Should you stroll into any previous restore store in Bengaluru, you should still discover somebody inserting an HMT watch on the counter and asking if it may be fastened. 

Generally it’s a grandfather’s Janata mannequin. Generally it’s a Chetan that has survived three many years. 

These watches carry greater than gears. They carry tales. 

However the way in which folks purchase them has modified. Indians who as soon as visited showrooms now faucet on screens, anticipate subsequent day supply and need a simple checkout. For a lot of legacy manufacturers, this shift has created a spot between their heritage and the way in which the market now works.

However going digital is never easy for legacy manufacturers. Know-how is intimidating, web site growth is pricey, cataloging is chaotic, and constructing a web-based retailer usually requires total groups.

That is exactly the hole SmartBiz by Amazon needs to shut, and HMT has develop into one in all its most telling case research.

A no-code gateway for Indian companies

SmartBiz by Amazon was constructed for a really particular Indian actuality: tens of millions of companies, from native shops to heritage producers, need to promote on-line however don’t have the tech muscle or funds to arrange an ecommerce operation. 

“It’s an all-in-one built-in ecommerce builder that helps companies construct their web site in minutes with none coding data,” Smartbiz says.

The platform permits anybody to create an internet site in minutes with out coding data. As an introductory provide*, there aren’t any setup charges and modifications could be made immediately with out counting on technical assist.

SmartBiz by Amazon has designed this mannequin as a result of many legacy manufacturers spend weeks constructing web sites after which wrestle once more each time they need to replace one thing, which turns into pricey and slows them down. 

This concept of placing management again within the arms of the enterprise proprietor is central to Amazon-owned platform. It lets manufacturers construct pages, select templates and customise their storefront in line with their id.

The SmartBiz by Amazon toolkit

Whereas the website builder is essentially the most seen a part of SmartBiz by Amazon, the engine sits beneath. 

The platform integrates cataloging, funds, stock, order administration, returns, analytics and logistics into one system. It supplies a number of methods to add catalogs, add variants, create collections and format listings in search engine optimisation pleasant buildings. 

Curiously, if a model is already listed on Amazon, it may possibly import its catalog in a single click on. 

On the logistics entrance, SmartBiz by Amazon connects to Shiprocket and Ship with Amazon, and for manufacturers that activate Purchase with Amazon on chosen merchandise, sooner checkout for purchasers by means of Amazon’s deal with import & fulfilment may also be dealt with by means of Amazon’s FBA community. This enables companies to handle deliveries, monitor orders and align inventory motion with dependable, Amazon-grade fulfilment the place relevant.

Manufacturers can use the dashboard to see greatest promoting merchandise and modify manufacturing or sourcing accordingly. This helps corporations handle demand extra effectively as a result of they’ll see what’s working and reply sooner. 

For funds, the platform comes pre-integrated with Razorpay and has Amazon pay within the pipeline, which helps sellers with inbuilt cost assist that handles acceptance, reconciliation and visibility with no need separate gateways. This creates a constant checkout expertise for purchasers and simplifies backend processes for sellers. 

SmartBiz by Amazon consists of development options as properly. It presents integrations with Meta and Google pixels, Google Analytics, WhatsApp engagement instruments and customized area mapping.

Based on Amazon’s years of expertise in ecommerce, these parts can be found from day one as a result of they’re important for companies that need to scale.

How HMT used SmartBiz by Amazon to modernise its attain

When HMT Watches got here onto SmartBiz by Amazon, the model wanted readability on demand, assist in logistics and a streamlined solution to handle cataloging.

By way of SmartBiz by Amazon analytics, HMT Watches may see which merchandise had been resonating most with clients on-line. The platform helped the corporate establish prime performing fashions, seasonal spikes and geographic preferences. Primarily based on these insights, HMT aligned its manufacturing for a few of its legacy designs that had been attracting renewed curiosity, resulting in a noticeable rise in orders.

Cataloging grew to become simpler too. HMT may add variants, categorise fashions and current its catalog with consistency. The flexibility to create customized pages additionally allowed the model to keep up its voice and inform its story in a method that stays true to its heritage.

Operationally, SmartBiz by Amazon introduced order administration, stock and returns right into a single view. With Ship with Amazon and Shiprocket integrations, deliveries grew to become extra predictable.

HMT Watched may additionally share monitoring with clients and, if built-in with Purchase with Amazon, present supply guarantees and estimated dates on product pages.

What this implies for India’s heritage and MSME ecosystem

The HMT Watches instance is just not a couple of single model logging on. It displays a bigger shift inside India’s enterprise panorama. 

For many years, MSMEs and heritage manufacturers contributed considerably to India’s manufacturing and cultural id. However digital commerce was usually out of attain because of the price and complexity related to constructing and managing a web-based presence.

SmartBiz by Amazon is making an attempt to carry these companies into the digital market with out overwhelming them. The platform doesn’t exchange marketplaces or conventional retail, as a substitute it offers sellers a solution to construct their very own storefronts, perceive their clients, handle their operations and develop at their very own tempo. 

The result’s that extra small and mid sized companies can now run ecommerce operations with no need specialised groups. They will take a look at merchandise, react to demand, enhance buyer expertise and construct direct relationships. This creates a pathway for heritage manufacturers to stay related and for MSMEs to compete in a contemporary market. 

Based on Bain & Firm’s “How India Shops Online 2025” report, India’s e-retail market is presently round $60 billion in gross merchandise worth, with the nation now residence to the world’s second largest base of internet buyers. 

Even with a current consumption slowdown, Bain estimates that e-retail in India is on monitor to roughly triple to between $170 and $190 billion in GMV by 2030, powered by extra customers coming on-line and new codecs like fast commerce and social commerce changing into mainstream.

The broader ecommerce image is simply as robust. The Indian Model Fairness Basis (IBEF) estimates that India’s total ecommerce business was price about $125 billion in 2024 and will develop to roughly $345 billion by 2030, implying a compound annual development price of round 15%. 

IBEF additionally notes that on-line penetration of retail is anticipated to rise from 8% in 2024 to 14% by 2028, with a lot of the new customers coming from smaller cities.