80.1 billion in 2022. 

Amazon Prime

Amazon’s member subscription service offers numerous membership benefits ranging from access to digital video and music streaming, audiobook and ebook platforms, free delivery, exclusive deals, Prime Day access, and much more. The company’s global net revenue from its subscription services stood at USD 35.22 billion in 2022. 

Amazon revealed in 2022 that the advertising wing of the company had generated a revenue of USD 31.2 billion the preceding year. The company offers custom advertising solutions to customers and campaign placements across multiple channels like Fire TV placements, Amazon physical stores, the brand’s homepage, and customised destination pages.

Physical stores

Amazon made an entry into the brick-and-mortar business with the establishment of a physical bookstore in Seattle in 2015. The company has since expanded its physical presence with Amazon Go, Amazon Fresh, Amazon Go Grocery, Whole Foods Market, and Amazon Style. It has sought to transform the real-world shopping experience with its “Just Walk Out Shopping’ experience. 

Breaking Down Amazon’s Business Strategy

Amazon’s business strategy has been innovative and forward-thinking from the get-go. Its path-breaking business model has inspired many but retains its uniqueness in execution. At its core, the company has maintained its customer-centric ethos, where its customers comprise three sets: retail customers, seller customers, and developer customers.   

For a comprehensive case study of Amazon , let’s take a closer look at the secret recipe behind its success.

Customer Obsession

The company proudly proclaims that it aims to be the “Earth’s most customer-centric company.” Since its inception, Amazon has won over the trust and loyalty of its customers by perfecting its marketing mix by offering “a comprehensive selection of products, low prices, fast and free delivery, easy-to-use functionality, and timely customer service.”   As Amazon’s customer base and usage expands exponentially, the company has worked towards optimising user experience through continuous assessment and feedback mechanisms.

Diversification

Amazon has kept up with the emerging demands of the market with growth potential in the long term. Its future-oriented vision has helped the company grow by leaps and bounds by venturing into new businesses that have added to its revenue streams. From cloud computing services to OTT services and subscription-based benefits, Amazon has reinvented what a diversified business looks like. 

Expansion through partnerships and acquisitions

Amazon has continually acquired and partnered with businesses to expand its customer base, enter new markets, diversify its product offerings, eliminate competition, and gain distribution and logistical networks. From IMDB and The Washington Post to Twitch and Pillpack, Amazon has bought companies across multiple categories to gain a foothold in their markets and operations. It has helped the company scale up its functions rapidly across the globe.

Technologically-driven innovations

Initially, Amazon was written off as it was started by “computer guys” who knew nothing about selling books. However, it was a focus on innovative technology that the company grew into a tech giant dominating the e-commerce space. Whether it is the 1-Click technology, SEO, user interface, cloud computing services, Just Walk Out technology, or its e-devices, the company has optimised customer experience by leveraging technology.

Data-based metrics

Amazon has consistently relied on metrics to assess, strategise, and grow its business. Data is an invaluable currency left behind with every click by the customer. The company has effectively and efficiently amassed these data into actionable insights to improve user experience, build and improve products and services, and develop successful marketing strategies. 

Marketing strategy

A comprehensive marketing strategy has been central to Amazon’s brand-building exercise. With the right marketing mix, the brand has become a household name. Its name and logo are recognisable anywhere in the world. A continual push to diversify its portfolio, competitive pricing policy, expanding its operations, and consistent promotions through multiple channels have been integral to achieving this global status. 

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Amazon, the second-most valuable company in the world, has been almost three decades in the making. Every step and misstep has been strategic and guided by the principles of: “customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking.” This case study of Amazon has sought to highlight its history, business model, and business strategies that have gone into the making of the behemoth. Ultimately, the company is a product of the management of Jeff Bezos and Amazon’s leadership. 

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Jeff Bezos has held the position of Founder and CEO of the company. However, he inherited the position of the Executive Chairman of Amazon after resigning as the CEO of the company in 2021.

Amazon launched in India in June 2013. Initially starting its operations to serve Indians with books, films, TV shows and subscription-based services, the company further expanded its wings to become one of the leading shopping destinations for Indians.

The most important focal point of Amazon’s business strategy is its customers (retail customers, sellers, and developers) and building a customer-centric company.

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• Amazon India
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Retail Case Study: Amazon in India

• Region: India
• ID: 4787602
• Description

Table of Contents

• Companies Mentioned

Related Topics

Related reports.

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• India offers huge potential for retail expansion
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• Partnerships and exclusivity disallowed
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• This report provides an overview of Amazon’s entry into India, its key initiatives, market share and growth strategies in the country.
• Context 2019
• Amazon’s market entry
• Key Initiatives
• Market share
• Growth Strategies

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Amazon Food: Biting into the Food Delivery Market in India

Research by: Jones Mathew, Sandeep Puri, Darren Meister, and Maria Luisa C. Delayco

Amazon.com, Inc. (Amazon) India expanded Amazon Food into the food delivery market in March 2021 amid a pandemic and the ensuing lockdown. The move surprised the industry, especially considering that Swiggy and Zomato Ltd. (Zomato), the two key players in the food delivery business, were facing an all-time slump and that restaurants were seeking to move away from aggregators to create their own ordering platform. Zomato and Swiggy, a duopoly in the foodservice aggregator (FSA) space in the country, had been struggling to keep cash burn low, squeezing delivery-executive commissions, executing mass layoffs, and scaling down profit-draining cloud kitchens. Although the timing of the launch appeared risky, Amazon India’s confidence to take on the established players and challenge the status quo stemmed from its size, reach, resources, technological prowess, reliability, trust, and goodwill.  In a market scenario where safety and hygiene standards were set to change forever and the odds were stacked against FSAs, the industry and consumers were expecting a tough battle. Amazon had to reassess whether its strengths would be adequate to help it make satisfactory inroads into the industry, confront the obstacles, and overcome the ongoing slump and make good on its decision to be the new entrant when the established players were bearing the brunt of not only the pandemic but also a deeply divided restaurant industry.

Learning Objective

This case is designed for graduate-level marketing management courses covering modules on market entry strategies and competitor mapping. The case is also suitable for a marketing strategy course in modules on understanding the competitive advantage and understanding business models. This case may also be useful in a customer relationship management course to discuss customer experience, unique value proposition, and building opportunities and challenges in a digital world.

The case analyzes the timing of Amazon’s entry into the food delivery market, the strategies it is likely to adopt to challenge the established players, and the choices it has to make to provide a unique, innovative, and standout experience to customers likely looking for a change. It explores the challenges a huge online retailer faces when entering a highly competitive segment where it has no prior experience, at a time when market sentiment and economic conditions are strongly unfavourable. While the firm possesses certain significant strengths that could prove to be instrumental in its success, there are also issues it must address. Working through the case will give students the opportunity to explore the following issues:

• The logic behind Amazon India’s entry into the competitive food delivery market.
• The most appropriate business model and targeting and pricing strategies for Amazon Food to find success in India, considering there are different FSAs it can choose from.
• The distinctive value proposition Amazon Food should create for online food delivery customers in terms of “customer experience” as a differentiator.
• The nature and scope of technical and digital capabilities Amazon would need in order to succeed in the online food delivery business.
• The possible obstacles Amazon Foods might encounter on its route to success.

Disciplines: Entrepreneurship; & Strategy

To cite this case: Mathew, J., Puri, S. , Meister, D., & Delayco, M C. L. (2021). Amazon Food: Biting into the Food Delivery Market in India . Ivey ID: W25902. London, Canada: Ivey Publishing

To access this case: https://www.iveypublishing.ca/s/product/amazon-food-biting-into-the-food-delivery-market-in-india/01t5c00000D4spuAAB