Amazon is gearing up to enter India’s flourishing fashion and lifestyle e-commerce market with a new initiative, ‘Bazaar’. This move sets the stage for intense competition with established players like Flipkart, Reliance’s Ajio, and the emerging Meesho, backed by SoftBank.

What to know: ‘Bazaar’ aims to attract sellers by offering a platform for unbranded, trendy fashion and lifestyle products without extra charges. With items priced below ₹600, Amazon’s strategy is to make these products easily accessible on its platform. The company promises sellers a wide customer base, hassle-free delivery, and no referral fees.

TechCrunch’s recent report highlights Amazon’s expanding focus on fast fashion, a sector gaining momentum in India. Inspired by global brands like Zara, H&M, and Uniqlo, Indian startups are increasingly venturing into this space. Currently, Flipkart leads this market, but Ajio, holding roughly 30% market share, is rapidly gaining ground.

Last year, Ajio introduced ‘Ajio Street’, offering a broad range of products starting at ₹199. This platform guarantees the lowest prices, free delivery, and easy returns. Additionally, Shein, a global fast-fashion leader previously banned in India, is planning a comeback through a collaboration with Reliance.

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Why does it matter? Bernstein analysts note that Ajio has captured a significant market share, but Myntra continues to dominate in active users. Despite this, there’s a notable decrease in transaction frequency on Myntra’s app, reflecting a fragmented fashion market both online and offline. Nykaa Fashion and Urbanic also play key roles, although issues with user experience and inefficient return policies have hindered Urbanic’s growth.

Amazon’s ‘Bazaar’ is a major new venture following the company’s decision to close three of its services in India in late 2022. With a $7 billion (₹58,045 crore) investment in India, Amazon plans to invest $2.3 billion (₹19,073 crore) in its e-commerce operations by 2030. This investment is modest compared to Flipkart, but Amazon is focusing heavily on AWS, aiming to invest $12.7 billion in cloud services in India by the same year.

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