'Big believer in law of land': Amazon plays compliance card as watchdogs eye e-commerce tricks

Amid rising scrutiny over dark patterns and fair-play rules, Amazon India head Samir Kumar says the company is a “big believer” in customers and compliance, even as it readies a ₹2,000 crore push into India’s next 200 million online shoppers.

New Delhi: Amid a growing regulatory scrutiny on online platforms, Amazon India head Samir Kumar has asserted that the e-commerce company is a "big believer" in customer-centricity and adherence to local laws, and is fully prepared to address any findings and ensure consumers remain well supported.

The comment comes at a time when there is rising regulatory glare on online companies. The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) had issued an advisory to e-commerce platforms to conduct self-audits to detect 'dark patterns' and ensure they are swiftly eliminated. The self-declarations by the platforms will enable fair digital ecosystem along with building trust between consumers and e-commerce platforms, CCPA had said in June.

On how the company views and responds to the regulatory scrutiny in the market, Kumar told PTI that Amazon has always prioritised customer focus.

"So we have always believed that first of all, whatever we do, we should make sure that the customers love it. So that's my take on this...that there will always be some of these things that will come our way in terms of making sure here are things that you should be doing, and we'll go and audit our systems and make sure we are doing all the right things," he said.

Kumar added: "We always have believed that we put customers front-and-centre of everything, and when we see issues with our customer experience, we go and spend all our energy in fixing that, and we'll continue to do that in future."

Asked if the company believes that the regulatory lens from authorities such as CCPA or CCI signal a vibrant, expanding market, Kumar emphasised that Amazon is firmly committed to abiding by the country's laws.

"We are a big believer in complying with the law of the land, we have always made sure that wherever we operate, we operate in a compliant way.

"So that way, whether it's Competition Commission or CCPA, all those bodies are making sure that Indian consumers are not hurt, and we are a big believer in making sure that we take care of our customers," he said.

He emphasised that Amazon is fully prepared to address any findings and ensure customers remain well supported.

"So I am more than happy to make sure that whatever the finding is, we address them and we take care of our customers," Kumar said.

India is expected to be one of the biggest contributors to Amazon's growth in the long run, with the e-commerce giant doubling down on its focus in this market where it is pouring in billions of dollars in long-term investments.

India is still not as deeply penetrated in terms of online consumption and therefore presents a "very large opportunity" for Amazon, according to Kumar - who is now helming operations here as Country Manager of Amazon India.

Amazon has committed to significant investment in its India infrastructure, about Rs 2,000 crore for 2025 alone. It had previously outlined a broader investment pledge of USD 26 billion by 2030, close to about USD 15 billion of it between 2023 and 2030.

Kumar said India is among the fastest growing markets for the company.

"And we are a big believer that in the long run, India will be one of the biggest contributors to our growth," Kumar said but did not give a timeframe.

India is still not deeply penetrated in terms of consumption, he said, adding while users are online, buying products and watching videos there is a huge headroom for growth when it comes to online shoppers.

"...not everyone is shopping online. If you look at just mobile phone penetration, maybe it's in close to a billion people who have mobile phones, but only 100 million plus of them are shopping online. So the next 200 million (that the company is aspiring to reach) are going to be part of that," he said.

Kumar believes that as the economy grows, and so does consumption, and as GDP per capita rises, India is poised to have "many more consumers who will value the convenience of shopping online".

"We have seen this phenomenon around the world. So we have a very large opportunity still remaining in India... We have 1.4 billion people," he said.

The company has set its sights on what Kumar describes as a broader 'Bharat' living in tier 2, 3 cities and beyond.

"Let's take a good chunk of that and make sure that they are able to come online, shop online, get the best value, and get the fastest delivery possible. And with that, I believe there's a big opportunity. So beyond the tier one cities, there's a huge opportunity in 'Bharat', which is like tier 2, 3 cities, where we are seeing very deep penetration now starting to happen," he said.