Why I cut down my shopping on Amazon
I have been a big fan of online shopping, but lately I have been feeling uneasy at how Amazon and Flipkart are growing. The two giants are annihilating the rest of the Indian market, and that’s bad as competition is always good for the customer. My worry shows in that I have had just one online purchase in the last two months, and that was directly from the manufacturer’s website.
Though I have cut down on my shopping, I’m still closely following the action in the online markets. ‘Knowing is half the battle’ as the old saying goes. Anyway, there was an interesting study a couple of weeks ago which said Indians trust online retailer Flipkart more than Amazon, though the latter offers a better customer experience. The study was by Redseer based on the India’s festival season mega sales, which happened around a month ago. I couldn’t find the original study but here’s a link that talks about it.
I have bought stuff from both Amazon and Flipkart so I was a bit curious and decided to check my orders to see who I favoured. Surprisingly, it seemed to be more or less equally distributed. That made sense as the service of both are more or less on par. At one point, the customer reviews on Amazon were better but Flipkart seems to have caught up. So what sways me simply boils down to the price. Here’s an example of my last buy, a washing machine from Flipkart.
Flipkart’s washing machine is an IFB basic model, the Diva Aqua VX. Amazon’s is not a perfect match as it’s the Diva Aqua SX. The SX seems to cost an extra ₹1000. I couldn’t figure out any other difference even after comparing them on the IFB site. But even if you factor in that extra ₹1000, the washing machine cost an extra ₹1500 on Amazon.
Besides Amazon didn’t have an exchange offer at my location. Whereas Flipkart did, exchanging my old washing machine for ₹3200 (I had to replace it as it kept stopping). Flipkart worked out a whopping ₹5500 cheaper. Or ₹4500 if you factor in the ₹1000 extra for the SX model.
Offers from banks, cards, and online wallets can also be a deciding factor. But you need to read the fine print. Amazon Pay for instance offers 20% discount but the maximum cashback you get varies (See ₹200 shown below). Whereas Flipkart’s 10% discount with my bank’s card worked out to ₹1600 off on a fitness bike. If you have the time to go through the fine print, there are lots of bargains to be had with online shopping.
It’s better to evaluate each deal on its merit, rather than who’s selling it. Not all deals are better on Flipkart. The iPhone SE is currently selling on Amazon for just ₹18000 ($283). That’s ₹3000 cheaper than Flipkart’s price of ₹21000, and $67 less than US Apple Store’s price of $349, courtesy of the Indian’s government tax exemption to Apple for assembling the phone in India. Amazon also offers an EMI scheme for ICICI bank cardholders that works out to be interest-free. The interest is given back as a 10% cashback. However the way the offer is presented (with EMI at the end of the sentence) initially misled me into believing it’s an additional 10% off. Sneaky! In online shopping, ‘Let the customer beware’ should be a mandatory warning.
Manufacturers need to make sure they don’t hand the keys to their business to Amazon. The price on IFB’s website (the washing machine maker), was ₹3000 more than the Flipkart price. Why would anyone buy from them? If manufacturers are unable to undercut retailers, they run a real risk of the Amazons turning into manufacturers and stealing their customers.
It’s already happening with Amazon Basics range of products, which promise good quality at economic prices. I tried out their lightning cable that’s certified by Apple. It’s far sturdier than my original Apple lightning cable being reinforced with nylon braiding, and I got it at less than half the cost. (Apple Stores have not yet come to India but Apple’s dedicated retailers, who sell original Apple accessories, charge even more than Amazon for Apple cables.)
Apple’s main business is not cables so I guess it can afford to ignore Amazon on this front. The thing is at the low end, products are actually more expensive on Amazon. Take the 3-pin adaptor shown below. I got it for the half the Amazon price at the local supermarket. Some manufacturers are beginning to take advantage of this opportunity. I was looking for a bluetooth headset, and saw an ad for a JBL one. Amazon doesn’t even list the product so I ordered it.
Sadly, manufacturers like JBL are not as well equipped to handle sales as Amazon. The headset I ordered from JBL was black. Five days later, I got an email saying JBL had run out of stock of black, but could send me a blue or grey. I replied with a polite no, but have yet to hear from them. This kind of poor service will send customers back to Amazon. The JBLs need to buck up.
As you can see, I’m an avid online shopper. But despite that, my last purchase on Amazon was back in Oct 17, 2017, for a pair of tennis shoes. Amazon was offering a 10% cashback (₹300) on the ₹3000 price via its online wallet.
I’m sure I will be back on Amazon, sooner or later. After all, Amazon does live up to its claim of having every product (A-Z) you are looking for. I also have an Amazon Prime membership, but that has already paid for itself via Amazon Video, and I hear Amazon Music may also be added on.
Anyway, I’m back to buying provisions at my local supermarket instead of Amazon. I think I’m paying a few rupees extra for making this choice.
But that’s fine.
If I won’t do my two bits to keep the competition alive, then who will?
