Tag: flipkart

The Curious Case of Amazon, Flipkart & FDI – The Impact of New FDI Rules

Rapid FDI stride is something India is boasting of since economic liberation in 1991, And indeed it brought in huge investments and millions of jobs alongside. No doubt market reforms placed the economy on the fast track of development. But on the flip side, soon after FDI in multi-brand retail got introduced in 2012 local businesses and trades took a hit quite as expected. Especially since gigantic foreign players like Amazon entered the market, Plenty of jobs were lost while micro & small retailers suffered significant losses.

First Significant Change in FDI Policy That Hit Amazon/Flipkart
Present Scenario and Government’s Role
E-commerce/E-retail Growth in India
Why E-commerce Regulation is Vital for Indian Economy
Fresh Allegations Amidst Sensational Revelations
What lies Ahead for Amazon & Flipkart
FAQ

First Significant Change in FDI Policy That Hit Amazon/Flipkart

The ease & comfort of e-shopping has been intelligently multiplied in value by these global giants by offering heavy discounts. Therefore, to level out the playing field, Govt of India brought in a major policy shift Via FDI into e-commerce in Dec 2018. This change was persuaded by Indian brick-and-mortar retailers who were long unhappy with the supposed unfair trade practices of these multinational corporations.

They contested that e-commerce retailers like Amazon & Walmart controlled Flipkart were creating complex business structures to smartly bypass foreign investment rules. They do it by finding a way around FDI rules to avoid complying with orders that are detrimental to these corporation’s interests & profits.

US companies deny these charges, But govt of India had to look over the interests of Indian businesses first & so it did. Now, these giants were disallowed to sell products from sellers in whom they had an equity stake.

The Rise Of E-commerce Industry In India

With growing internet penetration and disposable incomes, people of India areexperiencing a massive change in their shopping habits. People from all frontsof life are using their smartphones to buy products and items. With the bigthree— Amazon, Walmart, and Alibaba—entering the E-Commerce sector …

StartupTalkyDevashish Shrivastava

Present Scenario and Government’s Role

However, this didn’t seem to deter these foreign participants from working around policies to keep competition from Indian retailers at bay. So the Govt of India again is revisiting the FDI rules off late to tweak it further and Prohibit even those sellers from selling on these platforms, in whom these e-commerce companies have indirect stake through their parent company.

Prohibit sellers who purchase from the e-retailer or its group firm & intern sell on the e-commerce site (presently the seller is allowed to transact 25% of its inventory under this arrangement)

Govt had earlier in 2020 tightened the noose on FDI from neighboring countries as well, who share land borders with us like China, who now will have to seek govt approval before investing. The objective behind was to protect opportunistic take-overs & acquisitions of Indian companies in distress by foreign giants, due to COVID-19 induced global recession.

Henceforth, any new investments in any sector from these (restricted) countries namely China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Bhutan and Afghanistan will have to take the govt route, and not the automatic route which was open to it earlier.

E-commerce/E-retail Growth in India

Let us look at some fascinating facts & figures before we discuss this subject further:

Traditional Business Vs Digital Business

This post discusses the differences between traditional businesses and digitalbusinesses. It also talks about the types of business models that come underthese two forms of businesses. Managing a business is both challenging and interesting. It’s not like your 9-5government job where one reaches…

StartupTalkyDevashish Shrivastava

Why E-commerce Regulation is Vital for Indian Economy

According to an American market research firm, Amazon & Flipkart together occupy about 63% of the total e-commerce space in India. Now, if domestic retailers, online & offline i.e. physical brick-and-mortar stores have to have a fair share of the market or a fair competition at least govt has to devise a strategy to promote Indian e-commerce & Industry without discouraging FDI. It’s a tough proposition.

FDI is looked over by Indian departments of commerce & industry. They formulate laws and regulate FDI inflow by framing new policies and/or modifying scrapping old policies & rules. While this is done to further the economy on a macro level, its ripple effect on the micro economy can’t be overlooked either.

So it has to strike a fine balance between retail reforms, an open market which on one hand benefits end consumers and provides millions of jobs. On the other hand predatory pricing, deep discounting by online retailers makes small retailers(mainly owner-managed & run stores) fight for survival tougher.

Tools And Techniques Employed by E-Commerce Sector Post COVID-19

How is the e-commerce sector dealing with the changes brought about by Covid-19?” let us try to answer this question in detail and discuss emerging trends in the e-commerce industry.

StartupTalkyTanusha Verma

Fresh Allegations Amidst Sensational Revelations

A large growing economy like India, where low production costs and high-quality labor service lures investors from the world over, developed nations like the US, European and China, is also most prone to manipulations by foreign players if given a free run. As feared in this tweet by CAIT, Amazon India has been disrespecting laws reveals a recent Reuters investigation.

For years @CAITIndia has been maintaining that #Amazon has been circumventing FDI laws of India to conduct unfair and unethical trade. Now @ReutersIndia @adityakalra investigation reveals the truth and we stand vindicated. We demand serious action now. @PiyushGoyal @DIPPGOI https://t.co/6t283fNJxA

— Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) (@CAITIndia) February 17, 2021

In January 2020, India’s antitrust watchdog, the Competition Commission of India, announced it was investigating Amazon and Walmart Inc’s Flipkart following a complaint by an Indian trader group. The commission cited four alleged anti-competitive practices: exclusive launch of mobile phones by the e-commerce firms, promoting preferred sellers on their websites, deep discounting, and prioritizing some seller listings over others.

What lies Ahead for Amazon & Flipkart

While the colossal change in consumer behavior is unlikely to fade in near future, Amazon & Flipkart also maintain that they have been complying with Indian laws duly & are denying all charges. Govt is in talks with stakeholders for over a month. Therefore, for now, it is difficult to say what impact the policy changes, if any, will bring in, though e-retail unquestionably seems to have a bright future in the Indian market of a billion-plus.

FAQ

How much FDI is allowed in retail?

51% FDI in multi-brand retail through automatic route i.e. without having to seek govt approval.

Do online marketplaces like Amazon have their own products?

Amazon and other multi-brand retail marketplaces are only allowed to connect sellers & buyers on their website in India. They are not allowed to purchase, hold, market and sell stocks as their own.

Who started e-commerce in India?

K Vaitheeswaran was the first person who opened the first online marketplace for Indian consumers called Fabmart.com in India in 1999, now rebranded as ‘More’.

February 26, 2021

Mukesh Bansal: Founder of Myntra | CEO of Cure.fit

Mukesh Bansal is the Founder of the fashion e-commerce firm, Myntra. He is an Indian businessman, who currently serves as the CEO of Cure.fit and its co-founder as well. He is also on the board of Olympics Gold Quest, which is a non-profit organization that promotes sports and games.

Explore Mukesh Bansal’s personal life and family, education and his journey as the Co-Founder of Myntra, CEO of Cure.fit, Head of Commerce & Advertising Business at Flipkart.

Mukesh Bansal- Biography

Name	Mukesh Bansal
Born	1976
Birthplace	Haridwar, Uttarakhand
Age	44 (2020)
Nationality	Indian
Education	IIT, Kanpur
Profession	Businessman
Position	CEO of Cure.fit; Founder of Myntra
Marital Status	Married
Spouse	Archana Bansal
Children	2 (Avni & Arnav)

Mukesh Bansal – Personal Life and Family
Mukesh Bansal – Education
Mukesh Bansal – Professional Life
Mukesh Bansal as Co-Founder of Myntra
Mukesh Bansal – Association with Flipkart
Mukesh Bansal as Co-Founder & CEO of Cure.fit

Mukesh Bansal- Personal Life and Family

Mukesh Bansal was born in Haridwar, Uttarakhand. He came from a middle class family and made sincere efforts to get admission in an IIT college. He is well known for his friendly and polite nature. His wife, Archana runs her own business. After contributing efforts in US for 10 years, he came back to India and launched Myntra and his entrepreneurial journey continued thereafter.

He has 2 children named Avni (Meaning Earth) and Arnav (Meaning Ocean)

Mukesh Bansal

Mukesh Bansal- Education

He completed his B.Tech in Computer Science from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur in 1997. He did his graduation from 1993-1997. He is known to be a task master, when it comes to any official work. He works on a strict work schedule.

Mukesh Bansal- Professional Life

Mukesh Bansal joined Deloitte in 1997, as a systems analyst for two years in Chicago. He was highly influenced by the dotcom boom that was raising to new heights in San Francisco and moved to the Bay area in 1999. He gave up a job portal, which he started with one of his friend. He then worked with various companies such as NexTag (1999-2000), eWanted (2000-2001), Centrata (2001-2004), newScale (2005-2006) which were all early start ups in Silicon Valley. He was employed in these companies as a engineer, product manager across technology and business enterprises.

Mukesh Bansal as Co-Founder of Myntra

The three founders of Myntra are Mukesh Bansal, Ashutosh Lawania and Vineet Saxena. They launched Myntra in 2007 with INR 30 lakh in personal investment. He was propelled to establish his own e-commerce venture owing to the experience of Silicon Valley. Initially, Myntra was a gifting startup but gradually transformed to a fashion e-commerce hub. The e-commerce venture became a success. Soon it was acquired by Flipkart in the year 2014 worth $330 million. Though Mukesh continued to serve as the chairman of Myntra board and managed the advertising and commerce insights until 2016. Flipkart is the largest Indian e-commerce venture.

Mukesh Bansal – Association with Flipkart

After the acquisition of Myntra by Flipkart, Mukesh was employed as the Head of Commerce & Advertising Business at Flipkart in 2014. Mukesh brought many ideas to revamp the company’s talent philosophy. He aided the company to reach a revenue of $5 billion. He later left his position at Flipkart in 2016.

Mukesh Bansal as Co-Founder & CEO of Cure.fit

Mukesh Bansal co-founded a Bangalore based fitness and healthcare company, Cure.fit in 2016 with Ankit Nagori. It started due to his passion towards fitness and books. He works out everyday with a combination of crossfit, mixed martial arts and yoga. There are varied portals under the fitness and well being start up, Cure.fit, they are: eat.fit (food delivery), cult.fit (fitness centers), mind.fit (yoga, meditation and counseling), and care.fit (paid primary care solutions). The name itself specifies that these all are related to health, fitness and nutrition. It offers digital and offline experiences in physical and mental health. Within two years, Cure.fit has raised over $170 million. No sooner Cure.fit announced the launch of its sportswear brand Cultsport, which offers functional apparel for workout formats like field training, running and gym. During the year 2019, CureFit raised $120 million in Series D round of funding. The company basically aims to build health and fitness awareness among citizens. Though the COVID-19 pandemic has initially demotivated everyone, CureFit sought this opportunity and started LIVE workout sessions and online therapy.

He has also acquired four fitness companies. Accel Partners and Kalaari Capital are some of his backers. The rival company to Cure.Fit is HealthifyMe and MyFitnessPal.

FAQs

What is Mukesh Bansal’s Age?

His age is 44 years (2020). He was born in 1976 in Haridwar, Uttarakhand.

Who is Mukesh Bansal’s Wife?

Mukesh Bansal’s wife is Archana who runs her own business.

Who is the founder of Myntra?

Mukesh Bansal is considered the owner of Myntra after he launched Myntra in 2007 with Ashutosh Lawania and Vineet Saxena. Currently, Myntra is owned by Flipkart.

What is Mukesh Bansal’s education?

He completed his B.Tech in Computer Science from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur in 1997. He did his graduation from 1993-1997.

Who is the CEO of Cure.fit?

Mukesh Bansal is the CEO of Cure.fit.

January 21, 2021

CashKaro Competitors: Top Players In The Cashback Market
CashKaro is a one stop destination for savings on all online shopping, enabling members to compare prices on different websites, earn extra cashback and get free coupons across 1000 plus ecommerce sites like Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Paytm, Myntra, etc. With over 2 million registered users, Cashkaro is India’s largest cashback and coupons site backed up honorable Mr Ratan Tata and Kalaari Capital.

CashKaro offers a casual but fast paced environment where creativity and effective teamwork are rewarded. Founded by Swati and Rohan Bhargava in April 2013, the company helps new brands to be promoted to relevant engaged audience who are online shopping savvy and helps them put on the radar amongst online shoppers. It is free to be listed on CashKaro.

When you visit CashKaro, you can visit the website of your choice, and shop normally for which the cashback will be auto applied on checkout. The retailer pays us commission for every sale, and we give you Cashback from this. Featured on over 50 news sites in India and UK. India’s fastest growing Cashback site. It is among Asia’s top 25 start-ups to watch out for, as featured in Tech in Asia.

CashKaro Raises USD 10Mn in Series ‘B’ Funding Led by Korea Investment Partners

15th September 2020, New Delhi: CashKaro, India’s largest Cashback and Couponssite has secured USD 10 million in a Series ‘B’ funding round led by KoreaInvestment Partners (KIP) and existing investor Kalaari Capital. The company hadpreviously raised their Series ‘A’ and angel round of funding fro…

StartupTalkyShubham Kumar

CashKaro App

CashKaro App is the easiest use of smartphone users and is available on both playstore and iOS for android and apple users. The app has more than 1 million users that have downloaded the app on their android devices. For using CashKaro App you must need to download it from playstore or Apple Store. Then install to you phone.
- Now open the app and register if you’re a new user else you sign in with your details.
- You can register through your Facebook Id or Email Id and Password.
- After registering or signing in go to home. Then you can see offers and deals. Then choose any offer and buy or recharge to getting your cashback.
- All cashback of you earn will show in your Earning section. Then you can withdrawal easily through your bank account.
Some of the CashKaro competitors are:

The competitors of Cashkaro

GoPaisa

GoPaisa provides the Indian online shoppers with an aggregated offering that helps you find great deals while also saving big bucks. GoPaisa co-founders Aman Jain and Ankita Jain built this platform with smart cashback options, coupon offers, deals and discounts, a great shopping experience for anything, be it holidays or electronics.

On GoPaisa the online retailers are able to leverage the platform to promote their latest deals, promo codes, coupons and discounts while consumers are able to benefit from great savings while shopping online. They partner with renowned e-retailers like Amazon, Flipkart, Dominoes, Myntra, Jabong, Makemytrip, Pepper fry to bring the best possible deals to its customers.

After registering on GoPaisa users would earn attractive discounts along with cashback on purchases. Online cashbacks get auto credited to user’s wallets after partner retailer websites confirm the successful completion of purchases. However, use of these discount deals would cancel GoPaisa cashback as only one offer can be availed at a time.

GoPaisa follows a transparent system that allows redemption of the credited amount, in other words, cashback, immediately upon receiving it across varied platforms. The amount can be used to recharge mobile number or DTH Connection or pay bills for electricity, water and makes payments at partner websites. Furthermore, there is an option of bank account transfer.

How CashKaro Used Social Media To Its Benefit: A Case Study

CashKaro is currently India’s largest and fastest growing cashback and couponwebsite. Using the platform, users can get Cashback on all online orders atSnapdeal, Myntra, Amazon and the other 500 plus ecommerce partners. CashKaroprovides you with a cashback and gives you the option of paying in ad…

StartupTalkyPV Vyshnavi

GrabOn

The company was founded in 2013 by 5 people and more than 4000 Merchant Partners and counting. GrabOn is a trusted brand and an affiliate e-commerce scene in India. They are known for maintaining high quality standards through our unique user interface and user experience.

How to avail offers on cashback sites

On GrabOn you can get the most authentic and updated coupons and deals making the company a top player in the coupons and deals industry. The CNBZ Awaaz called the company as the Internet Heroes thus recognizing them as one of the most successful E-commerce affiliated startups. They have a strategic B2B partnerships with a strong network in the IT sector which has benefitted not only GrabOn but also its affiliates.

It has been able to save the amount of Rs. 4,389,334,560 for its customers. Through the companies business partnership programs, it helps a company increase its revenue, create brand awareness and expand its reach. Our network includes a wide range of merchants and strategic companies and our aim is to cross-promote each other in providing the best deals to the end-consumer.

Coupon Website In India You Need To Try

Having a coupon while shopping counts as one of the best feelings of the world.Who does not like discounts on their favorite T-shirt or the dress you arecraving for? So here we have covered the best coupon websites in India, that youshould not definitely check once. We all know what a coupon doe…

StartupTalkyBaishali Das Adhikari

IndianCashback

The motivation of IndianCashback is to promote the ecommerce branch on internet and to make it familiar to the common people because they believe that the cashback service which will be more useful for a deep reach. IndianCashback works with most giants of e-commerce marketing as it promotes their products and the customers also get Cashbacking.

Since IndianCashback works as promoters of merchants, they get commission for the business done through us, and then transfer the big percentage back to you, that means more savings for you at each buy. Because of this reason, you are getting your cashback savings over merchant given offers. Indiancashback transfers your cashback as money, directly to your bank account.

The process of most cashback companies

IndianCashback has a team consisting marketing experts, programmers, skilled designers, market analysts coordinated under experienced management team. IndianCashback is the India no 1 Cashback and coupons website where can save a lot on your online shopping. All the customers have to do is join IndianCashback for free, go to a retailers via us and shop at 600 plus online partner shops.

The cashback is added within 7 hours as it remains Pending status until the retailer pays. As soon as the company gets the commission from retailers we change the status of your Cashback, Pending to Confirmed state which usually takes 4-10 weeks. When you have Rs.200 or more as confirmed cashback in your account, you can request payment at Request Payment page and we transfer the money to your bank account for free via NEFT or CHEQUE.

Freecharge – The best deals and cashbacks are right here

Back in 2010, nobody even had the slightest of thought that like you can sharevideos over the internet, one would also be able to carry monetary transactionsover the phone, at just one click. Amongst the early ones to exploit this ideaand pioneer the evolution of digital payments were Kunal Shah …

StartupTalkyVidhi Punamiya

Pennyful

The company was founded in 2011 and is the pioneer in the Indian Cashback and discount coupons market and has been recognized as a leading innovation in online shopping space in the Indian market. The goal of Pennyful is simple, which is to create a unique shopping experience for their customers where they can earn back some of the money they spend.

The company pays its customers to shop. The key distinguishing factor at Pennyful.in is that it offers real cash back to shoppers who shop at any of its affiliations. On the online partner stores through its site while helping them discover amazing offers and products. Supported by an excellent customer support team, Pennyful.in gives its users various options of buying flight tickets, electronics, apparels and accessories, books, gifting ideas, shoes etc.

The company boasts of partnerships with over 500+ merchants including names like Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon, Alibaba and Paytm among others. All consumers need to do is start their shopping at Pennyful.in to earn real cash rewards and discounts. On 17 January 2015, Pennyful also launched its price comparison and product discovery tool for Amazon, Snapdeal and Flipkart, making it the first Indian cashback website to deliver such a service.
October 27, 2020
Online Shopping Tips That Can Save Your Money

Online shopping industry has seen one of the most highest surge in recent times across the globe. With a wide range of e-commerce websites available and easy access to them through our mobile phones, laptops, tablets etc., consumers can buy anything and everything at their comfort without the actual hassle of driving to the store, finding a parking lot, walking through the store to find the products and often need to stand in long queues at the cash register.

Shopping through e-commerce platforms helps consumers avoid these disadvantages. With online shopping, a person logs onto the Internet, visits the store’s website, and chooses the items she desires. The items are held in a virtual shopping cart until she is ready to make her purchase. The shopper can remain in her pajamas as she does her shopping, and the process can be conducted in the wee hours of the morning or late into the night. Online stores never close – they’re open 24 hours a day.

· Online shopping is expanding so fast that the market size is expected to hit 4 trillion in year 2020.

· The countries with leading average eCommerce revenue per shoppers are: USA ($1,804), UK ($1,629), Sweden ($1,446), France ($1,228), Germany ($1,064), Japan ($968), Spain ($849), China ($626), Russia ($396), and Brazil ($350).

Shocking Growth of Shopping Apps in Pandemic [2020 Stats]

The State of Growth of Shopping App Marketing 2020 reports that a mobilemarketing analytics and attribution platform, notes that India witnessed about a 250% increase in non-organic growth of shopping apps install during the strictlockdown period running from March. It shows that generally peopl…

StartupTalkySouvik Dey

· Atleast 67% of users admit to the fact that they use e-commerce websites to window shopping while idle on their smartphones.

· 60% of consumers have used Chatbots to find answers to their queries while shopping online.

Thus, it can be observed that online shopping has become a worldwide trend these days and in order to master the art of online shopping, here are some tips and tricks that you must know.

Leave items in your online shopping cart:

The most common and widely used method to save some bucks while shopping online is to select the items and add it to your shopping basket or cart and then leave it there for a day or two. This way, you can avoid impulsive purchase and the retailer will try to retain you by sending coupons and better prices on the next day. keep in mind that you have an account on the merchant’s website and you are logged in when you leave your cart.

Shop on the right days

A number of online stores roll out certain discounts and offers on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. It is also noted that Sunday is the best day to book cheap airline ticket while Monday is the most expensive day. Thus, even a Sunday afternoon lures you to shop your favourite dress, resist yourself till Wednesday for the best deals. Tuesday is the best day to purchase laptop and desktop computers as major retailers like Dell Home and Hewlett-Packard send out special coupons every Tuesday.

How Has Technology Changed Shopping

With the release of Covid-19 rules and regulations worldwide, many consumers and buyers are concerned about the safety of store visits. These are some examples of technology providers offering great solutions to improve social distance and improve buyer safety during this Covid-19.

StartupTalkyATHUL C K

Analyse the dynamic pricing before shopping

Dynamic pricing is the online strategy used by merchants to show different prices to different customers according to your location, your browsing and spending patterns and current demand of the product. For example: If you have searched for a laptop online and the next day when you visit the website, the price of the product shoots upto 30%. This is a part of dynamic pricing which tricks you into buying the expensive deal.

To beat dynamic pricing you must:

· Log out of your accounts (email, Facebook etc.)

· Clear your browsing history and cookies in particular

· Switch to incognito mode to visit the website

· Use a VPN for clear slate

· Choose less developed countries as home to get better prices

Chatbots for price adjustments

An AI chatbot is nothing but a software that engages the customer in conversations and provides rather specific answers to their immediate queries. The companies mainly make use of chat bots so they can increase their online sales.

How AI Chatbot Increases Sales/ Sales Boost by AI Chatbot

Artificial intelligence chatbots mainly distinguish themselves from other chatbots by their ability to understand the intentions behind the customer’s questions. Chatbots provide the precise information customers are looking for.

StartupTalkyTanusha Verma

You can use Chatbots with everything such as extending the date for a coupon, getting exclusive discounts that aren’t advertised, honor a price-match policy, and more. Also, 24×7 availability of someone behind the screen, only if these conditions are fulfilled they will stay with you and keep engaging.

Purchase electronics when a new or competitor’s product launches

An important trick before buying electronic gadgets, you should time them with product price drops for amazing deals. Electronic items are often sold at lower prices when the dealers need to clear inventory for new launches.

For example: If Samsung launches a new smartphone, you can compare the price with its rival company Oppo or Vivo to get the best deals.

Seek price-drop refunds

Suppose you bought a product and the very next day there is a sale on the same product, this can be annoying. In order to seek the price drop refund you can contact the retailer directly, some companies will refund you the price difference. Also, some credit cards provide price protection, you will get the difference price if the price drops, no matter where you shopped.

Smart reward programs

Some online shopping websites offer smart reward programs by doing some tasks such as by doing paid online surveys or merely browsing around product catalogs that can be exchanged to gift cards or special discounts. Some sites also offer points for simply watching videos and then you can redeem them as discounts from different online sites.

Out of season shopping

You can buy your woolen garments or seasonal furniture and seasonal decors during the after-season and post-holiday blowout sales as merchants may need to clear stock for next season’s items, you’ll score steep discounts and no one will know that it’s from last season, which definitely doesn’t exist when it comes to Christmas trees and outdoor tables.

Compare price online before shopping

In order to score the best deal out of a wide range of products, you can run smart price comparison checks through various tools such as Pricelink browser add-on, this will save your time by automatically comparing prices of the same product from different merchants. You can also know if there are some coupons available.

October 16, 2020
Flipkart Dives Into Social Commerce Platform Via Refurbished Goods Platform 2GUD

Flipkart has come up with the idea of launching social commerce on its 2GUD platform. 2GUD social commerce platform is owned by Flipkart where it sells all its refurbished goods. This new feature has been introduced to the users with a concept of uninterrupted video shopping.

Influencers Playing An Important Role

Under this feature, users can follow their favorite social media influencers and will be kept updated about all the latest fashion trends, gadget reviewing, latest make up or beauty tips and many more. it will contain a video feed consisting of all the influencers who will be promoting different brands and also reviewing the products. While the influencers will be reviewing some of the products users can even directly buy it through these videos.

2GUD Platform

Amazon Pay Launches Smart Stores: Can Be A Life Saver For Local Shops

Amazon Pay has launched a feature name Smart Stores on Friday where thecustomers who needs to buy products have just scan the QR code using theApplication and can explore all the products within the store which areavailable. Amazon Pay support system for local vendorsThis new feature is a ne…

StartupTalkyYash Raj Srivastava

A Variety of videos will be available through which the users can go through and select the product of their choice. Review videos will be available which will help the customer to go for the right choice. There will be a virtual store which will provide the customers wide variety of products.

Currently Not Available For Mobile Site and Web Site

After launching the feature on the 2GUD app, the company is also looking forward for becoming available for mobile site and website too. Having more than a million customers and spread around 15000 plus pin codes around India they offer around 600 plus refurbished products segments.

Flipkart Statement

Chanakya Gupta, Head of 2GUD gave a statement,“We want the next 200 million customers to be able to experience social commerce comfortably and build their trust on 2GUD as they come on to the platform for an engaging shopping experience. These consumers quite often face trust and style deficits. In a situation like this, recommendations from a person like yourself or an influencer play a critical role. Influencers are changing the landscape of online retail and bringing greater opportunities for social commerce platforms in India.”

Social media has played a very important role in changing the way that the users are shopping now. Influencers are creating a great impact on the new market. With the growing of influencers in the non metro cities too it has created a larger impact in the market. Due to this, people have started to feel a personal connection which has also created a good impact.

Google Launched Shopping Tab to direct users to E-commerce platforms

Google India [/tag/google/] has launched ‘Shopping’ tab to enable users to flipthrough the products and direct them to the merchant websites or e-commerceplatforms when searching for products to buy. Similar to the News and Image tabon Google, the shopping tab allows users to seamlessly control t…

StartupTalkyShubham Kumar

Lately, people have gained a lot of interest in this type of shopping concept. The younger generation is also getting attracted and becoming a smart shopper. While clothing, accessories, gadgets etc are being mostly bought online for a while now, so mixing up with this concept can be a unique way to promote the brands.

2GUD was launched in 2018

Prospecting Concept

This concept is gaining popularity among users and does have a great prospect. Influencers promoting these products is also helping in gaining the trust of the users. A good future can be expected and with more users and influencers trying to fit in.

Flipkart said that social commerce has already made inroads and accounts for 15-20% of the online retail market today, which is expected to hit the $70 billion mark in the coming decade, according to industry reports.

With the market now moving from celebrity influencers to the small home grown influencers, people will be able to develop a trust quite easily. With the involvement of Instagram, Youtube these influencers has been an inspiration for the newer generation. So, Flipkart can actually play a great role with the help of this concept.

FAQs Related To 2GUD

Will 2GUD only provide refurbished products?

No, 2GUD has been into offering new products for the quality conscious customers in the small cities since August 2019.

Is this safe?

Yes, this site is 100% safe as it is a counterpart of the ecommerce giant Flipkart only.

July 9, 2020
E-Commerce Market Competition Brings War Of Sales To Benefit Consumer End

Amazon Vs Flipkart

Time for the evoking battle in global e-commerce market competition is around the corner. A comparative study about the pros and cons of the giants’ tie up in Indian retail market to throw light on the changes which could be possibly seen. Too many sneaks in and brainstorming through varied reliable sources give us a vivid picture on Walmart, the world’s biggest retailer. The American multinational retail chain, Walmart is investing in India. The fervor to establish itself in e-commerce market has driven Walmart here to India. Although, to establish itself in the Indian market is a mammoth task and Walmart has taken a huge leap.

Walmart has clenched hands with Flipkart, India’s first billion dollar company that brought a revolution in the Indian retail market through online shopping. Flipkart has about one-fourth of its market sales in Indian sub-continent which appealed the Bentonville giant to tie-up with Flipkart. Flipkart controls 34 percent of online sales in India with a wide range of product categories from apparels to electronic goods. It is going to be the major stakeholder of Flipkart which has high revenue base in the Indian retail market. Walmart has invested about $15 billion for this venture and is remaining poised with fingers crossed.

All this arouse competition with another e-commerce giant, Amazon for which Walmart sensed India to be the better platform. Amazon has a significant customer base and already established a strong foothold amongst Indian consumers. The customers of this Seattle based giant spend about a double-triple time of those spent by Flipkart customers. The Amazon’s app has the highest downloads compared to Flipkart and its sister concern, Myntra.

Also Read: Mukesh Ambani Is All Set To Revolutionize The E-Commerce Industry with JioMart

The Competitor’s Insight

As Amazon already holds a stand-in India, it is a demanding situation for Walmart to creep in with varied strategies. This US-based retailer which has already dug its feet in the cash and carry wholesale market in India is ambitious to get a toehold in the e-commerce sector. Walmart has come with a clever strategy to target Amazon. Flipkart has already acquired Myntra in 2014 and also Jabong through Myntra. It’s evident that by acquiring the Bangalore based retailer, Walmart predicts to have a customer base before its arrival in the e-commerce market. To land and grow on an established branded market seems quite easy which might be Walmart’s insight, but this may even turn out the other way.

Walmart, the world’s largest company by revenue has an edge over Amazon in India with its brick and mortar stores. The marketing strategy goes this way: Both physical and online presence might cater to customers effectively. This is because shipping charges are really expensive and this can be overcome with in-store access so that they can collect from the local stores. This ultimately allows both the retailer and customer to save money for packaging and shipping costs. Walmart hereby shows its Omnichannel marketing strategy by considering in-store and e-commerce as complementary sectors and not as two different streams. As a matter of fact, Amazon is planning to acquire More’s Outlet of Aditya Birla Group which will give a shoulder to shoulder competition with Walmart.

The battle has already begun between the US-based rivals and Flipkart is a tool for Walmart to play its turn on Amazon. Though the win is unpredictable, initially the battle itself will bring in more changes and benefits at the consumer end.

Also Read: Amazon Experimenting In Food Delivery Services In India

With Amazon Fresh has entered the food and groceries delivery space where Flipkart announced its new program, FarmerMart to give Amazon a run for its money. While the program is yet to be launched, it’s already a large threat to existing e-commerce entities that operate in same field.

Taking Amazon Prime head on, Walmart-owned Flipkart entered into original video content in India with the launch of ‘Flipkart Video Originals‘ as the over-the-top media services (OTT) war heats up in the country.

Also Read: Ecommerce Trends in the Indian Ecosystem

June 16, 2020
Flipkart’s 2GUD.com Expands to More Categories in Addition to Refurbished Market

Flipkart increases categories with addition to refurbished shopping for better and value purchasing power with 2Gud.com

In 2018, Flipkart acquired the India operations of eBay, among various investments that it made. Although, as a part of the memorandum of understanding between Flipkart and eBay, Flipkart has decided to shut down India’s first international e-commerce portal for a brand-new replacement by its 2GUD flagship for endless refurbished shopping, Flipkart’s brand new platform for a trade of refurbished goods, is now on the mobile web.

All about Refurbished Market 2Gud.com

Flipkart has been working to make a refurbished market to ease shopping for long. Globally, the online second-hand goods market(refurbished market) is flourishing. Based on the learnings from eBay, Flipkart has decided to launch refurbished market, and this was announced by CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy in August, 2018. A previously unorganized sector has another giant’s participation, 2GUD whose operations would be completely distinct and separate from Flipkart. The Bengaluru based Flipkart would make thorough tests on original products, and offer certified warranty varying from 3-12 months on its refurbished market platform.

2GUD Homepage

The products sold would be serviced through a well-sorted service network throughout the country. Initially, the eye candy to Flipkart’s 2Gud would be seen in the refurbished mobile phones, laptop computers, and tablets, which would, in near future also include home appliances and other goods in its refurbished market called 2Gud. In a statement issued by the CEO, this market is aimed at “value buyers” who are looking for refurbished goods.

2Gud RoadMap for Refurbished Products

Flipkart owned 2Gud for the refurbished market will play a major in driving budget shoppers to premium products. Although, with its great accreditation for shopping experience refurbished market will gain trust quickly among the budget buyers and refurbished sellers. Moreover, Flipkart will also keep a strict quality check on refurbished items so that the buyers use their product hassle free. However, with its 10-day easy return policy will be super beneficial for the refurbished shopping market. Initially, 2Gud started the refurbished market with Mobiles, Laptops, Tablets, Smart Watches, Accessories and plan to introduce 40+ categories in the giant refurbished market “2Gud”.

2GUD has expanded its category offerings to cater to style-conscious Indians who are looking for value IN 2019. Targeted at Tier II and Tier III markets, 2GUD plans to evolve from a refurbished-only platform to a complete customer offering with categories such as affordable fashion, accessories, and home. As part of a larger strategy to expand the benefits of e-commerce to the next 200 million customers, 2GUD, which is present across 40+ categories, will now expand to 150+ categories. 2GUD is focusing on making the latest trends across fashion, home, decor, kids and other categories affordable for the Indian consumer.

2GUD predicts that the refurbished goods market, on gaining the trust of users, would go on to become a 20 billion dollar industry in the next half-decade. To be a leader in this segment of e-commerce in India is not an easy task, given the “trust issues” that continue to persist in this part of the pie.

Recently, 2GUD upgraded its m-site, making it available as a mobile app as it looks to cater to the larger set of audience and shoppers. 2GUD has served close to a million customers from over 3,000 cities across India, and has over 1,000 registered sellers.

Officially, eBay.in ended operations on the 14th of August 2018. In the meantime, eBay is all set to relaunch its platform with cross-border trade offers exclusively. The Walmart-owned-Flipkart has enormous growth prospects and has been doing great in its own way.

June 15, 2020
Companies are Asking their Employees to Work from Home due to CoronaVirus

Since Coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, the coronavirus has spread in many countries all over the world. As the number of infections and deaths from the coronavirus i.e. COVID-19 rise drastically, many governments, schools, and companies around the world are taking more drastic measures to restrain the virus’s spread. At this time, coronavirus has more than 118,000 cases and 4,290 deaths worldwide.

As the number of infections and deaths from the novel coronavirus are still increasing day by day, people are advised to avoid public presence, social gatherings, etc. At present, India has over 60 confirmed cases of coronavirus with employees in IT companies affected and 9.41 Lakh people have been screened at airports. Similarly, there are at least 1,267 cases of the coronavirus with more than 29 deaths in the United States.

Many major companies like Google, Microsoft, Apple & so on are also making sure that their employees do not get affected and stay safe during this outbreak. Google has advised all its employees in Europe, the Middle East and Africa to work from home starting March 12th, expanding a recommendation sent on March 10 to North America-based employees to work from home until at least April 10th.

On Sunday, Apple CEO Tim Cook encouraged employees at several of its global offices to work remotely “if your job allows” from March 9th to 13th. And by the end of last week, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and many other tech companies asked their employees in the Bay Area and Seattle to work from home. Moreover, Google also confirmed that it would give its hourly workers their regular pay if they had to miss work due to coronavirus. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is urging Americans to ask their schools and workplaces about contingency plans, like working from home, in case they have to shut down over coronavirus. Companies from Wuhan to Silicon Valley have changed how and where they do business as the virus spreads on.

Due to drastic spread of coronavirus lately, many Indian corporations & startups are asking their employees to work from home. This includes Flipkart, Snapdeal, Swiggy, Paytm, Uber & Wipro and so on. Nithin Kamath, founder of stock broking startup Zerodha, stated that the entire team of 1,200 has been asked to work from home. Similarly, other Bengaluru-based startups like fintech startup Instamojo, edtech platform Unacademy, Byju’s, Bounce and Meesho have asked their employees to strictly work from home to avoid any risk. E-commerce companies like Flipkart, Snapdeal, Paytm & also Swiggy are encouraging their employees to work from home by using technologies like videoconferencing to interact with their clients and colleagues. Also ride-hailing companies like Ola & Uber are asking their employees to work remotely especially if one is feeling unwell. Moreover, IT industries like Wipro & Tech Mahindra are taking necessary precautions by keeping employees,who travel overseas for their projects, in quarantine. Telecom major Reliance Jio Infocomm & Coal India have given their employees choice to work from home without any biometric attendance.

Companies adopting work from home due to Corona

Many companies are looking for solutions to enable their employees work from home without compromising the efficiency of work. For this, they are adopting various technologies & software.
The Chennai-based office suite provider Zoho also made the announcement that it also implemented a work from home policy for its own employees. The company states that over 8000 employees across more than 10 countries will be working from safety of their homes until the virus is brought under control. Zoho uses Remotely toolkit to run their remote operations. Zoho Corp CEO Sridhar Vembu has been running the company from a remote farm near Tenkasi, a town in southern Tamil Nadu with the help of Remotely — the company’s virtual collaboration and productivity platform. Now, Zoho is also offering the same tools to its business partners and clients for free temporarily. Zoho Remotely includes a selection of apps in advanced software suite which will enable communication and collaboration between colleagues and customers.

Similarly, the networking giant Cisco is offering its remote collaboration tool Webex for free under 90-day licences to businesses who are not its customers. Cisco’s SVP and GM, Sri Srinivasan said that they would also be helping existing customers meet their rapidly changing needs as they enable a much larger number of remote workers by expanding their usage at no additional cost. He further revealed that that after the Covid-19 virus, traffic on the Webex backbone connecting China-based Webex users to their global workplaces has increased as much as 22 times.

At the same time, other companies are relying upon video conferencing and chat software. During this outbreak, the demand for Microsoft, Google, and Zoom’s Video Conferencing Software has increased significantly all over the world. This demand is expected to increase even more as the number of cases rises. As the number of school closures and quarantines increases, video conferencing will become ever more & more important. According to reports, Microsoft’s Teams collaboration platform has seen a 500% increase in usage in China since end of January. This usage is increasing in the U.S. as well, with more employees working from home. While, Zoom CFO, Kelly Steckelberg has said publicly that its usage is up significantly from its 100 billion minutes run rate at the end of January. During the same time period, the company also saw four-five times as many users in Japan, South Korea and Singapore.

Considering the risk and intensity of COVID-19, these companies are offering many services free of cost. All that demand has made the tech companies to make it easier and in some cases free to use their software. Microsoft announced that Teams is now free to anyone with an email address. Google said last week it’s offering access to its Hangouts Meet video conferencing service and all its G-Suite as well as to G Suite for Education collaboration platforms for free of cost. Even, Zoom has also lifted the 40-minute limit on meetings for its users in China. Now, it is being extended to schools and universities in the U.S. upon request. Slack, a messaging platform, already offers a free tier but the company is offering live Q&A and webinars free.

In the middle of worldwide health and safety worries, the company and its team once again shows its agility and tenacity by offering free services. This is really good gesture in tech market.

March 13, 2020