India is the first country in Asia to receive service.
By Raif Karerat
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Kindle Unlimited, Amazon’s “all-you-can-read” subscription service, is available in India as of late Tuesday night.
The market for e-books in India is one of massive potential. According to Digital Book World, e-books currently account for just two percent of the country’s $2 billion market, but that amount is expected to grow as more people get their hands on inexpensive smartphones and tablets.
India is the first country in Asia to get the Kindle Unlimited, which is currently available in the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Mexico and Canada. To lure audiences in India, Amazon has brought books by popular writers like Chetan Bhagat, Amish Tripathi, and Preeti Shenoy under its umbrella, reported the Business Standard. Amazon will also allow consumers to sign up for six months and a full year for Rs. 999 and Rs. 1,799.
“India is a very important market for us. Readers here are reading books across genres of literature, fiction, health, productivity, business and economics, biographies and children books on their Kindle devices and app,” said Amazon Kindle’s Director of Content Sanjeev Jha.
In terms of content, the Kindle Unlimited plan is up against Flipkart, which operates India’s largest e-book platform. According to TechCrunch, Flipkart’s e-book market is also the second largest in the world behind Kindle, ranking ahead of Barnes and Noble, FNAC, Waterstones, and the Book Depository.
The launch of Kindle Unlimited in India is undoubtedly a move by Amazon to take the compeittion directly to Flipkart. While TechCrunch reported Flipkart’s share of the Indian e-commerce market is still ahead of Snapdeal and Amazon, monthly unique visitors growth to Amazon’s Indian site is growing the quickest out of the three, and the Kindle Unlimited catalog may provide a brand new injection of viable shoppers.