Amazon claims 66% growth in Sept quarter; Flipkart disputes numbers

The value of goods sold by Amazon India platform rose 66 per cent year-on-year in the September quarter.  The gross sales by value also jumped 72 per cent during the quarter.

Amazon says it posted 66 per cent growth in its gross merchandise sales (GMS) between April and September. GMS indicates the sales made on an online platform out of which ecommerce companies get a cut.

According to The Times of India, Amazon's quarterly sales growth for the six-month period is higher than the Flipkart numbers made public by Naspers, one of the largest investors in the homegrown e-retailer. Naspers recently said Flipkart's gross sales during the period under review grew 43 per cent.

The company also claimed it grew at a faster pace than India's home-grown e-commerce platform Flipkart in April-September period.

However, the sales volume growth of Amazon India has actually slowed down in comparison with the preceding two quarters. During January – March and April – June quarter this year, the company's sales volume jumped 85 per cent and 88 per cent year-on-year, respectively, LiveMint reports.

Amazon denied that it lagged behind Flipkart and stated that the company continues to stay ahead of Flipkart on metrics such as app download, desktop and mobile visitors. Also, the company's video streaming service Prime Video is one of the key enablers of growth.

"We are clearly growing faster than industry peers who are posting growth at about 20-25 per cent. Authenticated data, for us and competitors, show we grew faster than competition in the six months period. We grew 66 per cent in GMS during this period, while authenticated data of rival shows they grew 43 per cent. We are also surprised by certain narratives about rival's turnaround story despite credible data showing we are growing faster," an Amazon India spokesperson said.

However, Flipkart said that the company continues to be the leader.  "Flipkart continues to outpace the industry and our growth has accelerated significantly during the July-Sep quarter on the back of a very strong festive season. This report actually refers to the Jan-June period and, as all growth data, has a lag of three months so the comparison isn't like-for-like or relevant," it said in a statement.

Amazon's claim to having grown at a faster clip does not include the other Flipkart group companies like Myntra and Jabong, where Flipkart has a clear leadership. Amazon India grew 75 per cent in overall units sold during this period, according to TOI.