Flipkart, Amazon suffer on ‘trusted brands’ index in Q2 FY18; here's why

Key Highlights

• Delivery speeds averaged out to six days during the festive season.
• NPS increased on the back of higher cashback offers.
• Shipments rose by 24% to 2.8 crore products during the first five day sale.

The e-commerce giants in India increased the number of sales in 2017 but have lost out on gaining their subscribers’ trust in Q2 FY18.
 
Amazon and Flipkart have scored poorly on the ‘most trusted brands’ mark, as per the E-Tailing Leadership Index (ELI) from RedSeer Research data revealed today.

“Both players suffered on the scoring due to a decrease in satisfaction in consumer experience post-delivery,” RedSeer analysts said.

Amazon scored 18 while Flipkart nudged ahead with a score of 20 in the second quarter ending September 30, 2017, the report said.

“Since Q3'17 (Q2 FY18) was a sale quarter for the industry, high order volumes led to issues in delivery and returns for customers,” the report added.

However they were not the least trusted brands on the index. “Shopclues suffered the most this quarter due to operational issues which led to increased delivery times and poor experience on customer support and returns.”

Image Source: RedSeer Research

What saved the e-commerce companies from receiving a ghastly net promoter score were the attractive offers and cashbacks that were propagated during the sales.

“At an industry level, NPS score improved to 23% from 20% in Q2 CY17 - because of the sale and cashbacks provided by various players this quarter,” the report said.

There were three festive sales hosted in the period leading up to Diwali and Dussehra this year. In the month of September alone, cash burn on account of discounts reached close to Rs 2,661 crore, an earlier RedSeer report said.

Delivery speeds were averaged out to six days during the sale days of 2017, RedSeer data revealed. This was attributed to higher shipments during the same period.

Shipments rose by 24% to 2.8 crore products during the first five day sale.

Player performance-wise, Flipkart and Amazon were neck to neck. Both companies got a score of 92 while Flipkart took the lead in Metro, Tier I and Tier II cities.
 
Also Read: E-commerce companies continue to struggle as order to delivery time averages at 6 days