Did Jeff Bezos utilise Amazon’s cashback offer as a part of ‘Digital India’ scheme?

The Indian business sector thrives on ideas that offer cashbacks, sales and the like. We love the idea that we can save our hard earned money in any possible way. Who wouldn’t? The economy is tough as it is. If stampedes could break out when Starbucks offered all drinks to its customers for 100 rupees each on 28 October, 2017, you can only imagine what other tempting retail offers might do.

On 6 June 2018, Jeff Bezos followed the suit of Narendra Modi as on the day of demonitisation and sent the country into a frenzy by offering the individuals of our country a cashback on their e-commerce website. “To celebrate our five year anniversary and to say thank you for your support, we want to extend this offer: If you spend Rs 1,000 or more on Amazon.in today, using any digital method, you’ll receive Rs 250 cashback on Amazon Pay balance,” Jeff Bezos said in a letter to Amazon’s customers.

Whilst most people in the country scuttled during demonitisation, the progress made by the e-commerce site over the idea of offering cashback for online payment seems hardly unwaivering from the idea of the Indian government to digitize India. It wouldn’t surprise most of us if we were told Jeff Bezos consulted Narendra Modi before going through with the idea of digitising all payments on orders as bait to transact and extract more money digitally.

American online retail giant Amazon, which has committed investments to the tune of USD 5 billion in India, will “keep investing and growing in India”, its chief Jeff Bezos had said after meeting with Narendra Modi on a roundtable interaction in Washington DC that witnessed the presence of 20 other business bigwigs.

“Our India team is moving fast and delivering for customers and sellers. It’s still Day 1 for e-commerce in India, and I assure you that we’ll keep investing in technology and infrastructure,” Bezos has previously stated with the intent of reeling in more customers across India.

Whilst demonitisation has failed as a concept to further digitise India, reports affirm that currency with the public has reached a record high level of over Rs 18.5 lakh crore, more than a double from a low of about Rs 7.8 lakh crore it had hit post-demonetisation decision in late 2016, as per RBI data.

What remains to be seen is whether Narendra Modi still motivates the Indian entrepreneurs to make in India and if he defies continuing to make Jeff Bezos a richer man than he already is. Amazon, which has recently completed five years of operations in India, will be locked in an intense battle for leadership with homegrown e-tailer Flipkart.