• Customers from over 12,000 pin-codes purchased a product from the ‘Stand for Handmade’ storefront
• Amazon Karigar and Saheli sellers benefitted from 100% SoA fee waiver for 10 weeks
• Hundreds of new artisan and women sellers joined the initiative touching lives of 35K+ lives

Bengaluru, September 21, 2020: Amazon.in today announced that ‘Stand for Handmade' – a 10 week initiative to help over 10 lakh artisans & weavers and women entrepreneurs has concluded. The initiative enabled sellers from Amazon Karigar (for weavers and artisans) and Amazon Saheli (for women entrepreneurs) register 3.2x and 2.1x growth respectively. 32 sellers crossed INR 1 lakh in sales during the 10 week period while 2 sellers crossed INR 1 crore in sales. More than 200 new sellers joined the Karigar program and benefitted from 100% SoA fee waiver impacting lives of over 35,000 artisans and weavers.

Pranav Bhasin, Director, MSME and Seller Experience at Amazon India said “The Stand for Handmade initiative is part of our continuous efforts to help small businesses including artisans, weavers and women entrepreneurs to revive their business from the economic disruption caused by the pandemic. We are humbled by the response to this initiative as customers from more than 12,000 pincodes purchased a product from the specially curated store front. With the festive season coming up, we remain focused on helping our sellers further accelerate and grow their business.”

“Through Amazon India’s Stand for Handmade initiative, we’ve managed to increase our visibility and our sales increased by 50%. The 10 week period was a very rewarding time for our business on Amazon and the month of July and August were one of our bestselling months this year! We are grateful to the team at Amazon for their continued support, despite the pandemic and other roadblocks. We have managed to stay afloat and our team and our artisans have not had to worry about their salaries and livelihoods as a result” said Pooja Ratnakar, Art Bunker from Delhi

‘Stand For Handmade’ Highlights:

• Sellers from all states in India delivered orders to over customers in over 12,000 pin codes
• Karigar sellers witnessed a 3.2x spike in sales when compared to pre-COVID sales
• Saheli sellers witnessed a 2.1x spike in sales when compared to pre-COVID sales
• Top Categories that witnessed highest overall sales included: Apparel, Grocery and Home Décor
• Over 200 Karigar & Saheli sellers witnessed sales for the first time as part of this initiative
• 508 Sambalpuri weaver families from Orissa were able to seller sarees than could span over 17,738 yards
• 4500+ Pochampally weavers from 56 villages of Telangana have recovered and were able to resume their handloom weaving business
• Sales of Bamboo Crafts revived over 1000 artisans from East India
• 5200+ weavers from Bengal are now back to weaving exquisite weaves on their looms
• Lives of 200 Banarasi weavers positively impact through sales of handloom Dupattas and Sarees
• Over 10,000 artisans from Chhattisgarh revived through the sale of Bell Metal and Dhokra handicrafts

Karigar Highlights

• Over 50% of Karigar sellers with sales in the pre COVID period saw an increase in weekly revenue during SFH;

1. 20% of Karigar sellers quadrupled their sales (4x) spike, while 35% of Karigar sellers doubled their sales
2. Top categories for Karigar sellers included- Apparel, Home and Kitchen
3. Close to 200 new Karigar sellers came onboard the online marketplace during the 10 week period, positively impacting the lives of 35,000+ artisans
4. Top crafts/artforms: Block Print; Sambalpuri; Pochampally; Bengal Handloom weave; Natural Fiber & Bamboo Art and Blue Art Pottery
5. Emerging art forms – Rajasthani kathputli, moonj grass basketry from Uttarakhand, kolhapuri jewelry from MH, Mangalgiri dress materials from Andhra Pradesh etc.
6. Karigar Sellers saw their highest daily sales during Stand For Handmade on Independence day (15th August)

Saheli Highlights

• 53% Saheli sellers with a sale in pre-COVID saw an increase in weekly revenue during SFH;

1. 10% of Saheli sellers quadrupled their sales (4x) spike, while 37% Saheli sellers doubled their sales (2x) spike
2. Top Categories for Saheli sellers included- Grocery, Home Decor, and Electronic Accessories
3. Saheli Sellers saw their highest daily sales during Stand For Handmade on Prime day 2020 (August 6-7) where they quadrupled their sales

Amazon India’s ‘Stand for Handmade’ initiative was aimed at helping over 10 lakh entrepreneurs including artisans, weavers and women entrepreneurs, rebound from the economic disruption caused by COVID-19. Under this initiative, more than 8 lakh artisans and weavers from Amazon Karigar program and more than 2.8 lakh women entrepreneurs from Amazon Saheli program have benefited from a 100% SoA fee waiver for 10 weeks. In addition to this, Amazon created a “Stand for Handmade” storefront to help generate customer demand for the locally crafted, handmade products from Karigar and Saheli sellers.

About Amazon.in
The Amazon.in marketplace is operated by Amazon Seller Services Private Ltd, an affiliate of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN). Amazon.in seeks to build the most customer-centric online destination for customers to find and discover virtually anything they want to buy online by giving them more of what they want – vast selection, low prices, fast and reliable delivery, and a trusted and convenient experience; and provide sellers with a world-class e-commerce marketplace.

For more information, visit www.amazon.in/aboutus
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About Amazon
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