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A 2017 consumer survey by Redseer Management Consulting found Flipkart ahead of Amazon on perceived brand trust, with a wider lead in non-metro cities. The same survey gave Amazon the edge on buying experience and rated the two roughly even on value for money. The result describes how surveyed shoppers perceived the two brands in 2017. It does not show that Indian shoppers trust Flipkart more today, and it does not identify a single cause for the gap.
What the survey measured
Scroll.in published the write-up on December 10, 2017, crediting Sushma UN of Quartz. According to that report, Redseer Management Consulting polled 7,500 respondents in 30 cities between July and September 2017. Redseer framed the study around three perception statements: “most trusted brand,” “best value,” and “buying experience.” It described these as consumer perceptions, not measures of business performance.
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The published account does not include the questionnaire, the sampling method, response rates, the exact percentages behind each result, or a margin of error. Without those, a reader cannot judge how representative the sample was or how large each gap really is. The findings below should be read as Redseer’s reported conclusions, not as verified figures.
The findings, dimension by dimension
| Survey dimension | Reported result | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Most trusted brand | Flipkart ahead of Amazon. The lead was only marginal in metro cities and larger in non-metro cities. | No percentages published in the report as reported by Scroll.in. |
| Best value | The two platforms were described as on a par for value for money. | No scores published. |
| Buying experience | Amazon rated better on ease of exploring and ordering products, delivery predictability, delivery experience, and post-delivery experience. | No scores published. The four sub-areas are as reported, not separately quantified. |
| Preference by annual income, below Rs 2.5 lakh | Shoppers in this band favored Flipkart. | No proportions given. |
| Preference by annual income, Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh | Shoppers in this band preferred Amazon. | No proportions given. The report does not describe other income bands. |
Why Flipkart’s trust lead was bigger outside metros
Redseer senior consultant Kanishka Mohan offered an interpretation of the regional pattern. He said: “A clear trend from our study indicates that Flipkart enjoys greater recall with new online shoppers, who are coming primarily from tier 2 towns and lower income groups.” That is a reading of the data by the consultant, not a tested cause. The survey, as reported, shows where the gap was larger; it does not show why shoppers in those places answered as they did.
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Recall among newer online shoppers
The first part of the explanation is about who was entering online shopping. Mohan linked Flipkart’s stronger recall to shoppers coming online for the first time from tier 2 towns and lower income groups. Recall is a measure of whether a brand comes to mind, so this is a claim about familiarity among newer buyers. The article does not report how many respondents were new online shoppers or how the recall figures were split.
Word-of-mouth branding
The article also says word-of-mouth branding helped Flipkart resonate with customers. This is presented as a plausible contributing factor in the coverage, not as a result the survey measured. A shopper who heard about Flipkart from friends or family would fit this pattern, but the study does not test that route.
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Why trust and buying experience can point in different directions
The apparent contradiction is the most useful part of the study. Trust, as Redseer measured it, asks which brand a person thinks of as most trustworthy. Buying experience asks how the purchase actually went: finding products, placing an order, waiting for delivery, and handling anything after the parcel arrives. A brand can be widely trusted and still deliver a rougher transaction, or deliver a smooth transaction without earning the same brand feeling. The survey was built to keep these apart, so treating the trust result as a verdict on service quality would misread it.
Amazon India’s response
Amazon India disputed the survey. A spokesperson said: “We have noticed poorly informed speculative reports with irrelevant sample sizes whose numbers do not add up to what we are seeing in the industry.” The objection centers on the sample and the numbers. The published account gives no sample breakdown that would let readers test that claim either way, so the findings should be read as contested rather than settled.
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- Multiple gift card designs and denominations to choose from.
- Redeemable towards millions of items store-wide at Amazon.com or certain affiliated websites.
- Available for immediate delivery. Gift cards sent by email can be scheduled up to a year in advance.
- No returns and no refunds on Gift Cards.
How to use a 2017 perception study today
The study can inform how you think about platform choice, but it cannot tell you which platform is better now. Keep these points in mind:
- Check the date first. The fieldwork ended in September 2017, and the report appeared in December of that year. Marketplace pricing, seller mix, delivery networks, and return policies may have changed since then.
- Match the finding to your location. The reported trust lead was larger outside metro cities. If you live in a metro area, the report describes only a marginal difference there.
- Weigh the factor you care about. If delivery timing and post-delivery handling matter most to you, the buying experience result is the more relevant one. If brand familiarity matters more, the trust result applies.
- Compare the full price. For a personal-finance decision, compare the delivered price, including any delivery charges, and the return terms on the specific product you want, rather than relying on a brand-level reputation.
A reader looking for a current answer to which platform Indian shoppers trust more will not find it here. The survey is a useful snapshot of perception in 2017, and its strongest lesson is structural: trust in a brand and satisfaction with a purchase are separate things, and they should be judged separately.
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
