Ecommerce firms’ Independence Day sales flew below radar

Amazon India and Flipkart chose a muted approach to marketing their Independence Day sales to avoid further regulatory scrutiny over deep discounting practices, multiple people in the know told ET. The online marketplaces, which typically treat the I-Day sales as a precursor to aggressive campaigns that run through the festive season, stayed cautious as India’s competition watchdog probes several of the industry’s business practices, sources said.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is currently investigating allegations of deep discounting by the e-marketplaces as well as preferred treatment offered to select sellers, among others. The government is also proposing wide-ranging changes such as seeking to include related parties and logistics service providers in the definition of an ecommerce entity, ban flash sales and mandating that the listing of local alternatives be given while selling imported goods or services. These proposals have largely been criticised by ecommerce companies.