© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Starting May 31, Amazon India will increase seller fees for a number of key categories like apparels, beauty, groceries and medicines, with experts saying that the hike could make products costlier on the platform as sellers are likely to pass on the increase to customers. The platform’s fees for handling product returns will also increase significantly.
“Seller fee revision are based on various factors including change in market dynamics and various macro-economic factors. As a part of our recent fee revision, we have made certain changes to our fee rate card, including introduction of new fee categories and also reduction of fees in certain categories,” said company spokesperson.
Seller fees is the commission that Amazon charges from sellers for selling their products on its platform. The move comes as the platform – like other tech companies – looks for ways to conserve cash and increase revenue channels amid a global slowdown.
Amazon has fired a total of 27,000 employees since last year. Amazon India did not respond to an immediate request for comment on what necessitated the hike.
In the beauty products vertical which includes segments like haircare, bath and shower, the commission will be hiked to 8.5 per cent for products less than Rs 300. Earlier, the platform was charging a 7 per cent fee for items less than or equal to Rs 500.
Seller fees in the apparels category – for both women and men – has also been hiked – from 19 per cent for products over Rs 1,000 to 22.5 per cent in some cases.
While platform fees for grocery items including herbs and spices has been reduced for smaller ticket purchases – a 2.5 per cent cut for items under Rs 500 compared to a 4.5 per cent fee earlier – it has been hiked in the case of a bigger basket. Currently, an item worth more than Rs 1,000 attracts an 8 per cent fee which will be increased to 9 per cent.
Prices charged from sellers for issuing refunds to customers will be hiked by as much as 40 per cent in some cases.
While Amazon does not disclose the quantum of overall returns on its platform globally, industry executives say that it is typically a big cost centre for marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart.
In the US, a National Retail Federation survey in 2021 had found that $761 billion of merchandise was returned to retailers in 2021.
