e-commerce
e-comm: Amazon gung-ho on India sales; dares Flipkart
MUMBAI: Amazon, the global e-commerce giant, paid Rs 40 crore to acquire Westland Ltd’s publishing arm, thus giving it access to local content and a library of popular books, which continue to be a popular item on India’s e-commerce. It aims to push higher sales of its Kindle readers in India. The acquisition, which includes Mikros, Tranquebar and EastWest, may aid Amazon compete with Flipkart.
Westland, a unit of Trent, a Tata company, received Rs 9.5 crore from Amazon to part with 26%, with the option to buy out the remainder. Without disclosing the number of users, Amazon India offers over three million books to Kindle users. Amazon India vice-president and country manager Amit Agarwal said in a statement that their acquisition continues their commitment to India, enabling Amazon to bring Westland’s learned authors and their books to even more customers in India and around the world.
Amazon is gung-ho about its investments in India and the response it had received from sellers and customers. Amazon CFO Brian T. Olsavsky said Amazon, which just reported quarterly profits, indicated that its India investments are starting to show results but may impact international margins as it plans to go whole hog to conquer the significant internet market.
Amazon, which is investing in digital content, plans to launch its VOD platform Prime in India soon. Prime is one of the top selling units based on Amazon.in. Being a third-party market has caused a lot of invention for Amazon.
Amazon’s finance chief also indicated that the company would continue to add resources to India. Over the past two months, Amazon has outsold Flipkart in terms of monthly sales, Mint reported in September. However, including sales from Jabong and Myntra, Flipkart continues to leave Amazon behind. Amazon’s India business, which is aggressively expanding its consumer products and fashion categories, aims to launch its global programme for start-ups called Launchpad in India shortly.
Amazon’s team in India has been very creative — it creates on its own, from delivery stations to working with small merchants. Amazon is happy with both, the seller engagement as well as the customer engagement.
e-commerce
Flipkart and Uber team up to let users earn Supercoins on rides
New partnership turns everyday commutes into rewarding journeys for millions of Indians.
MUMBAI: Flipkart and Uber have joined forces to give riders a little extra mileage this time, in the form of Supercoins. The two platforms have announced a collaboration that allows Flipkart users to earn 4 per cent of their Uber fare as Supercoins on every eligible ride, up to a maximum of 150 coins per trip, with no cap on total earnings. The coins are credited directly to the user’s Flipkart account and can be redeemed across the Flipkart ecosystem, including Flipkart Minutes, Cleartrip, and partner offerings.
New Uber users or those who haven’t used the app in the last 84 days can earn an additional 150 bonus Supercoins by completing their first ride within 28 days of linking accounts. Users who link their accounts between 15 and 30 April 2026 and complete their first ride within 28 days will receive another 50 bonus SuperCoins.
Flipkart vice president, payments and supercoins Gaurav Arora said, “Supercoins is evolving into a broader rewards layer across everyday use cases. Mobility is a natural extension, and this partnership with Uber allows us to integrate more seamlessly into how customers transact daily.”
Uber director of business development at India and South Asia Arnab Kumar added, “This integration allows us to extend additional benefits to riders in a simple and intuitive way, while building on how users engage with everyday services across platforms.”
The partnership brings together two high-frequency consumer platforms and reflects a growing trend of integrating loyalty rewards into daily mobility and lifestyle experiences.
In a country where commutes are a daily reality, Flipkart and Uber have found a smart way to make every ride a little more rewarding. With Supercoins now earned on the go, users can turn their everyday journeys into opportunities to save and enjoy more across the Flipkart ecosystem. The partnership is a win-win that puts loyalty on the fast lane.
