RETAIL &

ECOMMERCE
What is retail and ecommerce?
Retail is the sale of products in stores, person-to-person, or through direct
mail. Ecommerce is the sale of products solely through the Internet.
Are retail and ecommerce the same?
Both mediums involve selling a product from a business to an individual.
The difference is slight:
Retail - is the sale of products in stores, person-to-person, or through direct
mail.
Ecommerce - is the sale of products solely through the Internet.
Many businesses are ecommerce and retail businesses.
Intro
Flipkart is an Indian e-commerce company, headquartered in Bangalore, Karnataka,
India, and incorporated in Singapore as a private limited company. The company
initially focused on online book sales before expanding into other product categories
such as consumer electronics, fashion, home essentials, groceries, and lifestyle products.
The service competes primarily with Amazon's Indian subsidiary and domestic rival
Snapdeal. As of May 2021, Flipkart held a 31.9% market share of India's e-commerce
industry. Flipkart has a dominant position in the apparel segment, bolstered by its
acquisition of Myntra, and was described as being "neck and neck" with Amazon in the
sale of electronics and mobile phones. Flipkart also owns PhonePe, a mobile payments
service based on the UPI.
In August 2018, U.S.-based retail chain Walmart acquired a 77% controlling stake in
Flipkart for US$16 billion, valuing Flipkart at around $20 billion.
Interesting Stats
• As of today, Flipkart employs over 4500 people
• It experiences 2 million unit sales and 4 million unique visitors per month with sales
growing at 25% per month, eyeing a $50 million run rate
• With close to 11.5 million titles, Flipkart is the largest online book retailer in India
with 80 per cent market share
• It has a registered user base of two million customers and ships out as many as
30,000 items a day, clocking daily sales of Rs 2.5 crore
• Flipkart is rapidly expanding its network of warehouses, distribution centers,
procurement operations and 24/7 customer support teams. The company even has its
own delivery network in 27 cities and is set to expand this even further by next year
 STP ANALYSIS
Segmentation:
All internet users and shoppers
Targeting:
Flipkart concentrates on more psychographic, which helps in deciding where to display ads
online
They target online shoppers and people who don’t online shop (thus TVC to encourage them)
Positioning:
Customer delight (low price, free shipping, replacement of faulty products)
No kidding no worries
Online megastore
One stop solution
House brands
Flipkart operates several house brands, including Citron (home
appliances) and Digiflip (formerly for electronics and accessories). In
2017, Flipkart launched additional house brands, including Billion
(smartphones), Smartbuy (electronics accessories, effectively
replacing Digiflip), and MarQ (for large appliances, although its
launch was complicated by a trademark dispute with an existing
company, Marc Enterprises).
In 2019, Flipkart began selling Nokia-brand televisions. A 55-inch,
Android TV-based 4K Smart TV was the first product released under
that licensing agreement. A 43-inch TV was unveiled on 4 June 2020.
 SWOT Analysis
Strength Opportunities
Top Indian ecommerce portal Already working towards customer delight will
obtain customer loyalty gradually
Diversified into electronic goods
Supplier database interface with flipkart website for
Two VC investment to build its own delivery system JIT procurement
thereby reduce delivery time
Mobile internet usage is increasing there by chances
Cash on delivery which is making 60% of its income of increase in sales through mobile shopping.
Weakness Threats
Coordination with suppliers and courier was tough Small players and emerging competitor
Price biasing to maintain the margins ( eg. Low Major players like Amazon
price for the best seller book and more price for the
least wanted) In capabilities to manage certain costs like delivery
cost, bank charges
24/7 customer care, thus even mid night is to
delivered within 24 hours
 Marketing Strategies
• Word of mouth (initial marketing even now they want • Payment convenience
to satisfy customer so they come back for more)
• Cash/card on delivery – there by encouraging students
• Good use of SEO and people with no credit/debit card to purchase in
flipkart, with mobile internet penetration there is
• Flipkart says “We DO NOT sell old books or used chances of capturing rural market (60% revenue by
books. All the books listed at Flipkart.com are new COD)
books. The books listed at Flipkart.com are NOT
available for free download in ebook or PDF format” • EMI – two types of instalments (3 / 6 months) there by
targeting price sensitive customers
• Thus when you search free ebooks or pdf books old or
used books flipkart will be displayed. • Wallet – customer can recharge money online and
purchase then and when needed those entering details
• Good use of SEM always is rectified, target heavy purchase and luxury
customer
• Ads at proper places and use pay per click to pay for
ads • Customer conversion rate is so high more than 70%
• Very easy web interface • Personalisation of the user page
• Product recommendation with your previous
purchases
 Branding
Flipkart logo has a simple, yet an elegant design.
The colours blue and yellow are now synonymous with Flipkart's identity. The shopping cart with
the wheels communicate an idea of a shopping megastore that delivers products on time.
Flipkart's Tagline has changed over the years to redefine its brand positioning.
Tagline - Ab Har Wish Hogi Poori
Flipkart via its TVC's communicated an idea of a safe and easy shopping experience online. It
showcased kids as adults to communicate that anyone can use the website to make a purchase.
"No Kidding. No Worries"
The campaign highlighted the advantages offered by the portal, including guarantee of original products, cash-on-
delivery and 30-day replacement policy. Through the campaign, Flipkart targeted a new set of consumers, mainly
people who had not shopped online yet.
"Shopping ka naya address"
The campaign aimed to make Flipkart a preferred shopping destination. The double edged nature of the line worked to
suggest www.flipkart.com as the new address for shopping and home as the best place to shop from.
"Ab sirf shopping nahi, Flipkart karo"
Flipkart has now come up with a new TVC campaign India Wants To Know!, drawing inspiration from Arnab
Goswami’s (Editor-in-Chief and News anchor, Times Now) famous TV debate, Newshour.
The campaign is running a teaser “Ab sirf shopping nahi Flipkart karo”, which tried to position Flipkart as a synonym
for convenience led online shopping.
The ad doesn’t only plans to inspire the people to shop via Flipkart, but is also promoting online shopping as a whole
by talking of why do online shopping. The justification with brand Flipkart is optimum in this set of new TVCs.
 FLIPKART FOUNDERS
Sachin Bansal is an Indian entrepreneur. He is
best known as the co-founder of Flipkart, that was
acquired by Walmart at $16 billion in 2018.
During his over 11 year career at Flipkart, Bansal
was CEO and chairman. In 2018, Bansal exited
Flipkart following the Walmart deal.

Binny Bansal is an Indian billionaire Internet

entrepreneur. In 2007 he co-founded the e-
commerce platform Flipkart with Sachin Bansal
and served as the chief operating officer until 11
January 2016 and was then promoted to chief
executive officer.
•
Promotion
A unique tool of Sales Promotion known as "Affiliate" on their website.
The Flipkart affiliate program is a great way for another website to earn
commissions by placing product banners or links on their own website to
refer users to the Flipkart.com website. They can earn up to 15% every
time a user clicks on the banner/link and makes a purchase on our site.
• Flipkart very wisely used SEO (Search Engine Optimization) andGoogle
Ad-words as the marketing tools to have a far reach in the online world.
• Flipkart also sends direct mails and newsletters to its registered
customers informing about the latest offers, deals of the day or any other
promotional offer being run by the website.
• Social networking sites such as twitter and facebook. Flipkart's facebook
page recently reached 2 million likes.
• Focused on Print and TVC from 2011 onwards.
• Launched their first campaign in tvc on 05/05/2011 with the concept of
Granny, Mouse, Magic presenting "The Concept of Getting Books
Delivered at Doorsteps" at just one click of the Mouse through a Fairy-
Tale.
• Launched their second campaign "No kidding. No worries” that they are
serious about their promises and make shopping experience safe,
delightful and easy.
• The new commercial for Flipkart (by Happy Creative Services) takes a
dig at the current situation in Indian news channels. It is funny, yet at the
same time delivers the brand message.
• Flipkart also uses other viral marketing strategies to create a buzz. It uses
trend words and hashtags to curate user generated content. One popular
trending hashtag that Flipkart asks its customer to use when they recieve
a product is #LWFD, which stands for Look What Flipkart Delivered.
Flipkart then creates a storyboard using such user generated content and
gets a lot of positive PR.
 Pricing Techniques
• Roughly about 5-7% profit per • Special discount and promotion
book order. This indicates that codes for loyal customers
generation of revenue is on
volume basis. • As shipping is within India the
shipping cost reduces
• Differentiated themselves by
giving best selections, best • Seasonal and festive discounts.
services at lowest best possible Eg. Diwali, Christmas, Republic
prices Day and Independence day
offers.
• Discounts up to 35% across all
categories • Free shipping
• Upper edge in competitive • For expensive products transit
pricing cost is borne by company
The most important thing
• Deal of the dayis you pay what you see online while selecting your products.
The product prices here include everything and no hidden extra costs are involved in
such transactions and if you get some Flipkart coupons you can save money on your
purchase. You can shop from any place in the globe. However, the products can be
delivered to addresses only within India as Flipkart is not into international deliveries
yet. If the amount of your order is equal to or exceeds Rs. 200, the delivery is completely
free. Orders with amount lesser than Rs. 200 will cost you delivery fees of Rs. 30 only.
Competitor Analysis
LIFE @ FLIPKART
Interviewing At Flipkart
Intro
• Amazon is an American e-commerce company, headquartered in Seattle, Washington, U.S.
and incorporated in Singapore as a private limited company.
• It is an American multinational technology company which focuses on e-commerce, cloud
computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It is one of the Big Five companies
in the U.S. information technology industry. The company has been referred to as "one of
the most influential economic and cultural forces in the world", as well as the world's most
valuable brand.
•  It is the world's largest online marketplace, AI assistant provider, live-streaming platform
and cloud computing platform. Amazon distributes a variety of downloadable and streaming
content through its Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Music, Twitch, and Audible subsidiaries.
Amazon also has a publishing arm, Amazon Publishing, film and television studio Amazon
Studios, and a cloud computing subsidiary, Amazon Web Services.
Interesting Stats
• By the end of its first month, Amazon had sold books to all 50 states in the US and 46 countries,and
was earning $20,000 per sales.
• The company went public in 1997 and acquired 44 companies in the ensuing 15 years.
• Amazon generates 61% of its sales through the North American market, and the company holds 45%
of that region’s eCommerce market share.
• More than 50% of traffic to Amazon is direct or organic traffic. Only 5% of users visit the site via
referrals.
• Amazon Prime demographics indicate make up the majority of Prime users, and Prime users make up
65% of overall Amazon users.
• 66% of online users begin their search on Amazon, and 82% claim it is the most important online
retail store.
• Amazon lent over $1 billion USD to small and medium-sized businesses in 2019 to fuel their growth.
STP ANALYSIS

Segmentation:
Amazon's segmentation is based on actual purchase behaviour: not what people might have
expressed interest in, but what they actually did
Targeting:
Amazon's micro-level segmentation targets each customer individually, allowing the company
to convert visitors into long-term, high-value customers.
Positioning:
 Amazon's Positioning Strategy was Low-price, extraordinary convenience, instant access,
and comprehensive selection. 
MERGERS AND ACQUISTIONS
• After the dot-com bubble burst on March 11, 2000, several companies that Amazon had
invested in went bankrupt, with Amazon's stock price itself sinking to record lows. Despite
Amazon's survival, the company made very few investments for the next several years, only
acquiring two companies between 2000 and 2004. The company returned to making
multiple acquisitions per year in 2005, focusing on acquiring digital retailers and media
websites. Starting in 2011, Amazon began shifting its focus to buying technology startups to
develop and improve Amazon Echo and grow its Amazon Web Services division.
• Amazon has diversified its acquisition portfolio into several market sectors, with its largest
acquisition being the purchase of the grocery store chain Whole Foods Market for $13.7
billion on June 16, 2017
AMAZON FOUNDER
• Jeff Bezos , American entrepreneur who played a key role
in the growth of e-commerce as the founder and chief
executive officer of Amazon.
• With a net worth of around US$205 billion as of
November 2021, he is the second-wealthiest person in the
world
 SWOT Analysis
Strength Relying on distributors exposes Amazon to a
 Strong brand name
wide range of issues
Differentiation and Innovation . Opportunities

Cost Leadership  strong value chain system which Amazon can improve competitiveness against big
also helps in maintaining a low-cost structure. box retailers and engage customers with the brand.

Superior logistics and distribution systems Can do backward Integration by expanding its
production of in-house brands such as Amazon basics
Weakness Threats
 Online retail businesses have become quite  Aggressive competition with big retail firms
common in this digital world. As its offerings like Walmart and eBay
increase, it is becoming a challenge for Amazon
to vet each product and guarantee the highest  Increasing cybercrime can affect the network
level of safety. security system of the company.
Marketing Strategies
• Offering the widest range of products. The largest internet retailer in the world by revenue
offers hundreds of millions of products. The majority, 58% of products offered in Amazon
platform are from third-party sellers.
• Using customer-friendly interface. The tech giant has an advanced interface that integrates
personalized recommendations and recent browsing history, among others.
• Scaling easily from small to large. The e-commerce and cloud computing company has
experience and competence in scaling from small to large. This factor plays in instrumental
role exploring new business segments.
• Exploiting affiliate products and resources. Up to date, the tech giant has taken a full
advantage of affiliate products and resources to contribute to the bottom line of the business.
Marketing Strategies
• Amazon 7ps of marketing mainly focuses on product and place elements of the marketing mix.
Offering hundreds of millions of products in the USA alone, Amazon product range is the widest
among online and offline retailers. Moreover, the company is able to offer its products for competitive
prices due to massive cost savings based on online nature of business operations.
• Amazon segmentation targeting and positioning practices are associated with targeting the widest
customer segment. The retail giant does this with the application of multi-segment, adaptive and
anticipatory positioning techniques.
• Amazon’s unique selling proposition integrates the widest choice of products and services offered at
competitive prices, fast delivery and exceptional customer service. The e-commerce giant places these
unique selling propositions at the core of its marketing communication messages.
• Amazon marketing communication mix integrates print and media advertising, sales promotions,
events and experiences, public relations and direct marketing. The company places a particular focus
on print and media advertising and sales promotions elements of the marketing communication
channels.
AMAZON’S SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
Amazon promotes its products on social media, successfully tapping into the social networks’
audience and linking them back to their product pages for the sale.
In today’s times, everyone is on social media. To engage with its audience better it has
partnered with several micro and macro-influencers of the country as well.
1. Amazon on Facebook
There are 10 million fans who follow Amazon India on Facebook. It uses Facebook mainly
for posting company updates and promotions. It uses aggressive promotion strategies to
promote its Sale Days. It also stays relevant by putting out topic-based posts. Let’s now
understand its Facebook marketing campaigns in detail.
AMAZON’S SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
• Sales Day Promotions
Amazon announces various sales such as Freedom Sale around independence day and various
other sales during a particular year. This year it introduced BookBazaar Sale, Apni Dukaan Sale,
Wardrobe Refresh Sale, and many more.
• Topical Promotions
Amazon also celebrates festivals and other memorable days such as Doctors Day, Mothers Day,
Fathers Day, Raksha Bandhan, Holi, Diwali, and many more
• Highlights of Amazon’s Stories
Amazon motivates and supports those with small businesses who become the most inspiring
entrepreneurs and sellers. In the below image, Monika Agarwal is one of the inspiring sellers of
Amazon who tells her story- she owns Swara Creations, in Mumbai, which offers traditional and
modern fashion accessories.
Branding
• The design of the arrow in the Amazon logo actually serves a double purpose, though, in
that it is also made to look like a smile. When combined with the rest of the design, the
entire logo symbolizes a very subtle resemblance to a face. Research has shown that humans
have incredible facial recognition and has also shown that we place a lot of trust in a smiling
face
• The word Amazon means “Massive,” and that’s what Amazon wants to portray. They sell
everything from A to Z. The “Smile” also goes from the A to the Z and represents the smile
that Amazon puts on their customer’s faces. Amazon is super focused on positive customer
experiences.
Promotion
Search engine optimization (SEO)
             
Besides advertising online, Amazon also maximizes the
presence of its product listings in search results (both on
Amazon and Google) with SEO. With higher rankings in search
results, Amazon captures more traffic and sales for its brand.
Conversion rate optimization (CRO)
With CRO, Amazon discovers new ways to design its product
listings, structure its search results, and motivate its shoppers to
checkout. Since Amazon receives a tremendous amount of website
traffic, the company can run CRO tests — and implement the results
— fast.
COMPETITORS
eBay
• Another huge ecommerce platform that directly competes with
Amazon is eBay. The company, based in San Jose, California,
was founded in 1995.
• In recent years, eBay’s revenue has actually begun to fall, but in
2020 it experienced its best net revenue since 2013, $10.2
billion. 
• With eBay, sellers list products for sale and buyers find them in
the marketplace. EBay sellers also offer products similar to
those offered by sellers on Amazon. The big difference? EBay
Sellers can auction products or have a fixed rate. Amazon
doesn’t offer auction sales. 
COMPETITORS
Walmart
Moving closer to the discount department store concept,
another great example of an Amazon competitor is Walmart.
One of the oldest companies on this list, it was founded in
1962 by Sam Walton in Rogers, Arkansas.

Flipkart
Flipkart’s business model is very similar to Amazon’s, with the
exception of the Flipkart Plus SuperCoins reward scheme,
which, unlike Amazon Prime, is earned, rather than paid for. 
LIFE @ AMAZON
• The tech giant has dozens of corporate offices worldwide,
including ones in Santa Monica, CA, Brooklyn, NY,
Vancouver, and Mexico City. Jobs at these offices include
tech positions like software engineers and positions in
business development, mergers and acquisitions, and
corporate investments.
• Getting a coveted corporate position at Amazon is difficult.
Jeff Bezos sets a high bar for talent in the company’s hiring
practices, and people who interview there are expected to
know its 14 leadership principles. One of those principles is
“Customer Obsession,” which Amazon’s website describes
as “working vigorously to earn and keep customer trust.”
LIFE @ AMAZON
• Amazon warehouse employees are typically assigned the roles
of pickers or packers. Pickers pull merchandise off shelves and
place them on conveyor belts, while packers package products,
give them labels, and send them down conveyor belts to be
taken to delivery drivers.
• Emily Guendelsberger, a journalist, took a job as a picker at an
Amazon warehouse and then gave a first-hand account in a
2019 book called On the Clock, and it painted a rather grim
picture.
LIFE @ AMAZON
• The Amazon jobs that have gotten the most media
attention have been those at the company’s fulfillment
centers, which is its nickname for warehouses. Amazon
has about 75 huge fulfillment centers in North America
that employ more than 125,000 full-time workers.
• The tech company utilizes a variety of building types for
fulfillment centers, and its largest ones are around 800,000
square feet in size. Typically, these warehouses employ
about 1,500 full-time associates. In some fulfillment
centers, Amazon employees work alongside robots that
help sort, pick, and transport packages.
Interviewing At Amazon
• Screening
You may begin your process by speaking with a recruiter. The
purpose of this call is to ensure that you’re a good fit for the role.
• Phone Interview
You will then have a phone call with either the hiring manager or
an existing product manager. Sometimes, this interviewer will not
be from the team that you applied to work on. This initial
conversation will take one hour and have two parts. First, the
interviewer would like to ensure you understand the role you
applied for. Second, you will be asked a few questions on how
you demonstrate Amazon's 14 leadership principles. 
Interviewing At Amazon
• On-Site Round
The on-site interview consists of 5 rounds, each round lasting 1 hour. You
will start off with five minutes of introductions, then 50 minutes for your
interview, followed by 5 minutes for any questions you may have for your
interviewer.
• Offer
If you've done well and there is a mutual fit, you'll receive an offer. You
will have a phone call with an Amazon recruiter 24 hours after your on-
site interview, where you will be asked for your expectations for your
compensation. Your compensation for a non-tech PM role will be a mix of
base salary, joining bonus, as well as stocks.