India's Flipkart to rope in 1.2 lakh new sellers by December 2021

Currently, the Flipkart marketplace supports digital commerce for 3.75 lakh sellers and is steadily working towards taking this number to 4.2 lakh sellers on its platform by the year end. Since the pandemic, the Flipkart marketplace has seen an encouraging response from MSMEs who want to take their business online with e-commerce. The new sellers and MSME base predominantly come from tier 2 and 3 markets such as Agra, Indore, Jaipur, Panipat, Rajkot, Surat, and many others. The Flipkart marketplace platform has also witnessed the rise in categories such as general merchandise, home and kitchen, and personal care, Flipkart said in a press release.

Each of these 1.2 lakh new sellers have the potential to generate additional 4 lakh direct and indirect jobs in the ecosystem, unlocking the potential of e-commerce as a sector contributing to economic growth. To support the business continuity and growth of these sellers during the festive season, Flipkart has enabled a next-day payment programme that allows sellers to receive their order payments within a day. Sellers can avail of a 30-day free trial on this programme. Should the seller choose to continue availing the programme beyond this period, a nominal transaction fee will be applicable for the extended period. This construct allows a continuous flow of working capital for the sellers, many of whom face financial challenges that hinder their business growth.

Further, as part of the company’s Growth Capital seller financing programme, Flipkart is offering sellers customised offerings from its lenders based on projected growth. This will not just ensure the necessary financial aid that a seller will need to boost their supply for the festive season but will also enable them to reach their desired potential during the upcoming Big Billion Days sales. These loans come with low rates of interest to make them more accessible to MSMEs selling on the platform. Flipkart also hosted a 45 day-long learning and development event for its pan-India seller base to apprise them with best practices and insights to boost their business during the upcoming festive season and giving sellers, MSMEs, micro-businesses, women entrepreneurs, artisans, weavers, and handicraft makers an opportunity to further grow their business and reap the benefits of e-commerce.

“The value of digital commerce and the potential it has to enable small businesses to grow rapidly is well known and accepted. It is encouraging to see that small businesses continue to put their trust in the Flipkart e-commerce marketplace and are seeing accelerated growth. This festive season, MSMEs and seller ecosystems across the country have come forth even more resilient and rejuvenated and we are excited to support their learning, financial, operational and business needs as they offer a wide selection of products on our platform. Our continuous effort is to ensure that every small business, MSME, women-entrepreneur, artisan, weaver or handicraft marker is an active participant in the upcoming festive season. We are also very excited to see partnership with Kiranas growing rapidly as part of our last-mile delivery programme,” Rajneesh Kumar, chief corporate affairs officer at Flipkart said.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (GK)