Amazon outnumbers Flipkart to become number one in overall reach

Flipkart has slipped from numero uno position in overall reach as incumbent Amazon continues to grow with scorching pace. After having over 40 per cent hair cut in valuation, Flipkart knocked down to second position and Amazon has surpassed the Tiger Global funded company in overall website traffic, according to a report by Kotak Institutional Equities.

Kotak gathered and analysed data from November 2015 to May 2016 from web traffic analytics company SimilarWeb. The data shows that Amazon generated between 33 per cent and 62 per cent more monthly traffic than Flipkart during aforementioned period.

Amazon had an average monthly user visit of around 180 million, 50 per cent more than Flipkart's 120 million. The report did not mention independent numbers for mobile web and PC traffic for the two companies. However, on Google Playstore, Amazon was ahead of Flipkart in app ranking in June, according to Kotak, that used data from mobile app analytics platform App Annie.

Amazon outplaced Snapdeal from second position to become second largest online marketplace by shipments in March 2016. Flipkart’s share of shipment fell to 37 per cent in March from 43 percent in the same month of previous year while Snapdeal fell to 14-15 per cent from 19 per cent last year. Meanwhile, Amazon gained 7 per cent in overall shipment in March this year when compared to the shipment volume same month last year.

Flipkart also witnessed markdown of its valuation by three of its investors including Morgan Stanley, Valic Co and Fidelity Investment. The markdowns estimate Flipkart's current valuation between $9.2 billion to $10.7 billion, which was $15.2 billion in July 2015.

The gain in terms of reach is significant for Amazon and is a matter of concern for Flipkart and Snapdeal both. Traffic doesn’t have strong correlation to actual business but strong reach certainly gives higher chances of conversion and engagement.

Over the past six months, the battle of Indian e-commerce’s crown has intensified and Amazon appear to have an upper hand over Flipkart and Snapdeal with its superior technology, fulfillment, supply chain and deep pocket. Amazon India's growth is further surged as its parent company recently announced additional $3 billion for the Indian arm. On the other hand, Flipkart and Snapdeal haven't yet raised a follow-on funding on current valuation.