AMAZON BEAUTY LAUNCHES "GLOBAL STORE" IN INDIA

Reposted from BeautyMatter. Written by KELLY KOVACK

JUNE 13, 2023

E-commerce giant, Amazon has launched its "Global Store" in India, becoming the third market after China and Mexico allowing its customers to buy products sold on the US website and pay in local currency. This initiative will provide Indian consumers access to over four million products across 12 categories from international brands and make Amazon more competitive in the booming Indian e-commerce market, led by domestic rivals like Flipkart.

"Enhancing shopping experience for customers is one of the key pillars for us. With Global Store, customers in India will now have direct access to thousands of international brands," said Amazon India Vice President and Country Head, Amit Agarwal. "At present, a host of products available on Amazon US would be available in India; later on, more categories and countries from where products can be bought will be added."

According to Agarwal, this launch will make Amazon.in the single largest online destination for buying both local and global products in India.

The new Global Beauty Store is a pivotal addition for Amazon, launching with a selection of 60+ international beauty brands and over 5,000 curated products from global beauty brands like Laneige, Innisfree, L’Occitane, Paul Mitchell, and Caudalie to emerging brands like Paula’s Choice, Farmacy and Makeup Revolution.

“We are incredibly excited to unveil the Global Beauty Store on Amazon Beauty,” expressed Zeba Khan, Director of Beauty, Personal Care and Luxury Beauty at Amazon India. “This momentous occasion marks a significant stride in our quest to provide extraordinary beauty experiences to our valued customers."

Each product page on the storefront includes detailed product descriptions, ingredients list, usage instructions, and customer reviews. A sleek and user-friendly interface delivers a frictionless shopping experience and a one-stop destination for discovering international beauty brands.

Khan continued, "In an era where discerning consumers constantly seek niche international beauty brands that can conveniently reach their doorstep, our commitment to source luxury beauty products from esteemed global brands remains steadfast. With this launch, we empower our customers with a vast array of premium and exquisite beauty products, enabling them to indulge in unparalleled beauty and self-care experiences from the world’s finest beauty brands.”

The India beauty and personal care market size reached $26.3 billion in 2022. IMARC Group expects the market to reach $38 billion by 2028, exhibiting a growth rate (CAGR) of 6.45% during 2023 to 2028. The latest expansion brings Amazon one step closer to the Indian beauty consumer.

"Amazon Beauty is one of the largest categories on Amazon India and in the top three categories in terms of total numbers of units sold per month."

BY SIMRITA DHILLON, FOUNDER, SANDA BRANDS

Previously, customers could order items from Amazon's US portal to India, but they would have to pay in dollars. The new Global Amazon Store: 

• Allows customers to pay in the local currency via digital payment methods, such as credit cards, net debit cards, and net banking. For now, the company won’t offer cash on delivery—the preferred mode of payment for most Indian online shoppers. 

• Three delivery options will be offered. Priority, which takes two to four days; Expedited, which is five to 10 days; and Standard, which takes 10+ days each with different charges. 

• Global Store products will be indicated with a special badge on Amazon India’s online marketplace.

Simrita Dhillon, founder of Sanda Brands, a US company that helps international brands access India's complex consumer market, shared, "Amazon India’s dominance in the India market is now evident. In the past decade, Amazon India has garnered 200 million unique visitors. With a 76% reach in digital population and 84% new customers from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, Amazon Beauty is one of the largest categories on Amazon India and in the top three categories in terms of total numbers of units sold per month. Fifty percent of the beauty revenue is from the evolved Prime customer in India, thus a perfect target customer for international beauty brands."

Dhillon continued, "The look and feel of the store is on par with the brand store experience on Amazon US, and incorporates Amazon's unmatched last mile delivery to reach 99.3% of zip codes in India, with its densely populated areas with labyrinth streets."

The latest offering from Amazon indicates the importance the business places on the Indian market—one of Asia's fastest-growing economies. In May, the company announced its cloud computing unit would invest 1.06 trillion rupees ($13 billion) in India by the end of this decade. The latest investment follows $3.7 billion Amazon Web Services (AWS) committed market growth between 2016 and 2022. India is a key overseas market for Amazon, where it has poured over $6.5 billion into the country’s e-commerce in the past decade, carving out its piece of lucrative marketing and trying to outgun local rivals.

Re-posted from BeautyMatter.

https://beautymatter.com/articles/amazon-beauty-launches-global-store-in-india