Indian E-commerce Giants Shift AI Focus From Consumers to Sellers
Amazon, Flipkart, and Meesho are increasingly investing in AI tools designed to support sellers, moving away from a purely consumer-focused approach. This strategic shift aims to boost seller efficiency and create competitive advantages for the platforms.
Major Indian e-commerce players, including Amazon, Flipkart, and Meesho, are pivoting their artificial intelligence strategies from consumer-facing applications to seller-centric tools. This shift, observed over the past two years, aims to enhance seller efficiency and solidify the marketplaces' competitive edge.
Initially, AI investments were directed towards improving the customer experience through features like personalized recommendations and enhanced customer support. As generative AI matures, companies are now building tools to assist sellers with tasks such as creating product listings, targeting advertisements, and sales forecasting.
Amazon has launched an AI-powered seller assistant for its 1.7 million sellers in India. The tool, accessible via plain English or Hinglish queries, aids sellers with onboarding, catalogue creation, and business insights. Amazon reports that the assistant has reduced listing errors by 10% and operational tasks by nearly 70%.
Rival Meesho has implemented an AI voice system for its sellers, handling up to 300,000 calls daily. Flipkart, meanwhile, offers its AI-centric commerce platform, Flipkart Commerce Cloud, to other retailers, with a particular focus on sellers in smaller cities, providing them with demand forecasting and trend analysis.
Industry analysts suggest this move towards seller-focused AI could unlock new growth avenues as consumer acquisition becomes increasingly expensive. By improving the efficiency of millions of sellers, marketplaces can enhance catalogue quality and, in turn, boost overall platform sales and revenue.