E-commerce service Snapdeal on Monday announced the launch of its premium Snapdeal Gold service, aimed at competing against rival platforms Amazon and Flipkart. While Amazon Prime comes at a price of Rs 499, parent company Jasper Infotech Pvt Ltd is offering Snapdeal Gold free of cost, Mint reported.

Under this service, customers will get free shipping, an extended two-week return limit on their orders, as well as a free upgrade to have deliveries within 24 hours. The upgrade is automatically applied on orders for products with a "gold badge". However, these offers will not be available on cash-on-delivery purchases.

Co-founder of Snapdeal Rohit Bansal said, "Our team met with over 10,000 customers across the country to identify the key services they desire from e-commerce companies. Snapdeal Gold has been designed to fulfil those needs."