Amazon India is preparing for what it thinks will be a successful festive season, with demand expected to exceed last year's levels due to positive consumer mood, according to the ecommerce company's Vice President of Operations, Abhinav Singh. In an interview with PTI, Singh discussed the "long term" India opportunity, how Amazon views competition from other ecommerce firms and quick commerce upstarts, and refuted allegations of 'deep discounts', stating that Amazon as a marketplace does not control pricing, which is solely the responsibility of sellers on the platform.

Singh declined to comment particularly on the Competition Commission of India's (CCI) anti-trust probe, but stated that Amazon maintains a high level of legal compliance.

Singh stated that Amazon sees India as a "long term opportunity" with "huge" potential, and that the company is dedicated to growing a major business, digitizing millions of merchants, reaching enormous expanses of customers, and establishing a wide network of entrepreneurs.

"It's a long-term, big opportunity...Consider the perspective of a billion people, with an economy that is quickly becoming the third-largest. So, from that standpoint, India has a lot going for it...it's really optimistic for me as an Indian, and it really motivates me to come here and assist alter the digital infrastructure and contribute to the government's Digital India agenda," Singh added.

Ahead of the forthcoming festive season, Amazon India is also improving its logistics network and fulfillment center network - the scaling of infrastructure and capacity construction is targeted at increasing delivery times and supporting merchants by bringing variety closer to customers.

Amazon recently stated that it has generated over 110,000 seasonal job opportunities throughout its operations network to satisfy increased consumer demand over the approaching holiday season. These include both direct and indirect occupations in places like Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, and Chennai, among others.

Over the last five years, since Amazon began cooperating with the Indian Railways, the flow of Amazon India shipments on railway lanes has increased 15-fold. It is worth noting that, following Manish Tiwary's departure, ecommerce behemoth Amazon announced that Samir Kumar will take over as national manager for India.

According to the company's leadership update, Kumar is working closely with Manish Tiwary on the transition and will take over operational duties in India on October 1.

When asked about the claims of predatory pricing and huge discounts leveled against the corporation, Singh stated that Amazon, as a marketplace, has no influence over price, which is entirely up to sellers.

"We have a very high threshold for compliance, and we make every effort to comply with every single law of the land...in terms of predatory pricing or steep discounts (allegations), we do not manage price as a marketplace. Sellers choose to sell their things at a level that suits them. So, yeah, I don't have anything further to say about this," he stated.

The US ecommerce behemoth is facing increased competition in India from players such as Flipkart and SoftBank-backed Meesho, as well as an influx of quick commerce firms such as Blinkit and Zepto, which are making aggressive inroads into the market as busy consumers prefer the convenience of instant delivery of groceries and other household items.

Singh, on the other hand, stated that competition does not drive or define Amazon's strategy; rather, Amazon places a strong emphasis on customer experience and network and infrastructure improvement.

"...what we should be worrying about is whether we are providing the finest consumer experience possible. And there is ingenuity all around us, and we are inspired by it, we learn from it, and we want to ensure that we continue to be the trusted marketplace where consumers come to buy...and our focus is on the quickest variety at the fastest pace," Singh added.