Amazon launches STEP program to aid 7 lakh sellers in India

Amazon India on Monday announced that it has launched a new STEP program on Amazon India’s website for sellers in the country.

Amazon said that STEP simplifies the seller experience by providing customised and actionable recommendations which will help sellers improve key customer experience metrics and in turn, their growth. The newly launched STEP program has multiple levels including Basic, Standard, Advanced and Premium among others. These benefits can be unlocked by the sellers by improving their performance.

With each level, sellers will get specific benefits including fee waivers, faster disbursement cycles, priority seller support and free account management among others. Sellers will also get access to benefits such as online and offline training, fee waivers, faster disbursement cycles, and free account management.

Amazon said that STEP puts sellers in charge of their success on its platform by helping them track their performance, benefits and growth in real-time through the STEP Dashboard on Seller Central.

Starting December 1, 2020, all sellers on Amazon India’s platform will be able to enjoy Standard benefits up to March 31, 2021. Starting April 1, 2021, they will be eligible for Basic, Advanced, Premium and higher tiers based on their performance from January 1, 2021, to March 31, 2021. The company said that all sellers will get an opportunity to upgrade their level and corresponding benefits based on their performance every quarter.

In addition to this, Amazon India announced that with the launch of STEP, it is also introducing a revised fee structure for the sellers. This new fee structure will come into effect starting December 1, 2020. “The revised fees, effective 1 December 2020, are linked to STEP levels and include a waiver on weight handling fees and lightning deal fees as part of STEP benefits. In addition, there will be a reduction in closing fee charges for products in the low price range ( ₹250-500) and zero disposal fees for items shipped from Amazon fulfillment centres,” Amazon wrote in a press note.