Amazon’s India rival says its new advisor program boosts seller ‘business volume’ growth by 50%

Snapdeal announced Monday the launch of its SD Advisor Program, which it says has been shown to boost the “rate of growth in business volumes” by 50 percent, compared with sellers who were not part of a six-month pilot. While “business volume” is a vague term and doesn’t necessarily mean a 50 percent increase in profits, for example, it clearly indicates an improvement on existing sales numbers.

The program, which is part of Snapdeal’s $200 million investment in building what it calls a “digital ecosystem for SMBs in India,” will essentially provide some “hand-holding” for sellers on its platform. Specifically, Snapdeal says it will offer “a minimum of fifty man hours of specialized training” to sellers, and assign them personal advisors.

Right now, the main three ecommerce behemoths battling it out in India are Amazon, Flipkart, and Snapdeal. Amazon is the only foreign player of the three trying to get a foot in India’s booming ecommerce space, though both local rivals have raised huge funding rounds from international investors. If Snapdeal can persuade more sellers to use its platform over rivals’ by convincing them they’ll make more money, then it’s just another way it can ease market share back in its direction.

Snapdeal is claiming 200,000 sellers on its platform, though it hasn’t shared any numbers about how much they’re actually making. “The [program] will help strengthen the processes for seller on-boarding and training,” the company said. “[Advisors will] also guide businesses by providing market-related advice and insights gathered through data analytics… consumer-engagement ideas, financial assistance for scaling-up operations on the platform, and more.”