Regulations introduced by the Indian government aimed at protecting local businesses from foreign e-commerce giants such as Amazon may negatively affect consumers. The rules stipulate that online marketplaces must treat all sellers equally, effectively barring foreign firms from offering goods exclusively on their platform and owning inventory. As a result, the companies will not be able to offer exclusive discounts on proprietary products such as the Echo smart speaker, preventing consumers from taking advantage of lower prices. The new rules will create uncertainty for Flipkart as the company evaluates any strategy changes, Bloomberg Intelligence’s Bartashus said. In addition, the regulations also require platforms like Flipkart to collect data about its customers in order for them to comply with the regulations.
Regulations introduced by the Indian government aimed at protecting local businesses from foreign e-commerce giants such as Amazon may negatively affect consumers. The rules stipulate that online marketplaces must treat all sellers equally, effectively barring foreign firms from offering goods exclusively on their platform and owning inventory. As a result, the companies will not be able to offer exclusive discounts on proprietary products such as the Echo smart speaker, preventing consumers from taking advantage of lower prices. In addition, the regulations also require platforms like Flipkart to collect data about its customers in order for them to comply with the regulations.