Nielsen study shows Amazon sellers preparing to invest in hiring, expect business recovery

Amazon today shared findings of a special study commissioned by the company to gauge expectations of SMBs sellers selling on Amazon from the upcoming festive season and how they are preparing for it. The study was conducted by Nielsen amongst 2000+ Amazon sellers from 12th – 22nd September, 2020. Carried out in English and regional languages, the study covered sellers from 17 cities pan India including Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Indore, Nagpur, Coimbatore, Kochi, Patna, Jaipur and Rajkot. 98% of the contacted sellers (2036) are looking to leverage ecommerce during festive season.

Following are the top expectations of the surveyed Amazon sellers (2001) from this festive season:

• 89% mentioned reaching out to new customers
• 85% mentioned an increase in sales
• 74% mentioned a recovery of business post the lockdown
• 78% mentioned an increase in visibility of products
• 29% of the surveyed sellers are planning to make additional investments to have a successful festive season.

Out of that:

◆ 62% sellers are planning to invest in seasonal hiring to meet the surge in demand; the percentage is higher in non-metro cities where 76% sellers said they will invest in seasonal hiring.

◆ 69% of sellers who plan to invest in seasonal hiring plan to hire at least 5 people this festive season.

◆ 23% sellers plan to hire over 25 people

◆ 62% sellers are planning to invest in training of personnel

◆ 59% sellers are planning to invest in boosting inventory and warehousing

◆ 77% plan to invest in marketing related activities

• 48% of the surveyed sellers will be selling on Amazon during festive season for the first time.
• From the sellers who will be selling during the festive season again this year; 75% expect an increase in sales this year
• 57% of them expect a double digit growth in their business this festive season compared to last year.
• Nearly 30% expect over 25% growth in business compared to the festive season last year
• 27% of the surveyed sellers will be launching new products this festive season
• 63% of the sellers planning to launch new products will be launching at least 3 new products this festive season.
• The percentage is higher for sellers from non-metro cities with 68% of the sellers planning to launch new products will be launching at least 3 new products this festive season.

Manish Tiwary, VP, Amazon India commented on the findings, “One of our key metrics for festive season events is how our sellers gain and this festive season, helping our sellers recover and accelerate this business is more important than ever before. The findings from the study indicate that our efforts are in alignment with the needs and requirements of sellers and small businesses. As we navigate the new normal, ecommerce is rightly placed to service customers in the safety of their homes, create new opportunities for businesses to reach a wider set of customers across India, and generate greater value for their products.”

'To be Honest’ is a Noida based 100% real fruit & veggie snacks brand that sells both offline and through ecommerce. The Co-Founder of ‘To Be Honest’, Ritika Agrawal says, “We have been associated with Amazon for over a year, and our presence on the marketplace helped us balance the disruption caused by the pandemic. With Amazon, we get orders from some of the remotest corners of the country which would otherwise have taken us years to achieve through offline retail channel. During the lockdown, when traditional channels had seen a decline, we saw 3X growth in our Amazon sales. I feel the upcoming festive season will be extremely critical for the revival of Indian businesses. We are looking forward to launch a new range of products this festive season on Amazon and bounce back from the recent challenges.

Vinod Kumar President – India SME Forum said, “The study indicates what we have been emphasising over the last 4 months, the importance of digital empowerment for MSMEs. For many of them the upcoming festive season can be quite a boost, as they explore avenues like ecommerce for the first time towards ensuring safe purchasing and access to wider market. We believe that with more and more customers preferring to shop safely online; the ability of MSMEs to attract consumers online, will be key for taking employment back to pre Covid levels and the recovery and success of Indian economy.”