Amazon has purchased Indian social commerce company GlowRoad in an all-cash deal, as the e-commerce giant expands its presence in one of its core international markets.
While it is preparing to investigate social commerce in India, the company is seeking to compete with Shopify in the West.
An Amazon spokesperson reportedly confirmed the GlowRoad acquisition, saying it will assist the corporation meet its goal of digitising the country’s 10 million enterprises by 2025.
As reported by Tech Crunch, the American behemoth, which has poured over $6.5 billion into its activities in India, said: “Amazon continues to explore new ways to digitise India and delight customers, micro-entrepreneurs and sellers and bringing GlowRoad onboard is a key step in this direction.”
The company claimed that Amazon and GlowRoad will work together to help millions of creators, homemakers, students and small business owners around the country become more entrepreneurial.
It also noted that GlowRoad’s highly popular service will be enhanced by Amazon’s technology, infrastructure and digital payment capabilities, resulting in increased efficiency and cost savings for everyone.
The Indian firm distributes products to clients at wholesale costs and assists them in reselling them on social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp. It also gives them access to a logistical network to assist with product delivery and the ability to collect cash.
GlowRoad claims to have established a network of over six million resellers, who earn an average of Rs 35,000 per month, according to its website. Earlier this month, it said the company will expand into some Southeast Asian markets.
Co-founder Shekhar Sahu reportedly said his organisation is dedicated to fostering more “homepreneurs” and introducing a diverse range of unique and unbranded vendors to the platform.
“Even after four years, we have just scratched the surface, and there’s so much more to do,” he added.
According to data analytics platform Tracxn, the four-year-old firm has raised around $32 million in previous investments and counts Accel, CDH, Vertex, and Korea Investment Partners among its supporters.
However, regarding the acquisition, the amount paid by the American giant is still unknown, but according to the report, it was understood that GlowRoad’s employees will join Amazon.
This news comes as Amazon’s rival in India, Walmart-owned Flipkart aggressively ramps up its own social commerce platform, Shopsy, in the country.
According to industry estimates, a number of businesses, like SoftBank and Facebook-backed Meesho and Alpha Wave Global, as well as Tiger Global-backed Dealshare, operate in the social commerce field and have a greater market share than Shopsy.
Read all the Latest Business News here
Comments
0 comment