You underestimated the power of Amazon here - it's not technical prowess or recommendation engine. The war was never about technical prowess. It's Amazon's customer service which pulling Flipkart/Snapdeal down to the ground and beating them hard.
Agreed. I have been using Flipkart since they launched. Amazon customer service and shopping experience are just impeccable, esp when compared to the competition. And as for Snapdeal, it's usually something just short of a nightmare.
Another aspect is user experience while using their apps and websites. Click any Flipkart link from a mobile browser or an app like Twitter, you'll reach their `Install our app` page. Nothing else. You can't do anything if you have not installed their app. While Amazon simply lets me see the product or even buy it from right there while showing install app or view in app in a corner.
Whenever I see that Flipkart page asking me to install their app to see a product I feel satisfied that I don't have it installed. I just close the browser tab.
I just checked and last time I bought something from Flipkart was around 2 years ago. It was the Xiaomi MI3 phone which was available only on Flipkart. Last Snapdeal purchase was some 1.5 years ago. I wish I could spread my purchases across these portals just to help avoid a monopoly kind of scenario but these options are just too bad to go with.
This is the correct answer. It is not discount or catalogue that is making Flipkart bleed, it is the customer service provided by their competitior. Amazon commitment to keeping customers happy is praise worthy. Many people do not buy very costly items from flipkart (namely phones, TVs, etc) because they are not really sure whether the return policy will hold and when will they get refund where as on the other hand, faith in Amazon is unshaken and people generally prefer it's platform for buying. Less I talk about Snapdeal, better it is. Snapdeal is not going to survive this war, Flipkart might. Almost nobody I know buys from Snapdeal because of their subpar customer service, though I agree that the sample set is not very large here.
