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Amazon India launches STEP to empower sellers
NEW DELHI: Amazon.in has launched STEP, a performance-based benefits program designed to help sellers accelerate their growth. STEP simplifies the seller experience by providing customized and actionable recommendations which help sellers improve key customer experience metrics and in turn, their growth.
By improving performance, sellers can unlock benefits across multiple levels like basic, standard, advanced, premium and more. These benefits include fee waivers, faster disbursement cycles, priority seller support and world-class free account management. STEP puts sellers in charge of their success on Amazon.in by helping them track their performance, benefits and growth in real-time through the STEP Dashboard on Seller Central.
Using customized and actionable recommendations, STEP enables sellers to improve key seller controllable metrics like cancellation rate, late dispatch rate, return rate, among others. Based on their performance, sellers can access benefits like online and offline training, fee waivers, faster disbursement cycles, and free account management. Starting 1 December 2020, all sellers on Amazon.in will enjoy standard benefits up to 31 March 2021, and effective 1 April 2021 will be eligible for basic, advanced, premium and more based on their performance from 1 January to 31 March 2021. All sellers will get an opportunity to upgrade their level and corresponding benefits based on their performance every quarter.
Amazon India VP Manish Tiwary said, “STEP empowers sellers of all sizes and tenure to drive their growth on Amazon.in by focusing on their performance on key metrics which matter to customers. STEP provides objective and transparent criteria along with benefits designed to help sellers improve their performance on these metrics in a predictable manner. We have spent time obsessing over every detail of the STEP program and carefully crafting each element to ensure our valuable sellers can provide a great customer experience and in turn, grow and be successful on Amazon.in.”
With the launch of STEP, Amazon is introducing its revised fee structure, which was earlier deferred to after Diwali. The revised fees, effective 1 December 2020, are linked to STEP levels and include waiver on weight handling fees and lightning deal fees as part of STEP benefits. In addition, there will be reduction in closing fee charges for products in low price range (Rs 250-500) and zero disposal fees for items shipped from Amazon fulfilment centres.
Amazon.in has taken several initiatives this year to help its more than 7 lakh-strong seller community to overcome obstacles and get their businesses back on track. These include free Covid2019 health insurance (offered by Acko in partnership with Amazon), on demand payment disbursement, relaxation in performance metrics, fee waivers on inventory storage fees and 50 per cent waiver on ‘Sell on Amazon’ fees for small sellers, and deferring its marketplace fee revisions to December 2020.
MAM
Times of India launches SFI Expo for sports, fitness and infrastructure
New exhibition to bring together stakeholders across India’s growing sports ecosystem in July 2026.
MUMBAI: The Times of India is stepping onto the field with a brand-new playbook this time, not with ink and paper, but with a full-scale exhibition that promises to score big for India’s sports industry. The Times of India has announced its entry into the exhibitions business with the launch of The Times of India Sports, Fitness and Infrastructure (SFI) Expo. Set to be held in July 2026 in New Delhi, the expo aims to create an integrated platform that connects the entire value chain of sports, fitness, technology and infrastructure.
Powered by 187 years of credibility across print, digital and experiential media, TOI is positioning the SFI Expo as a major collaborative hub for sports enterprises, infrastructure companies, government bodies, fitness and wellness firms, athletes, innovators and communities.
The exhibition will cover everything from planning and building world-class sports facilities to enabling advanced training environments and performance solutions, with a strong focus on innovation in training, recovery and technology.
Speaking on the initiative, Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd. (The Times of India) president for eesponse & brand capital Surinder Chawla said, “India is entering a dynamic new era. Both traditional and new sports are growing exponentially. Government initiatives such as Khelo India and Fit India are nurturing young athletes and steadily strengthening India’s imprint on the world sporting arena. This exhibition aims to unite stakeholders across the sports value chain and help accelerate India’s journey towards a robust, world-class sporting ecosystem.”
Designed as an annual platform, the TOI SFI Expo will facilitate dialogue, partnerships, knowledge exchange and investment opportunities, supporting the development of a more inclusive and future-ready sporting landscape in India.
From match reports to match-making for the entire sports ecosystem, The Times of India is now extending its legacy of influence from the newsroom straight into the arena. With the SFI Expo, TOI isn’t just covering the game, it’s helping build the stadium, the training tech, and the future of Indian sports.
