Walmart's Flipkart to Offer Insurance & Waive Fees for India Sellers

Flipkart Supports Sellers Amidst COVID-19 Surge in India

Flipkart, the leading e-commerce platform in India and a subsidiary of Walmart, is offering fee waivers and insurance coverage to its sellers. This initiative aims to foster positive relationships with its extensive seller base of over 300,000, who are currently experiencing significant disruptions due to the escalating coronavirus pandemic within the country.

Fee Waivers and Insurance Details

The Bangalore-based company announced on Friday that it will waive storage fees for sellers utilizing its fulfillment centers. Additionally, cancellation fees will be eliminated until the end of the current month.

Several Indian states have implemented restrictions on the sale and delivery of non-essential goods, mirroring measures taken during the initial wave of the virus.

Flipkart is assuming the full premium cost for COVID insurance for all sellers transacting on its platform. This coverage encompasses hospitalization and consultation expenses ranging from 50,000 to 300,000 Indian rupees (approximately $685 to $4095).

Comparison with Amazon’s Initiatives

This announcement follows a similar move by Amazon, Flipkart’s primary competitor in India. Amazon previously declared a 50% waiver of the referral fee typically paid by sellers this month, although eligibility for this benefit is not universal.

Amazon also recently postponed its Prime Day event in both India and Canada, citing the increasing number of infections.

Additional Support Measures

Flipkart is also streamlining access to working capital for its sellers, without imposing any additional costs. Specific details regarding these measures were not disclosed.

The timeframe for claims under the Seller Protection Fund has been extended from 14 to 30 days for returned products.

Furthermore, Flipkart will relax its policies and performance metrics to mitigate the impact of state-imposed lockdowns on seller operations.

Partnership with Vriddhi

Flipkart, which had plans for a potential public offering last year, is collaborating with Vriddhi, Walmart’s Supplier Development Program in India. This partnership will involve hosting webinars for small businesses.

These webinars will focus on sharing best practices for workforce safety and providing insights to help businesses navigate the current crisis.

Statement from Flipkart

“Through these testing times it is our constant effort to support our seller partners who face immense operational challenges as a result of the pandemic. As a democratic marketplace, we want to ensure that our lakhs [hundreds of thousands] of seller partners are able to continue operations and keep the economic engine running,” stated Jagjeet Harode, Senior Director and Head of Marketplace at Flipkart.

“With them and their family’s financial and health safety in mind, we have rolled out these initiatives that will bring them the much-needed respite to keep their businesses active.”

India’s COVID-19 Situation

India is currently experiencing over 400,000 daily infections, surpassing any other nation. The country, the world’s second-most populous, is struggling to contain the second wave of the virus.

Numerous organizations, startups, investors, and individuals are uniting to assist India in combating the virus, which has placed a severe strain on its healthcare infrastructure.