Chinese mobile brands are deeply entrenched in the Indian market. A move to bar them may send a bold diplomatic message. But its cost for the local industry is anybody's guess. In the event that Chinese brands face curbs, two handset makers - Samsung and Apple - squarely stand to gain.
The 'buy-now, pay-later' (BNPL) juggernaut continued to roll on during the festive season with multiple players seeing disbursals grow by more than 100 per cent compared to Diwali last year. LazyPay, the BNPL platform of Prosus-owned payments major PayU, witnessed a credit demand increase of 300 per cent over the festive season last year, especially in segments like travel, food & beverages and entertainment. "We also saw an uptick of 70 per cent in user acquisition in the last two months.
From auto, refrigerator, and mobile handset makers to real estate firms, companies are tying up with banks to dole out attractive finance schemes and discounts to make buying more affordable.
Consumers are set to gain from discounts.
Online retailers pointed out that their delivery staff is being stopped by local police and urged authorities to streamline the movement of delivery agents and goods.
Earlier this month, retail associations across the country held a meeting with the hardware manufacturers industry body -- MAIT -- to raise the issue of undercutting prices.
As India's online population crosses 450 million, e-commerce ventures are trying to grab a pie of online sales estimated to hit $48 billion by 2020.
E-commerce firms and sellers including Amazon and eBay have made recommendations to the government for a differentiated policy framework for e-commerce in the revised Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) which is expected to come into effect from April 1, 2021. This is because the existing policies on exports have catered largely to traditional, offline and business-to-business exports. Suggestions have been made to the government that through the FTP, it is important to create a conducive policy framework for e-commerce exports that lowers the entry barrier for small businesses to start exporting, according to the industry sources.
Apart from digital advertising revenue, both companies want to reach out to the 'next billion' Indian customers. After all, around half of the 1.3 billion population is still not on the net and this represents a challenge as well as an opportunity.
While Flipkart and Amazon go on a fund-raising spree, the real battle will begin once big industrial houses such as the Tatas, Reliance and the Aditya Birla group join the race.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries has started a limited test use of WhatsApp to connect customers to grocery stores, days after Facebook decided to invest USD 5.7 billion in digital assets controlled by the company. JioMart, an e-commerce venture of Reliance Retail, "has already started interacting with customers on WhatsApp for grocery orders" in Navi Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan, Credit Suisse said in a report.
Google is followed by Sony India who won the runner-up position.
'India missed the software products revolution (and now is in danger of missing the platform revolution), complacent that we are the software experts of the world based on IT services prowess,' points out Rajeev Srinivasan.
If you are running a sweetmeat shop, will you manage a dairy for milk supply or buy milk from the market? Banks are running a dairy (which has its cost for processing milk), while NBFCs are buying milk from the market, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Amazon has seen its India sales growing four times this year.
Its trajectory in telecom is well known but now it is pushing for a similar leap into the ranks of the top players in its other businesses: media and entertainment, e-commerce, a series of online businesses ranging from health to education, and retail.
Here's a quick guide to navigating and ordering from global websites.
Although Walmart-Flipkart wholesale game-plan is to target about a $150 billion market out of a total pie of $700 billion in the country, the consolidation marks the end of the multi-brand dream of the American retail giant.
It is the most potent symbol of India's soft power -- more perhaps than the IT industry and our managerial skill, notes Vanita Kohli-Khandekar
Indian IT giants are outstanding companies with great management teams, but they have been held hostage by their past success.
It is hard enough to make a profit in e-commerce without having to deal with excessive paperwork, legal fees and the constant threat of harassment by revenue officials.
The big story is that IntraSoft is a remarkable proxy of the American e-commerce market.
'We are offering one year of free music and three months of free movies to a million users through MIUI8.'
'If Walmart is a physical retailer, why is it striking a deal with Flipkart for the online space?'
Flipkart eyes another $500 mn from eBay, which seeks to merge India ops with it and exit business
The FDA Maharashtra on Friday lodged an FIR against Snapdeal.
Along with Lord Ganesha and goddess Laxmi, electronic gadgets will also enter the pantheon of Hindu gods this Diwali.
The iPhone 6 and its higher end model iPhone 6 Plus will be available across retail stores from October 17.
"We are delighted to welcome Google as a strategic investor in Jio Platforms. We have signed a binding partnership and an investment agreement under which Google will invest Rs 33,737 crores for a 7.7 per cent stake in Jio Platforms," Mukesh Ambani said at the company's annual general meeting.
Every competitor is eyeing the top slot that Flipkart holds.
The Walmart chief stated that the values of the two companies were "very much aligned"
Demand is expected to grow as most customers await a drop in prices.
LG, Samsung, Videocon, Sony and Panasonic have instructed their trade partners that products sold through online marketplaces without their knowledge during flash sales will not get the benefit of after-sale service and warranties.
Alnoor Peermohamed & Raghu Krishnan find out why the new CEO is said to be the perfect man for turning around Flipkart's fortunes.
CashKaro.com works with online retailers like Amazon.in, Paytm, Jabong and ShopClues
Britannia Industries, the bakery and dairy major, has tied up with e-tailer Amazon India for a pilot launch of Good Day Chunkies, a new chocolate chip cookie, for 15 days. The offer is currently on and closes on December 5, after which the product goes to offline (normal retail) stores.
Indian online retailers have been raising funds to expand and compete with bigger rival Amazon.com Inc as more Indians shop on the Internet.
Start-ups such as Max Wholesale, Jumbotail and ShopKirana are helping them place orders, maintain inventory, optimise delivery routes and make payments, all digitally.
If Sachin Bansal sells his stake at a little over 5 per cent and steps down from Flipkart, as reports have suggested recently, either Binny Bansal or Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO of Flipkart, could be an option for the leadership position.
The market, however, reacted negatively to SpiceJet's announcement and the company's stock dropped by 0.87 per cent as analysts became wary of diversion into a new business during a high fuel price environment.
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