Selling on Amazon & Flipkart: The Right Strategy

About this episode

In this episode of The eCom Show, Shan A Salam explores the essential strategies for launching and scaling a direct-to-consumer brand across Indian ecommerce marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart. He breaks down the fundamental revenue formula based on traffic, conversion rate, and average order value, contrasting organic discovery tactics with paid advertising formats. Shan explains the mechanics of the Amazon Flywheel and outlines key performance metrics every seller must monitor, including Glance View Share, ACOS, TACOS, and brand search volume. The discussion highlights the critical operational differences between Amazon and Flipkart, noting Flipkart's dominance in tier-two and tier-three Indian cities and its heavy reliance on display advertising rather than search ads. Shan also analyses the advantages and drawbacks of partnering with alpha sellers, such as reserved fulfillment slots versus delayed payout cycles. Finally, he outlines practical methods for selecting the right initial marketplace, referencing several successful regional brands that scaled via marketplace channels.

Key takeaways

1. 1Ecommerce revenue on marketplaces is driven by three core levers: traffic, conversion rate, and average order value.
2. 2Relying solely on paid advertising is unsustainable over the long term, so brands must gradually reduce their percentage of ad-driven sales as organic ranking improves.
3. 3A ratio of market share to glance view share below one indicates listing conversion issues, whereas a ratio above one points to traffic or advertising budget constraints.
4. 4While search ads generate the majority of sales on Amazon, display ads drive 60 to 65 percent of sales on Flipkart.
5. 5Flipkart weighs conversion rate heavily for organic ranking, making factors like delivery turnaround time, no-cost EMI, and loyalty coins critical to visibility.
6. 6Partnering with alpha sellers on Amazon provides access to reserved warehouse space and nationwide fast delivery, but increases business costs and extends payment cycles to 30 to 45 days.
7. 7Brands should avoid spreading resources across multiple marketplaces early on and instead focus on whichever platform ranks highest in Google search results for their product category.