Amazon Invites Indian Sellers to Create Independent Websites

“It’s reminiscent of how AWS lowered barriers with free credits and ultra-low pricing before becoming indispensable infrastructure.”

“Checkout and payments routed through Amazon systems would need to be rebuilt elsewhere, forcing merchants to re-integrate gateways and potentially re-onboard customers—a major friction point.”

“Commerce is fragmenting across brand websites, social media, and offline-to-online channels. With platforms like Meta increasingly enabling transactions, it makes strategic sense [for Amazon] to position itself as the underlying infrastructure layer.”

“Post–free-offer pricing is likely to be lower than that of typical e-commerce SaaS (Software as a Service) platforms.”

“Amazon has long been an essential gatekeeper for sellers trying to reach end customers, and it will naturally try to leverage that vantage point.”

“At scale, brands want full ownership of their websites and customer journeys, and larger or VC-funded brands are unlikely to want Amazon controlling their storefronts.”