While the world’s largest online retailer Amazon is locked in a fierce battle against Flipkart to increase its footprint in India, its international losses swelled to over US$3 billion last year, up from $1.3 billion in 2016.
International sales jumped to $54 billion in 2017, up from $43.9 billion the year before, Economic Times has reported.
While the company is undoubtedly stepping up investments in India to counter Flipkart, with Amazon Seller Services receiving about $1.3 billion in 2017-18, a large portion is going to its loyalty program Prime.
Amazon said the growth of Prime members in India during its first year has been the highest it has recorded anywhere in the world and it hopes to retain these customers through the program. It also soon plans to introduce Amazon Prime Music.
Meanwhile, Flipkart has also amassed a cash reserve of $4 billion after getting $2.4 billion from Softbank’s Vision Fund in July 2017. The world’s biggest retailer Walmart is also reportedly keen to buy stake in Flipkart.