Amazon seeks to tap next 500 mn users in India, expands vernacular offering

At a time when only 10 per cent of India’s 1.3 billion people know English and e-commerce services have mainly been offered in that language, Amazon is betting big to reach customers in their local languages and through voice-based shopping. The aim is towards building a platform that is inclusive and accessible for the next 500 million users which mainly reside in Bharat as well as Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities and towns.

Kishore Thota, director, customer experience and marketing, Amazon India said for a diverse country like India, the 500 million customers when they come online, have unique needs and face unique challenges. These include language barriers, they prefer voice to text and are hesitant to make digital payments.