One of the most interesting things about Amazon, is the fact that it has always been able to pivot, move into the most surprising and distant business domains, and disrupt everything. Towards the same, the company has now announced that it will start selling movie tickets in India.
The fact that Amazon has found itself interested and capable of diversifying its business has been one of the main reasons behind it’s stellar growth that has allowed it to push giants like Walmart on the back foot. A couple of decades ago, Walmart was 90 times the size of Amazon in terms of revenue. Today, Walmart is still larger in terms of revenue but only twice, and Amazon is quickly closing the distance. But I digress.
Amazon has joined hands with ticketing giant BookMyShow to allow users to book tickets through the Amazon India website. To book a ticket simply navigate to the movie tickets category under the shop by category option on the Amazon India website or the Amazon Pay tab. In a move typical of its business stratagem, the company is also offering up a bunch of incentives and cashbacks.
Basically, credit card users in India will get a 2% cashback on each of their movie ticket purchases. What’s more you can also get INR 200 cashbacks for each of your ticket purchases.
Speaking on the topic, Ashish Hemrajani, founder and CEO of BookMyShow, said:
Through the partnership the company will be able to access Amazon India’s deep penetration across tier 2 and tier 3 cities.
The company could be hoping to counter Paytm’s growing influence, which since it entered the movie-ticket business three years ago has managed to steal away some of BookMyShow’s business.
Enemy of my enemy is my friend, eh?
The one thing which nags at the back of my mind, is what’s stopping Amazon from taking over the business from BookMyShow when a few years down the line, it firmly establishes itself as a one-stop-destination for everything, including movie tickets.
Mahendra Nerurkar, Director of Amazon Pay, said that the partnership shows Amazon’s commitment to
Simplify the lives of our customers in every possible way — as they shop, pay bills, or seek other services.
This move comes right after the company opened up flight booking options on the website, in partnership with Cleartip.
