Having a coupon while shopping counts as one of the best feelings in the world. Who does not like discounts on their favorite T-shirts, dresses, electronic gadgets, and more?
All of us crave amazing discounts on our favourite things. We all know what a coupon does and thus, we never miss any opportunity to grab the best deals on our loved products. However, with growing expenses, it has become difficult to avail of all the possible discounts that our digital destinations offer. Many websites help their users get decent discounts on the first purchase or during the first set of purchases, however, getting good discounts on the products even after that sounds challenging these days.
This is why, here, we have covered the best coupon websites in India that you should not definitely check once. The listed websites are some of the most reliable and effective coupon websites in India that will surely amaze you with the range of deals and discounts they offer. Also, you can use them as many times as you like. So, hop on!
GrabOn has reportedly helped users save around Rs 4300 crore a year annualy. The website was founded in the year 2013, and now it has more than 4,000 merchant partners with the rank of the best coupon website in India. Not only in India, but the success story of GrabOn has also been popularized in the foreign market as well.
CashKaro
CashKaro | Coupon websites
This is another best coupon website in India. CashKaro is getting pretty popular among users nowadays. It provides unbelievable discounts as well as cashback offers. CashKaro has a partnership with more than 500 e-commerce websites. The websites include Yatra, Snapdeal, Amazon, MakeMyTrip, etc.
Couponswala
Couponswala | Best site for coupon codes in India
CouponsWala is the name and savings is the game. You are not just greeted with the latest coupons and discounts like other websites here. You will find several articles and blogs with trending offers and information on brands that will make purchasing anything online a fun and convivial ordeal. 10 million+ recorded impressions per month, 600,000+ monthly visitors, 500,000+ sign-ups for newsletters and 6000+ coupons dispensed every day for CouponsWala. With coupons, blogs, and buying guides, you will be up to date with the latest information only on CouponsWala.
Headquartered in Bengaluru, CouponsWala is one of the most popular coupons and deals websites that offer Coupons, Offers, Deals, and Discounts for its users from a range of stores that the company operates both via online and offline methods. Furthermore, Couponswala is also designed to provide various real-time shopping offers from the top websites including Flipkart, Paytm, Amazon, MakeMyTrip, and more.
MyDala
MyDala | Coupon code websites India
MyDala is one of the coupon websites in India that offer simply the best to its customers. Here coupons are available on every merchandise. The slogan of the company is ‘har baargain’. This allows the customers to choose their favorite products at a very lesser price. These coupons provide services in major cities such as Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bangalore. Also, this website is functional in cities like Nagpur and Pune.
Not only discounts, but CouponDunia also helps you get promos, cashback, and other offers too. It claims to be the ‘digital market place’. Approximately over 10 billion customers have visited CouponDunia to date. Also, there are 2000+ online stores of the brand, which again serves over 7.5 million email subscribers.
MaddyCoupons
MaddyCoupons | Coupon website
If you shop regularly online, MaddyCoupons can be one of the best coupon websites in India for you. The key features of this website include the regularly updated discount options for different sites that you can opt from. It also has an assortment of coupons for famous sites like Snapdeal, Paytm, Flipkart, and more. Besides, Maddycoupons also has a scope of exclusive coupons for various categories like electronic gadgets and fashion.
NearBuy
Nearbuy – Discounts for shopping
Nearbuy is one of the best coupon websites in India. This is an extended website of Groupon, which operates globally. It is usually functional in 35 cities and offers coupons and discounts under more than 18 different categories. Not only online, but it also offers discounts offline. This app provides 50,000 merchants spread over 100,000 unique locations. So, this is an absolute website to try on.
MyTokri
MyTokri – Discounts for shopping
An exclusive site that offers you cashback in mobile recharges as well. This is what makes it stand out from the other websites. Other than that, it also offers a bunch of other deals as well. It is also easy and convenient to access all products ranging from clothing to technology.
Ranked as the third-best coupon website in India, CouponRaja, offers various deals and coupons on every stuff you purchase. It was started in 2011 and is still operating across the country. From fashion, and technology to food delivery, CouponRaja offers discounts and coupon codes that are easy to access.
CouponzGuru
CouponzGuru | Best site for coupon codes in India
From mobile purchases to fashion, flight, and even daily deals of the day, CouponzGuru never fails to impress you. It helps you to get almost 80% off as well as free coupon codes, promotion codes, discount deals and promo offers for online shopping in India. This website started its journey in the e-commerce world in 2011. It is still running successfully serving customers across the country.
CouponMoto
CouponMoto | Best site for coupon codes in India
The moto of CouponMoto is to make online shopping more efficient and affordable to the customers. The company claims to bring in ‘Unconditional Way Of Shopping’. With CouponMoto, people can enjoy discounts on online shopping using the coupons and promo codes available on the website. One of the popular coupon websites in India, it provides a one-stop shopping destination all the time.
Coupons and discounts during special occasions work like bliss. So if you are going to attend a party, or celebrating your anniversary, you should not forget to get a glimpse of these coupon websites in India. You can also share a few of them with your friends and acquaintances. Sharing also gets you many offers, besides caring.
FAQs
What is Coupon Code?
In e-commerce and online shopping a coupon code, or promo code, is a computer-generated code, consisting of letters or numbers that consumers can enter into a promotional box on a site’s shopping cart (or checkout page) to obtain a discount on the current purchase.
What is a promo code example?
The definition of a promotional code is a series of letters or numbers that allow you to get a discount on something. When an online store allows you to get 10% off your purchase by entering the word SAVE into a field in the checkout form, SAVE is an example of a promotional code.
How do online coupon codes work?
Online coupons commonly require a minimum order amount in order to be redeemed. In other words, you have to spend a certain amount on eligible items before you can receive the discount. Also know that codes can apply to most items a store sells, or only to specific items or categories.
How does a coupon work?
A coupon is the same as cash. For example, if you have a $1.00 off coupon on a box of cereal, the cashier takes the coupon as though it were cash. It’s not that common anymore, but some stores will even double a coupon’s face value. Once the cashier accepts the coupon, the store has a problem.
What are some of the popular discount websites in India?
Do you ever feel the urge to keep up with the trends that everyone is keeping going on? We are talking about Instagram Reels full of stunning locations that everyone wants to see. Or, the newest product you can’t wait to get your hands on, recommended by your favourite influencer.
You may also have experienced that fear when you are taking your exams. Time is running out, and other students are already submitting their answer sheets. And you need to solve the whole other section of the question sheet. The rising fear of stress, urgency, and anxiety is similar to that of catching the train before you miss it.
There is no doubt that the world of the internet has given rise to a large number of slang words. FOMO (fear of missing out) is one such term.
âThe potential for simply a different connection. It may be better; it may be worse â we just don’t know until we check.â
This quote in the words of John M. Grohol of Psych Central capturing the urgency of FOMO defining social media and Psychological Phenomena sits perfectly with all of us. Let’s take a detailed look at how marketers use FOMO marketing strategy.
Fear can be a significant motivating factor in cases where the product being sold falls into the category of providing safety. And copywriters have been using this technique for a long time. This appeal works well at evoking the emotion that scares the target audience. Most of these ads end by providing a solution to the threat, leaving the subject relieved, satisfied or happy with the product/ service.
FOMO Marketing Example
Now let’s look at how FOMO is used from the perspective of marketing. FOMO marketing strategy can be described as offering a limited-time offer to your target audience, informing them that the deal or offer they are seeing is only available for a short time. And when you do so, you create a desire in them to grab the opportunity that is being presented to them. Hence, creating a need for urgency for the buyer. This influences their purchasing behaviour. This will drive sales by using different tactics that we will look at as we go about it.
The History of FOMO Marketing
Ever wondered how did FOMO became a thing all of a sudden and is now everywhere? So, the concept first sprung up in the year 2000 in an academic paper and became more popular as time went by. And now it’s literally ruling the world of digital media, from e-commerce websites to social media platforms.
Dr Dan Herman – the Journal of Brand Management
Results and research have shown that 70% of adults suffer from the feeling of fear of missing out. The concept was founded by a marketing strategist named Dr Dan Herman while Dan was conducting research in 1996. Adam Balouch’s Academic paper for the Journal of Brand Management was published in the year 2000. Here’s how the concept first developed, anyway.
McGinnis Coining of the concepts of FOMO and FOBO
Research and studies indicate FOMO actually emerged and became popular from Patrick McGinnis at Harvard Business School in 2004. When McGinnis himself did not know that he had introduced the concept.
McGinnis and his class gave their GMAT in New York a day before 9/11 after experiencing that McGinnis described how he felt, in his words
âYou felt the need to do everything all the time because you realized your mortality.â
This meant that the class dealt with the feeling of treating every moment as an opportunity to acquire essential experience.
Dealing with these feelings, the group, along with McGinnis, gave this anxiety a name: Fear of a Better Option, or FOBO. Wrote about two conditions, FOBO and FOMO, in his op-ed: McGinnis Two FOs – Social Theory of HBA that he wrote while getting his MBA.
How Does Social Media Play a Huge Role in FOMO Marketing?
Social media has its perks that help you stay connected with the world. It has changed the dynamics of marketers. As well as with its ability to stay up-to-date with everything and everyone. There is a negative side to it. You can keep your friends updated within seconds about where you are heading, what you are doing, who you are with, your achievements, your adventures, almost everything, period.
When you are scrolling and watching all this as an audience or as viewers. And there you have the dreadful fear of missing out on all that the other person is doing. There is an overwhelming feeling of tension and anxiety. And the urge to do everything at once. Be at two different places at a time, jump on to the trends, try out the products that everyone is talking about, learn about NFTs, stocks, and the list never ends.
FOMO Social Media
You can be crushed by FOMO on social media. Furthermore, social media platforms have influencers and business accounts as well as features that can help to market your product/service.
Social media can be exclusive, integrated with social proof, create scarcity, and can also create the need for urgency. And every day, with updated features rolling in that make your audiences want to try and catch up with everything. This makes it the right platform for marketers to use FOMO. Another aspect of digital marketing is e-commerce which uses FOMO in its marketing strategies.
FOMO is everywhere credits go to social media. Social media comes with the expectation of constantly updating your audience about the most recent version of yourself. What are you doing right now? The other trending thing brands are trying is doing Q&A (questions and answers) sessions. Customized and personalized videos are delivered to you on social media by brands, who collect your data with the help of algorithms to target you.
In the world of social media, where everything is tracked and updated. We tend to believe that we are not living our happiest lives. And there comes the fear of missing out on things. One thing we often forget is that social media only shows the rosiest parts about others and creates unrealistic standards that we cannot live up to.
Social media Influencer
Plus, points go to various trends, influencers, and viral content on social media. Making every day a video or a photograph becomes viral. This creates a buzz around it. Algorithms make it easy to send user-generated content that is relevant to your audience. Which enables the strategy of FOMO marketing to be easily integrated with social media marketing. Not only this, a good deal of e-commerce-based websites and apps are integrating FOMO into their marketing strategies using the pull strategy.
Types of Techniques Used to Induce FOMO
Countdown with the timers
Ever been to a website, and you can literally see a timer ringing off or a clock ticking? That screams at your face that if you did not make that purchase right now, it would be lost in the oblivion of the horizon forever? These may feel like ticking time bombs, which heightens your anxiety.
FOMO Technique employed by Amazon
That is just one of the tricks marketers employ to let you know what you are missing out on and drive their sales up. Customers know there is a deadline approaching, so they feel under pressure to make a decision and be quick about it, making marketing easier.
Time-limited editions, short-term offers and sales
You may have noticed brands sending you notifications with messages that immediately grab your attention. And other limited-time offers, such as free shipping for a limited time, cause FOMO.
Hurry up and get 50% off!
Buy now!
Don’t miss the opportunity!
Grab now!
You do not want to miss the deal while it lasts. Results show that shoppers are more likely to buy things when they are offered free shipping. Offers make the consumer feel special. Limited-time editions, sales, and offers are just some examples of setting a deadline that results in impulse buying.
Influencers and Celebrities
Influencers are a big part of the marketing industry today, and there’s no denying the fact. Actors, cricketers, models, or even people who have a huge following fan base who have made it big with the work they do.
They endorse the products of multiple brands that they partner or collaborate with. People love to keep up with every move their favourite influencers make. These influencers have an upper hand in adding credibility to your brand as they have gained their audience’s trust already.
The followers closely follow the lifestyles of these influencers and consider them their idols. They are prepared to great lengths and may even bring products that are endorsed by them. They feel a sense of urgency to use the same product as their idols.
Influencer
Apart from that, influencers already have that established connection of trust, which helps your brand. These influencers or celebrities could also be quoted in various mediums where you advertise your products/services.
Stock scarcity
Hurry, only three left in stock. You might have read this on the websites, apps, or e-commerce websites that you are shopping from. You are compelled to take action rather than risk losing what you are buying to another person. Creating that urgency drives up sales. Apart from showing stock scarcity, some companies also send a message of “Hurry selling fast” which also works for creating FOMO.
Gated content
As human beings, we love to be a part of groups. We are social beings and long for company. We do not want to feel left out of experiencing new things. Especially when we get to be a part of an exclusive group or an experience that is not accessible to others.
Brands build offers that can only be accessible to a limited number of people. This might also include subscriptions or anything more premium. In this way, even gated content can be used in FOMO marketing.
Reviews, social proofs and testimonials
What’s the one thing you do when you buy anything online? Fear is always present, starting with all the questions that begin with what-ifs? But as you scroll down, you are relieved to find those five-star ratings and the reviews that give you an insight into how the experience of other customers who actually tried the product/ service was.
We value other people’s opinions and if they are convincing enough that would be enough to persuade a consumer to buy it. Social proof plays an important role, as consumers always want to know what others say about your brand.
Reviews and testimonials play a major role in triggering FOMO because once you see how many people are using it. All the others doing the same thing will actually want to try the product/ service for themselves.
Early bird discounts
This includes giving offers and discounts on what is being sold. Early bird discounts work very well for events when you intend to sell out the tickets. This is because people don’t want to miss out on the deal you are offering. They are aware that the discount has a deadline and might purchase what you are offering.
Even if they really did not intend to be there in the first place. Early bird discounts can be given as special benefits to your subscribers or the members, the first twenty registrants, or for the first week of your product launch. Anyway, a deadline should be followed. It is critical for the audience to know that an expiration date is being followed in order to create a sense of urgency.
Hassan Minhaj the stand-up comedian who is famous for his Netflix show âThe Patriot Actâ featured in Samsung and Verizon’s campaign made by Ogilvy, New York whose title was actually “NOMO FOMO ” for the product Galaxy Z Fold 3.
The ultimate message that the campaign gives, all the while talking about the features of the newly released smartphone, is that with Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Fold 3 on Verizon’s 5G Ultra-Wideband, one never has to worry about FOMO.
They used the feeling of FOMO to their advantage, building their campaign around this idea, with equally creative visuals and script around this campaign based on emotional appeal.
Spotify Wrapped (2015)
The year is drawing to a close. You are scrolling through Instagram stories. Every other story you open is about someone’s Spotify Wrapped playlist and there is no way out. FOMO is unavoidable. Brands know this and use this knowledge to make people want to be invited to the party.
That is how Spotify Wrapped works. The wrap is a year review experience broken up into two parts, a cultural brand campaign and a digital experience. This allows users to see how and what they listen to throughout the year.
Not only does Spotify create a personalized playlist of each user’s most listened to songs of the year. It also generates a tailored streaming report for users to share on social media.
When the campaign launched for its fourth year at the end of 2019, Spotify told Forbes more than 60 million users engaged with the in-app store experience that racked up nearly 3 billion streams from racked playlists, and the trendy personalized graphics make engaging posts for anyone with a Spotify subscription. Spotify’s users become unpaid influencers for the brand, posting their reviews on Instagram, Facebook or Snapchat to show off their tastes and music.
Artists also shared their streaming reviews to celebrate their achievements of the year. So, for all the people that do not have Spotify, this campaign is intended to make them sign up for the streaming service. As the post-flood campaign engulfs social media channels, billboards, wallpaper, city skylines, and public transportation terminals, it is inescapable in real life. June Sauvaget, global head of consumer and product marketing at Spotify with the 2020-wrapped campaign, said it inherently entices new users to consider Spotify.
With apps like Spotify with its personalized graphics, content and playlist that is specifically tailored for one integrated with AI (artificial intelligence) we as a generation should be prepared for another bout of virtual FOMO.
Ajio
The Ajio shopping app by Reliance Retail Ltd. has promotions, sales, and offers that can be found all year round. There are sales, customers are made to feel special by giving them discounts on their first purchase.
Limited-time offers and sales, especially during the holiday season, not to mention the Ajio mania sale, free shipping over a minimum purchase amount andcoupon codes. Ajio has been using the FOMO marketing strategy for a long time now.
Amazon
Amazon is a very well-known platform for many things including digital platforms, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and e-commerce.
To get more benefits and advantages, Amazon offers prime membership for an exclusive group of users. Amazon also uses the scarcity appeal, showing messages like âHurry, only 1 leftâ as the products left in the inventory decrease. Deal of the day with free shipping, which gives the brand an edge over the company.
eBay
The C2C American multinational e-commerce corporation based in San Jose, California used the countdown timers to make shopping with other bidders more exciting and add a spirit of competition to it. Countdowns involving timers can be efficient in creating the need for urgency. eBay also shows reviews and the number of sales for a particular product.
FOMO on Social Media Platforms
Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and other social media platforms also induce the fear of missing out.
Did you watch that video? Do you know this song? This is the latest trend, let’s make a video on this! These are just a few phrases that you might have heard your friends say. You can’t visit without social media platforms scrolling through the reels section without watching the Yo-bro who got you smiling like that,I don’t know who needs to hear this or Get ready with me kind of videos. There is updated music trending every other week. There is a constant fear of missing out among the people. The latest would-be Kaccha Badam.
When the audience sees what is trending, they automatically want to be a part of what is buzzing around. They jump into trying the new set of dance moves that everyone is grooving to, applying the same transitions as others, and overall being a part of the trend.
TikTok
Another research from the New York Times suggests, that not participating in the making of TikTok videos makes teenagers feel excluded. Raising the feelings of social exclusion, especially for Gen X and Gen Z, TikTok is a platform that has made it possible for many videos to become viral and influential. Cultural conversations, even for people who do not use it. The platform has 1 billion monthly active users and it is one of the most engaging social media apps.
Twitter
Twitter is an absolute trendsetter. You immediately come to know what’s going on around you just based on the hashtags that show up on your search button. Trending, each with different subcategories of their own. Twitter has blown people away, inducing them with FOMO for concert tickets for Glastonbury festival, Arctic Monkeys, Supremeâs release of their line of clothing, the biggest Alton Towers scare-fest that is held in the UK for Halloween and Universal Orlando’s Horror nights. Grabbing people’s attention with hashtags as they increase anticipation, exclusivity, and curiosity.
How You Can Employ FOMO Marketing?
Various FOMO marketing techniques you can employ,
Incorporate timers or a countdown clock showing the time running out, urging you to grab on to the opportunity.
Give them limited time offers on products or shipping.
Have customer reviews on your page to let people know how many have tried your products and loved them. Testimonials play a significant role in building trust and inducing FOMO.
Show the live count for the number of people viewing the current product that is being sold.
Bring in influencers, and quote them on your website for social proof.
Send push notifications and emails to let your customers know that there is an opportunity being offered that they cannot miss.
Set a time limit. Let the customers know that the deal you are offering comes with an expiration date.
Use early bird discounts.
Make use of social media platforms for marketing purposes. Have giveaways or contests, create a buzz around something with messages like stay tuned for the big reveal. Get your message across to catch your audience’s attention and keep them engaged.
Make the content of your product exclusive. It might only be available to members or to subscribers.
Make use of the competitive spirit and highlight opportunities that your audience might have missed before. Remind them not to make the same mistake again. This leads to impulse buying.
Offer discounts, limited editions, short term or any other special offers.
Give out promo codes that expire after a limited time.
Take a look at the following messages and try to incorporate them into your marketing strategies to awaken FOMO.
Selling fast!
Hurry only 1 left conveying low stock
Free shipping over orders of 999
15% off on everything
Clearance sale!
Deal of the day or deal of the week
Buy Now! Using the word Now works like magic every time.
Remember FOMO just does not work like that context is just as relevant as context. Keep an eye on your message, let it be catchy and alarming, and create a sense of urgency. Make them wait and create suspense around your campaigns. When people do get curious, they will look out for the big reveal.
FAQs
What does FOMO mean in marketing?
FOMO means fear of missing out it is a popular technique used by marketers and brands to induce a fear to buy a particular product before it goes out of stock and you regret it.
How does FOMO help marketing?
FOMO marketing helps businesses sell more products as it persuades buyers to buy a particular product quickly.
What are some examples of FOMO?
Stock left, Countdown timer, Early Bird Discount, Gated Content, and Missed Opportunities are some examples of FOMO.
OTT platforms or Over-The-Top platforms have gained popularity across the globe, especially since the pandemic. OTT services allow access to all the contents including movies, TV shows and other forms of entertainment through the help of the internet.
The advent of OTT platforms has bypassed the requirement of cable and satellite systems for streaming. Today these services can be accessed through any electronic devices that are connected to the internet including computers, set-top boxes, smart TVs etc.
For a long period of time, content creation through OTT platforms has been largely out of the ambit of any form of censorship. Therefore these platforms have been able to showcase content that was controversial and groundbreaking.
As the popularity of these OTT platforms increased and the inflow of content in them increased, the government decided to step in. In February 2021, the government of India notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 so as to control the contents of these online platforms.
The regulations have a self-regulatory architecture with a three-tier grievance redressal system. In the first level, it is their self-regulation by their expected entities followed by the self-regulation that is exercised by the regulating bodies of these entities and then an oversight mechanism carried out by the central government.
One of the main reasons why the IT rules were introduced was because of the immense impact that various OTT platforms and social media had on the citizens of India. According to the government, these regulations are to keep an accountable control over the spread of dissent material, pornographic and other immoral and illegal activities as represented through these platforms. Moreover, it is also an attempt to reduce the menace of fake news.
As far as the OTT platforms in the light of the new IT rules are concerned, they were supposed to bring in a lot of changes including self-regulation into their ambit.
One of the changes that they ought to bring is the age verification mechanism that has to be done for content that is classified as âAâ. These platforms have to follow a prescribed code of ethics, classify their content as universal, adult et cetera and develop an oversight mechanism that functions under the supervision of the information and broadcasting ministry.
One of the major reasons that OTT platforms and social media have got popular in the last few years is because of the fearless, safe space for the consumers. It has become a site for prolific content creation and self-expression. It cannot be denied that such freedom has had its own negative impact on the consumers of this content. However, blanket control over these mediums in itself cannot be healthy.
When there is government supervision over what is being done, it was only inevitable that there will be an ideological bias at different levels. It can have an adverse impact on the creative freedom of the respective creators directly and indirectly.
Subsequently, those daring contents that used to reflect the realities of society will have to take a back seat. One cannot ignore the extent of control that these regulations exercise the right to dissent.
Although the government has deemed these rules as progress and liberal, the rules also insist that the Significant Social Media (SSM) should remove the âunlawfulâ contents within 36 hours of raising the issue. These rules are not only applicable to social media like WhatsApp and Twitter but also the OTT platforms.
Decreasing Charm of OTT Platforms
As far as the OTT platforms are concerned, one needs to look at the future of their USP. A thing that made these platforms stand apart was the variety and nature of the contents. They were not available through the general cable TV channels nor in theatres.
These platforms have become conduits of bringing quality content into the living rooms of interested audiences. They were developing as a democratic platform wherein people without a well-established fan base can pitch in their content in an efficient manner. However, with the imposition of ethical moral codes on the OTT platforms, these distinct features are going to be blurred.
A Popular Web series on Netflix – Sacred Games
There will be only one-sided, supervised and biased content that wonât have anything much to offer. Over time, we can witness the OTT platforms becoming just another replica of all the censored contents that were available before the advent of these platforms.
According to Sidharth Anand Kumar, the Vice President of Saregama Films and Events, âOTT is getting more popular and becoming a mass medium, there needs to be an onus placed upon makers and businesses to adhere to certain norms of civility but it is a slippery slope. Stories are a reflection of our life and times, and excessive censorship makes them seem fake and unreal, which drives audiences away due to a lack of authenticity. Iâve always felt that proper certification and even âtrigger warningsâ are a much better way to protect the interests of the business as well as the creative community and audiencesâ. However, these opinions become a feeble cry as long as the word âcensorshipâ is loosely defined.
Revenue generation is the most important part of a companyâs sustenance, the OTT platforms will have to rely more on the advertisements than on content curation in itself.
Censorship v\s Quelling Dissent
The Information and Broadcasting ministry has made their rationale very clear to the citizens/ They believe that âAll media must have the same justice systemâ.
It was when the idea of self-regulation by digital platforms failed that the government decided to step in to develop an institutional mechanism for the newly sprouted media. However, the ways in which the authenticity and freedom of content creation will be put in a tough spot is very evident with the extent of banned shows and series that had good viewership earlier.
One of the major examples is the pulling down of the popular series called âBad Boy Billionairesâ from Netflix. The idea of censorship should be differentiated from the right to dissent. If not used categorically the OTT regulations can be misused as a way to water down opposing opinions in the name of censorship.
It is true that all media platforms should be under some control and oversight mechanism to prevent the spread of xenophobic and anti-national content. However, it should be clearly negotiated through very relevant aspects like freedom of expression and creative independence.
FAQs
What are OTT rules?
OTT rules are IT Rules introduced by the Indian government to regulate the content on ott platfomrs.
Is there any censorship on the OTT platform in India?
Yes, IT rules were introduced in 2021 to regulate OTT platforms.
Why should OTT not be censored?
OTT platfomrs should not be censored as it will end the creative freedom of ott platfomrs and will interfere with the content that viewers will consume.
BharatPe and PhonePe which are two digital payment applications in India have been fighting in the Delhi High Court regarding trademark rights on their name. It is said that the companies have been fighting among themselves since the year 2018. Letâs look at the complete case study of BharatPe and PhonePe.
The two major digital payment applications have been said to have fighting over the usage of the suffix Pe in their names and the company PhonePe has been claiming trademark rights over it. It is observed that both the companies have been arguing about the topic since the year 2018 and later the Bengaluru based startup PhonePe moved to the court.
The two leading Digital payment applications have been fighting in the court for a very long time. The documents seen have conveyed that the Flipkart owned PhonePe has sought an authoritative order from the High Court against BharatPe for the usage of the word Pe in the name.
It is said that the court did not grant an injection on the original appeal of PhonePe. The suit that had been complained about was based on seeking an authoritative order restraining the use of trademark, passing off, damages, etc. The company PhonePe has filed a suit on BharatPe for using the suffix Pe in both the languages English as well as Hindi and also both in graphic design as well as text.
PhonePe has been said to have sent a legal notice to BharatPe last year and the company had soon changed the logo and the colour of their original frame but that did not solve the issue and PhonePe had taken the case to the court.
BharatPe old vs new logo
A PhonePe spokesperson had conveyed that the company had approached the Delhi high court in order to protect their brand trademarks which they believe were being broken against the agreement of the law and added that the company was not interested to comment beyond this whereas BharatPe had declined to comment about the issue.
Courtâs Decision on the Bharatpe vs Phonepe Case
The Justice had conveyed that the usage of the word Pe in both the companyâs names was nothing but a different spelling used to denote the word pay and added that no rights can be claimed over a mark which describes a word or even a word which is used to describe a part by misspelling it.
The court also added that the word Pe had not derived any other meaning other than pay. That is the company has not created a different impression on the minds of people like giving the word Pe a secondary meaning which refers to the goods or service provided by the company.
However, the Justice had conveyed that if the word Pe has acquired a secondary meaning then the court would look for a trial and the company will have to prove to the court that the word has a secondary meaning and the primary meaning i.e., pay should have been completely removed from the minds of their consumers. In order to move forward with this, the company will have to create evidence from their customers that the word has a complete secondary meaning which is related to the goods or service they provide.
The Court had said that considering the above factors both PhonePe and BharatPe are made up of several parts and added that these parts cannot be separated as Phone and Pe and Bharat and Pe. The court conveyed that the company PhonePe cannot claim rights over the word Pe.
The court added that the word Pe provides the meaning of the service provided by both the companies that is pay and said that by misspelling Pay and Pe there cannot be any claim on the legal positions.
About PhonePe and BharatPe
PhonePe Logo
PhonePe and BharatPe are both companies that provide digital payment services where as BharatPe provides their services only for the merchants and concentrates completely on that sector but PhonePe provides for both merchants as well as individual consumers as anyone who downloads the app can use PhonePeâs service.
BharatPe Logo
PhonePe has been increasingly expanding towards the merchant payments sector and BharatPe can be considered to be one of its major competitors in the field. PhonePe is considered to have a valuation of around USD 7 billion according to Morgan Stanley and BharatPe has been the fastest growing merchant payment company.
BharatPe has conveyed that they have around 1.5 million merchants on their platform with a daily transaction of around INR 7 lakhs and PhonePe for business has around 4.2 million merchants using it actively. Both the companies are considered to be expanding aggressively on-boarding offline merchants.
BharatPe is a billion-dollar company with a valuation of close to USD 1 billion whereas PhonePe is already in the billion-dollar club. It is considered to be the first instance where 500 crores + companies involving into a fight against the trademark.
FAQ
Who is the founder of BharatPe?
Ashneer Grover and Sashvat Nakrani are the founders of BharatPe.
Is BharatPe Government company?
BharatPe is a private company founded in 2018.
Is PhonePe an Indian company?
PhonePe is an Indian digital payments and financial services company headquartered in Bangalore, India. It was founded in December 2015, by Sameer Nigam, Rahul Chari and Burzin Engineer.
Is BharatPe and PhonePe same?
No, BharatPe and PhonePe are different companies. They both offer digital payment services.
Seventy percent of screen time is devoted to smartphones. A large percentage of this time is spent on apps. Such tremendous interest is fantastic news for you as an investor in the technological market. Simultaneously, the mobile app industry is quite crowded. If there’s one app for an issue, there’s probably another (or ten) available.
How can you remain above the curve while every application in the industry claims to be the next great thing? What strategies do you employ to ensure your software is unique? That’s when mobile analytics come into play.
The collection and assessment of data â the data that makes you learn your customers’ behaviour and how they engage with your app â is called mobile analytics.
This unlocks a slew of options, such as gaining information about the number of converts and customers, as well as a better understanding of your consumers’ experience within your app.
Ultimately, it clarifies the objectives of usersâdo they want to purchase stuff? Is it merely for the purpose of obtaining data? Or are they simply browsing?
Types of Mobile Analytics
There are various forms of mobile analytics, each one improving your app in a unique way. To make the most of these mobile analytics sorts, keep in mind your company’s demands and objectives.
Mobile Advertising Analytics
You can track the efficacy of your promotional activities using mobile advertisements or marketing analytics.
App Monetization Analytics
App monetization analytics can help you learn more about your consumers’ app purchases. With this data, you may devise tactics to increase the profitability of your app.
In-App Engagement Analytics
In-app engagement analytics allows you to monitor user behaviour within the app. Learning how your app’s customers engage with it is a great method to constantly improve.
App Store Analytics
App store metrics can be accessed via app stores or a 3rd party solution. You may track optimization metrics like:
App download and installations with this form of analytics.
Rating
Earnings
Systems
Venues
You may compare your application to your rivals in app stores by employing a 3rd party analytics tools.
Performance Analytics
Performance analytics is critical for determining the efficiency of your app. Many consumers will uninstall your app if it doesn’t function properly. You must evaluate all potential permutations of devices, OS, and other aspects to fully comprehend your app’s functionality.
Mobile Analytics versus Standard Web Analytics
Let’s look at the differences between mobile analytics and standard web analytics now. On portals, web analytics gather user information. For using web analytics, you must include a JavaScript code snippet in your site’s HTML source code. It’ll then begin collecting info and utilizing cookies to discover web traffic. Web analytics tools keep records of both desktop and mobile visitors’ info.
Mobile analytics is for smartphone and tablet applications. It tracks data via SDKs rather than prefetching, and customers are identified by their gadget or OS ID. Remember that each OS has its own SDK.
Moreover, unlike conventional analytics, mobile analytics excludes info from search engines because consumers access apps through their phones rather than through search engines. If your app connects with other apps, certain mobile analytics systems also help track inter-app interoperability. Also, because these elements impact your app, app analytics gives insight into consumers’ devices. Web designers should try and ensure their designs are attuned.
Different Ways Mobile Analytics Is Used by Multiple Departments in a Company
To collect data, analytics solutions are frequently connected with organisations’ native applications. It ensures that the time and work put into designing the app does not go in vain. Also, it tells you where your customers are drifting off and what hurdles they’re hitting during the onboarding.
When it pertains to refining and optimising the UX, the ideas gleaned from analytics data are immediately relevant for various teams within the firm.
Marketing
A market study is done using mobile analytics. It allows firms to monitor and assess the efficacy of their marketing efforts, as well as determine which platform is the most effective. This aids in the proper management of your marketing initiatives.
UX/UI
Heatmaps and session replay aid UX professionals in focusing primarily on the majority of your app’s user-interacted sections. Heatmap is a data visualisation tool that displays how your smartphone users engage with the UI by clicking, tapping, scrolling, etc.
Heatmaps
Session replay recreates the user’s experience in the format of replay clips and accentuates the user’s full touch engagements. This study enables them to carefully position CTAs, improve navigation, and utilise screen features to provide a streamlined experience.
You may delve deeper into a whole set of users by integrating session replays and conversion funnels and monitoring the deviation and true customer behaviour.
Product
A/B testing allows product managers to assess their customers by dividing them into 2 (or more) sets and observing how each variation influences their behaviour. Product managers can use tools like usage monitoring to uncover trends that will assist them to make decisions as they make modifications and send out fixes.
After taking recourse, product managers must ensure that it has the desired effect. When making judgments, they consider conversion rates, the most frequently utilized screens, app versions, devices, and OS.
Establishing funnels for certain user groups is an intriguing use case. Using session replays to see into the funnel lets product members discover why a certain customer took a specific function and where they were experiencing trouble. This assists in finding the precise setting of customer drop-offs and other prominent user resistance spots.
Engineering
App failures and ANR are two of the most common causes of customer dissatisfaction. Technical experts can employ heatmaps and session replay to monitor crucial usage patterns like anger taps, extended presses, quit touch, and inattentive touches, which signal displeasure.
Heatmaps assist groups in visualising the stage at which customers become irritated. The mix of session replays and heatmaps reveals the list of steps that users take well before exiting the programme.
Crash analytics paired with heatmaps enables you to rerun the user’s onscreen activity and discover what caused the crash. This takes away the ambiguity for tech personnel, allowing them to focus on tackling the issue without having to deal with already irritated users.
What Is the Most Effective Technique to Obtain Analytics for Applications?
For that, you’ll need to use mobile app advanced analytics. Because each piece of equipment has its range of attributes, you choose something that suits your needs.
These tools are typically simple to set up and utilise. All you have to do is include SDKs in the programme you wish to track. The programme will begin collecting data constantly so you can keep track of your app. You can quickly acquire meaningful information about user behaviour and the effectiveness of your app using mobile analytics services.
Create a UX Map
It depicts the consumer journey using your phone app from the start. You’ll learn which parameters to track and when users often discontinue using your application if you study their experiences. This way, you’ll be able to pinpoint exactly which phases of the user’s journey need to be improved in order to increase income.
Use it at Each Stage
Don’t delay until a problem occurs with your application to begin using analytics. It’ll be much simpler to spot and solve issues if you try integrating analytics for your application from the start.
Determine the Variables You Ought to Monitor
There seem to be a lot of variables to detect, and if you don’t figure out which ones are most vital to a company first, you’ll waste time and money on the ones that aren’t. As a result, ensure to outline your objectives and then select the appropriate measurements to achieve them.
Evaluate Your App
Ensure you check your app in a variety of scenarios to ensure that it meets the requirements. A/B testing is a wonderful way to figure out how to improve your app’s exchange rate.
Use Tools
The greatest method to learn how to optimise your app while improving efficiency is to utilize app analytics programs and tools. There are a plethora of mobile analytics systems to select from, so ensure you pick something that’s right for you. However, not every mobile analytics are same. There are several mobile analytics options available. UserExperior, Google’s Firebase, and others are instances of mobile analytics solutions that, while similar, are not exclusive and handle various challenges.
Qualitative Analytics encompasses previously mentioned capabilities such as heatmaps and session replay and is probably highly recommended for every firm’s stack.
Early investors of QA Solutions include Lenskart and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, which have experienced a strong influence on their application service quality and customer loyalty. Replays of sessions and heatmaps are wholly accountable for a 95 percent reduction in service SLA and for repairing the disrupted UX.
Is Google Analytics Compatible With Mobile Apps?
Yes, you may utilise Google Analytics tools for phone analytics. Google Analytics for smartphone apps or Google Analytics for Firebase is the two possibilities. You may use services for gratis, but you’ll have to pay to get access to all of the services. It’s a free service provided by Google.
For Mobile Apps
You can monitor user behaviour on your portal and apps for free with Google Analytics. You must use Google Analytics SDK for Android or ios to configure analytics for the app.
It can assist you in two steps:
Recognising the most successful lead streams
Segregating your app’s customers
Monitoring user engagements
Analyzing in-app purchase income
Analyzing user travel pathways
Google Analytics gives the following info about your app:
Count of users and visits
Session duration
OS
Device forms
Users’ residence
For Firebase
It’s more than simply an analytics software; it’s also a framework for developing apps. Firebase uses events and variables to record user behaviour. It allows you to update on up to 500 different occurrences at once.
This utility allows you to accomplish the following:
Recording user characteristics and events
Configuring unique events
Recording in-app purchasing data
Creating target markets
Seeing real-time user information
Best Mobile Analytics Tools
Rather than Google Analytics, you can utilise a variety of additional mobile analytics solutions. Most of them even have additional functionality that Google Analytics does not. They’re as follows:
1. Countly
Countly Dashboard
It’s an app analytics solution that aids in the enhancement of the user experience. It helps to build unique events to track which activities have the greatest impact on your conversions and retention levels.
Features
Push alerts
Crash analysis
User ids
In-app use metrics.
2. Localytics
Localytics Dashboard
It’s a mobile analytics tool that allows you to tailor your app ads in order to boost user experience. This tool aids in attaining better knowledge of your app’s customers so that you can urge them to continue using it.
Features
Funnel analysis
Push alerts
Event monitoring
Retentions monitoring
3. Adjust
Adjust Dashboard
It’s a mobile app analytics tool that allows you to analyse how people interact with your app. You’ll be capable of making better marketing decisions and driving profits with this tool.
Features
Funnel analysis
Retention monitoring
Revenue monitoring
Event monitoring
Conclusion
When it comes to creating a product that catches the eye, there are a few things to keep in mind. You’ll need a 360-degree view of your app. This ensures that your customer base is committed and satisfied with your brand, and mobile analytics solutions are essential for this.
FAQs
What are companies that use mobile analytics?
Adobe, Clicktale, Google, IBM, and InnoCraft are some of the companies that use mobile analytics.
What is mobile data analytics?
Mobile data analytics monitors customer behaviour and helps companies understand how customers are interacting with their apps.
Why is mobile analytics important?
Mobile analytics is important as it helps brands optimize their performance and improve their app.
When you’re a small business that’s just getting started, you’ll need all the aid you can get to succeed. If the company lacks innovative ideas and creative minds, then it is doomed to fail. Even if your team is full of enthusiastic individuals, you can always use some assistance from time to time. And that help can be provided by an advisory committee.
An advisory board or committee can be of great use, as it provides all the necessary knowledge and tips important for the growth of a startup and keeps it one step ahead of its competitors in the market.
With some experienced counsel and industry understanding, anyone can become a great leader and businessman. This is when the advisory committee comes into play. In this article, we will discuss the advisory committee, its importance to a startup.
An advisory group is made up of skilled and prominent specialists who offer legal guidance to the founders and assist them in making the best decisions for their company and employees. They also aid in the formation of contacts and networking, as well as a productive workflow.
The committee also assists in providing the required resources and support for the company’s growth. The members of the advisory board provide candid and expert advice and also assist in anticipating the future or trend of the market and developing a plan for a company to work on due to their expertise and abilities.
Importance of Advisory Board in a Startup
It can be difficult for founders of startups to fully trust the opinions of an advisory board and run their business based on the guidance the committee provides, but one has to understand that the advisory board does not govern the company; their job is only to provide advice and guidance that they think can be important for the company.
Not only startups; many major businesses have advisory baords that help them make proper decisions according to the market and the audience they are targeting.
Some important aspects of an advisory board are as follows:
1. Assists in Bringing New Perspectives to the Company
An advisory board can rescue a business from failing to come up with unique ideas by providing new and fresh ideas for the company since they bring in the perspective of an outsider who knows the market and can create well-structured recommendations tailored to the company’s needs. Gucci, for example, formed a group of millennials in 2005 to assist in the development of new business concepts and inventive ideas. It was eye-opening for the organisation to see how disconnected they are from their customers. Gucci’s sales were boosted thanks to the advisory board’s assistance.
2. Provides Honest and Candid Opinions
As previously said, the advisory board’s goal is not to run the company; rather, its purpose is to provide appropriate and candid advice to decision-makers in order to assist them in making better business choices. They offer unbiased, straightforward opinions and can also assist in making difficult decisions by speaking up openly if they perceive anything that can be improved.
3. Enhances the Brandâs Reputation
If the members of an advisory board have a good reputation, it can help a company a lot. Because well-known members can lend credibility to the company and attract a large number of new clients. Many members of the advisory board also assist in creating high-profile relationships that can subsequently be useful to a startup in generating investments and other forms of corporate assistance.
For example, Toyota hired then-former finance minister Dr Manmohan Singh as one of its advisory board members in 1996, and when he later became India’s prime minister, it aided the company by bringing a slew of customers from India because the company could say that the country’s prime minister was their advisor.
4. Advisory Board Can Help the Business Save Money
Members of an advisory board are usually paid less than members of the board of directors, so you can save money there. Furthermore, the committee’s expert assistance aids in making smarter financial decisions, which can save you money and time by preventing losses and unwise investments. And when you are running a startup there is no room for investments and money loss.
5. It Is Easy to Set Up
The advisory board is simple to form and operate, as they are only on the board for a brief time compared to other board members. They are recruited for a specific length of time, and because there is not much legal involvement in the firm, there are fewer hassles and the selection process is considerably simpler. Many significant corporations establish advisory boards for a very modest cost, yet their advice and abilities are extremely beneficial to the company.
An advisory board can be extremely beneficial to a startup since they provide fresh perspectives and unbiased thoughts that can assist the company make better decisions.
Members of the advisory board who are knowledgeable and experienced assist in gaining a better grasp of the market and identifying trends that can be advantageous to the organisation.
Members with a good reputation also assist the startup get credibility and making contacts. They can be extremely cost-effective, as well as time and money-saving, and they are often simple to hire and deal with.
FAQs
What is the purpose of an advisory committee?
An advisory committee guides the business and helps them make proper decisions according to the market trends.
What is a startup advisor?
A startup advisor is an expert that helps the company get new clients on board and create connections with other founders.
How many advisors does a startup have?
Usually, a startup advisory board consists of at least 3 members or 3 advisors that advise the company.
What is the importance of advisory?
Advisory board members have more experience and can offer better advice and suggestions to the company, as well as assist the founders in making sound business decisions.
What is an advisory committee meeting?
A meeting of the advisory committee is conducted to discuss the subjects and concerns that the company wants to resolve, as well as other ideas for improving the business.
With the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic always looming, the demand for delivery services-be for food or groceries – is at its peak. This is especially true in metropolises like New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, etc, which have a significant middle-class population in addition to their bourgeois.
Thus, there is a need for delivery services to ramp up and make their services faster than before, to cope with the ever-rising competition and meet the demands of the customer. Thus, various grocery apps such as Zepto, Blinkit (earlier known as Grofers), BigBasket, and Swiggy InstaMart have already started delivering basic grocery essentials such as dairy items, fruits, vegetables, cereals, etc within the next 10 minutes (yes, you read it right, just 10 minutes) to deliver the respective items.
On the 21st of March, 2022, another revolutionary announcement was made when the CEO of the popular food delivery Service Zomato, Mr Deepinder Goyal, launched Zomato Instant, in which some specific food items would be served to the customer within 10 minutes. The food items that would be sold within 10 minutes would be the ones that are âpopular, standardised, and can therefore be dispatched within 2 minutesâ in Mr Goyalâs own words.
So now we would discuss in this article how, first, the plans of Zomato briefly as to how they want to deliver food products within the next 10 minutes. We would also discuss how are grocery items are dispatched to their customer in the first place, within 10 minutes? We would then discuss the concerns shown by various organisations that whether delivering in such a short span of time is safe or not and then end this with the various memes we saw on Twitter when Zomato Instant was launched.
On the 21st of March 2022, the CEO and founder of Zomato, Mr Deepinder Goyal shocked the business world, when he said in his blog that Zomato is planning to launch Zomato Instant, in which they would deliver hot meals to their customer within just 10 minutes.
Announcement: 10 minute food delivery is coming soon on Zomato.
This created a furore as while groceries being delivered within that time limit wasnât something unusual but hot cooked food was something no one thought would ever come considering the time it takes to cook the food properly, then packaging it and other stuff that is involved in it.
Zomato is planning to launch a pilot program with four stations in Gurugram, Haryana, and, depending on its success, it would expand to other major cities.
Replying to a query on Twitter, Mr Goyal said they can expect food that can be cooked and served quickly like Bread Omelette, Poha, Momos, Maggi, etc. If a customer is expecting a thing that takes time to cook, like say a Dal Makhani or a Rajma Masala for example, then there would not be any changes in the time taken to deliver those items.
Here, Zomato would set up âfinishing stationsâ at multiple high-demand locations across a particular city. These stations will house roughly around 20-30 bestseller dishes (which can be made quickly) from various restaurants based on demand, predictability, and hyperlocal preferences, which they can find out from the data they have in the first place.
With the help of Machine Learning algorithms, they would gradually get much better at determining what kind of meals should come under the ambit of Zomato Instant.
Delivery of Grocery Essentials Within 10 Minutes- âThe Dark Storeâ
Grocery services have their own equivalent of finishing stations, as discussed in the case of Zomato by the name of “Dark Stores“. “Dark stores” refer to a small retail distribution centre or warehouse, located in the suburb of a metropolis. Rather than conventional fulfilment centres or warehouses, these âdark storesâ are located within the suburbs of the cities, to fulfil their aim of serving essentials quickly to their customers. The employees of the âdark storesâ generally work in 2 shifts 24×7. They are called âdark storesâ as they are closed to the public and are for only fulfilling online orders.
Warehouse
So what happens, in these brightly lit and ventilated âdark storesâ have stocked grocery essentials in the store, then, they get information about a customerâs order through the handheld device they have in their hands, then they move around the dark store to locate an item, scan the barcode present and then check whether it matches with the item the customer ordered, if it is correct then they move on the next product. Thus, digitization and automation are the key pillars of a âdark storeâ. It is just a scaled-down version of what we see in large fulfilment centres.
There are multiple advantages of having a âdark storeâ. It makes it easier to store perishable products and gives us more control regarding inventory management. It also helps corporations to store an extensive range of products.
Concerns About Delivering in 10 Minutes
There have been various concerns about companies managing to deliver their products within the stipulated amount of time, with the major one being road safety. This is a major problem in virtually all Indian cities, where roads are riddled with potholes, with cattle or other animals straying into traffic. This presents a frequent challenge for motorists, who often violate basic rules to deliver their product within the required time limit.
Traffic in India
So now various non-governmental organizations have doubted the feasibility of food or groceries being delivered within 10 minutes without compromising on the safety of the drivers. This has also led to debates within the political circles of India, when the home minister of Madhya Pradesh, Mr Narottam Mishra had accused Zomato of âjeopardizing the lives of delivery driversâ with the launch of Zomato Instant. A Member of Parliament from Tamil Nadu, Mr Karthi Chidambaram, has also spoken regarding this issue in the Lok Sabha.
When 13 drivers of Blinkit and Zepto were interviewed by Reuters in 2021 in various cities of India, like Mumbai, New Delhi, and Gurugram, they said they had to face immense pressure to meet delivery deadlines or else face losing their job.
Since then, companies have taken various measures to build more âdark storesâ as near as possible so drivers don’t have to risk their lives and can do it within the stipulated time limit.
Social Media Reaction to Zomato Instant
With the launch of Zomato Instant, there have been a lot of memes on multiple social media platforms, especially on Twitter regarding the 10-minute delivery scheme. Let us take a small peek at those memes.
Memes on Zomato 10 minute DeliveryZomato 10 minute Delivery Memes
Thus, here we have discussed briefly how delivery services act on their promise of delivering their products within 10 minutes regarding groceries and the plan of Zomato on how they would potentially deliver meals to the customers within 10 minutes. We have also discussed the various concerns regarding the 10-minute delivery plan and the social media reaction due to Zomatoâs new plan.
In the end, these companies contribute a lot to the growth of the Indian economy as a whole, due to the various jobs they provide. These new 10 minute plans may sound risky but in the end, you have to take such bold initiatives to succeed in the current world. These bold initiatives are a huge reason for Zomato’s successful Initial Public Offering (IPO) in July 2021.
FAQs
How does 10-minute delivery work?
There are dark stores set up in different locations across the city, as the customer orders something the food or grocery is picked up from the warehouse or dark store and delivered within 10 minutes.
What are the apps that deliver in 10 minutes?
Zomato, Zepto, and Blinkit are some of the apps that deliver groceries or food in 10 minutes.
The entertainment industry has evolved drastically over the last few years owing to the streaming websites, with growing choices for accessing content online. Digital media has made its way through a remarkable evolution over the last few decades. New platforms and streaming sites have emerged that allow movie/series lovers to watch video content over the Internet.
The growth of online streaming changed the multimedia and entertainment ecosystem. Several names come to mind when talking about online streaming but no one can beat Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. These are one of the widely used video streaming services and peopleâs favorite choice.
With online Streaming sites coming into a discussion, the inevitable question of which of them is the best also comes into the picture. There is a multitude of content to watch on the Internet depending on the taste of the viewers.
Netflix is an online streaming video-on-demand subscription service which provides its viewers to access to a massive list of movies and TV shows from around the world for a nominal monthly or annual fee.
It was founded by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph, the entertainment company has grown from a DVD mail-order service to a global Internet TV sensation. Netflix has undergone several ups and downs since its inception in 1997 but evolved dramatically over the years to become the global leader of mainstream media. Itâs the most common digital name today.
Amazon Prime Video is a digital subscription-based video-on-demand streaming service owned and operated by Amazon that offers a myriad of movies, TV shows, documentaries, comedy specials, and so on. It costs INR 999 a year which allows viewers to enjoy unlimited video streaming and ad-free music on the top of Amazon-exclusive deals plus free two-day shipping after a 30-day free trial.
Streaming sites in Indian Market Share
Netflix vs Amazon Prime
Netflix
Amazon Prime video
Netflix broadcasts 4k and HDR content and it excels in video and sound quality making it stand out
Amazon Prime Video fails to play high-resolution HD content on low-speed connection
You can only stream movies or TV series on it
You can get other benefits such as Amazon Prime Music and faster Amazon delivery
Netflix supports wide range of devices including gaming consoles
Amazon Prime does not support Gaming consoles
Netflix has extensive library of titles including several renowned in-house documentaries as well as series
The library and content of Amazon Prime isn’t as extensive as compared to Netflix
Netflix is more expensive. In India, Netflix’s mobile plan starts at INR 199 and goes upto INR 799 per month
Prime is cheaper than Netflix. Users are charged INR 999 annually and INR 129 monthly for Prime
Just 897 Netflix movies are not rated
31,066 of Amazon Primeâs movies are not Rated, which means the movies are too old for rating or are too small to go through the rating process
Netflix provides limited downloads to the user
Amazon Prime Vidoe does not limit the user for the video downloads
Itâs always about good content. Both Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have more than their fair share of amazing content. In Netflixâs case is House of Cards, Narcos, Orange Is the New Black, The Crown,BoJack Horseman, and Daredevil, to name just a few of its Originals.
On Amazon Prime, you got Bosch, The Man in the High Castle, Transparent, Mr. Robot,Hand of God, American Gods, Sneaky Pete, and many more. A particular show in mind will push the viewer towards a particular site.
When it comes to movies, Netflix caters an evolving catalogue of classics, relatively new movies, and some exclusive indie films. Amazon Prime Video also offers up a similar catalogue but itâs more focused on TV shows than films. Note that Prime Video also requires you to pay to watch some films despite having a Prime membership.
The total amount of TV shows and films available on both services continuously gets updated and evolve from time to time.
For a college student with a valid .edu address, one can pay just INR 499 per year for Amazon Prime. Everyone else has to pay INR 129 per month for Amazon Prime. Prime customers can use up to 3 screens at a time.
Netflix charges INR 199 – INR 499 per month for one screen option, INR 649 month for two screens plus HD access, and INR 799 month for 4 screens plus Ultra HD access.
Amazon Prime is a bundled service. Apart from Prime Video, you also get a host of other benefits like free two-day shipping on Amazon India website, early access to Amazon sales and deals, and more. Netflix is a pure video-streaming platform.
Not just video streaming, Prime also offers music streaming services with its Prime Music. It has a music library across 12 languages – English, Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Malayalam, Kannada, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, and Rajasthani.
Amazon does not charge you extra for the 1080p Full HD and 4K Ultra HD resolutions on any of its plans, whereas on Netflix you have to pay for 1080p and 4K Ultra HD video quality for INR 499 monthly plan. Also, Amazon lets you stream videos on three different devices simultaneously. With Netflix, you have to pay INR 649 if you want to stream it on four devices simultaneously.
Since Prime Video also comes with free 2-day shipping for all Amazon products and sweet deals on subscription services, Amazon is the winner in this category.
Is Netflix better than Amazon Prime?
Shows offered by both the platforms offer very competitive content. Which makes it even harder to decide on which one is the best.
Over time, the meaning of the phrase “Netflix and chill” has evolved. It has gained popularity on the internet and users are actually using Netflix more to chill and enjoy the engaging content. What Netflix does is it premiers every episode of a season at once, tempting audiences to binge-watch a series upon release.
You might’ve seen everyone going crazy about shows they canât get enough of (Black Mirror, 13 Reasons Why, Stranger Things, for starters), these are Netflix originals. The original movie selection includes 2020 Oscar nominees like The Two Popes, Â Marriage Story and The Irishman.
Netflix has become such a trusted source in the industry that content that shows in it are instantly boost in attention just from being on the service. So, the question is no longer whether someone wants Netflix, they already have it one way or the other.
You will find Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, and similar more regional movies on Prime but not on Netflix. Netflix has a rich library of international content but regional content still needs to grow. But Netflix is also expanding in India and planning to tie-up with local production houses to produce regional content.
Last year, Netflix had mentioned its plans to launch 22 original movies and 11 series from India by 2020. Netflix’s entry into making movies and series in regional language might prove game-changing as a large part of India’s audience prefer to watch content in their native language.
However, Amazon evidently suggests that it is quantity more than quality. However, Netflix also has more titles in IMDbâs lists of the top 250 TV shows and movies, which combine user ratings and popularity to determine its rankings.
Annual Video Budget of Amazon Prime Video and Netflix
Conclusion
The cheaper plans get picked up all the time. Amazon Prime Video is an amazing service, and it saves users from buying expensive Netflix membership. On the other hand, people who do not want to compromise on the good content, they easily love Netflix.
Currently, Amazon Prime is not as entertaining as Netflix but some users are fine with it. Amazon Prime Video has more than enough content to keep the streaming habits going strong. The choice is subjective here.
Amazon Prime is cheaper compared to Netflix. Amazon Prime monthly subscription is available at INR 179 whereas for Netflix subscription price for basic plan ranges between INR 199 – INR 649.
How many subscribers does Amazon Prime Video and Netflix have?
Subscribers of Amazon Prime Video and Netflix are:
Amazon Prime Video subscriber: 21.8 million
Netflix subscribers: 5.5 million
Which country is the leading market of Netflix?
The United States is the leading market for Netflix followed by Brazil.
Which country is the leading market of Amazon Prime Video?
United Kingdom is the leading market of Amazon Prime Video.
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Economics has always been an important thing for a country. You may not like the subject in your school but it is something that is super real in nature. It is basically the allocation of resources to achieve the most optimum efficiency. As the number of people grows in a country, so does the responsibility and the load to be more active and unbiased in every sphere of allocation of resources. Good allocation of resources is important because resources are finite.
If not managed well, the whole economy can just crash, however big or small the economy is. This is what we are reminded of every now and then. This unusual year brought up the news of a country getting economically unstable. The country is Sri Lanka and it is in a really serious economic condition. The people of Sri Lanka are facing extreme situations associated with their economy. This article focuses right on the same topic.
Read this article to know about what is happening in Sri Lanka and what the world is saying about it, how the country plans to get out of this tight phase and much more. Here we go,
A Little Brief About the Sri Lanka Economic Crisis
Recently, the news broke out about Sri Lanka from which we came to know that the country to the south of India is facing a financial crisis and there are fears of bankruptcy. News resources reported that Sri Lanka is in a super tight place right now and it might have extreme economical conditions in the near future.
The Sri Lankan foreign reserves have hit a record low where the commercial banks are failing to secure “dollars to finance imports of food, fuel and medicines”, as says Deccan Herald. All of these started with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which devastated the country’s tourism sector, a pivotal industry of the Sri Lankan revenue, and also reduced the foreign workers’ remittances.
To save the country, the Sri Lankan government announced a broad import ban in March 2020. However, this backfired in the form of shooting the food prices up by 25%, as per the reports of February 2022, and has contributed to an overall inflation of 17.5%. Furthermore, the country is also facing 5-hour electricity blackouts each day because the thermal generators have run out of fuel. According to the reports, the country is still battling its $51 billion sovereign debt. Â Â
It has been heard that he Sri Lankan government had received a $1.2 billion economic relief package from India for a cure. This economic relief package, as announced by the government on January 4, 2022, amidst the ongoing forex crises of the country, ensures that the Sri Lankan government is optimistic about their future. They want to communicate that the country will not default on its international debt.
The Current Situation in Sri Lanka Due to the Crisis
The GDP of Sri Lanka over the years
Sri Lankaâs external reserves were dropped severely in November of 2021. The fall marked the external reserves to $1.6 billion. This fall triggered alarm in most of the domains and quarters of the country. Concerned people warned about this in the government. Economists and Think tank’s warned that this fall in foreign reserves will mean a sovereign default in the future.
American credit rating organisation âFitchâ, after the event in Sri Lanka downgraded the nationâs rating to CC. A CC rating is the lowest rating just before the defaulter tag. It is to be noted that Sri Lanka had a piling pile of feigning debt over the last few years. However, the island has never defaulted on any of the foreign debts until now.
Fitch Ratings of Sri Lanka
This downtrend in the year 2020 is seen as the record breaker for Sri Lanka. The current situation is seen as a super meltdown and has impacted the whole island. Living costs are rising impeccably, food shortages are forecasted up this year and as per the reports, Sri Lanka will likely default on the debt that it has accumulated.
Having said about the economic crisis and the depleting foreign reserves, there are many issues that Sri Lanka is facing right now. Inflation is seen at an all-time high in the country and the basic living conditions are getting costlier. Food prices are skyrocketing and its treasuries are shrinking.
The economic crisis that the country is facing right now is inhumane and the hole is too deep to get out from. The country appears to be staring at a human crisis that will hurt not only the growth rate in the pandemic era but the basic sustainability index of the country.
According to World Bank estimates, 5 lakh people in Sri Lanka have fallen below the poverty line since the pandemic struck, which it described as a âhuge setback equivalent to five yearsâ worth of progressâ.
The World Bank has estimated that about 5 lakh people have fallen below the poverty line and this trend started during the Covid 19 pandemic. This setback was so deepening that it took away Sri Lankaâs five years worth of growth with itself. This is a huge shock for the economy of Sri Lanka and the people who make up the economy.
In further reports, it is said that the countryâs economy has contracted by 1.5%, just by the end of the third quarter of 2021. With the new year 2022, it is not going to be easy for Sri Lanka to sustain itself as there are real concerns about the country going bankrupt.
The government, however, said Tuesday the country will not default on its international debt as it announced a USD 1.2 billion economic relief package.
Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa said Sri Lanka would duly pay the international sovereign bond of USD 500 million due in a fortnight, a PTI report said.
Sri Lanka, which is an Island to the south of India, is a great tourist spot. It is estimated that tourism revenue makes up about 10% of the islandâs GDP (Gross domestic product). This was the usual rate in the island country.
With the onset of the Covid19 pandemic, this rate was badly hit and the tourism sector came to a sudden halt. This had really a cascading effect on the earnings of the nation. However, every other major tourist destination faced this issue but the effect was real. Magnified on Sri Lanka as the tourism there makes up a good chunk of the GDP.
While the halting of tourists was a good attack on the economy, there were some other reasons as well. The other ascertained reasons for the fall would include, Heavy Expenditures. The president of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa did some hefty expenditures during the year.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa – President of Sri Lanka
His government tried to cut taxes from people that impacted government revenues. More and more spending led to less and depleting foreign reserves and thus the reserves hit a rock bottom. The country is very high on loans and grants and has China as a major debt partner. The Guardian recently reported that Sri Lanka has massive debt repayments to China alone.
Sri Lankan rupee (Currency of the island) crashed too. This is basically termed as âInflationâ. Inflation reached a record high in Sri Lanka, and is rising continually, leading to a spike in food prices, which was the reason for worry for the common citizens of the country. Reacting to the rise in inflation, President Rajapaksa announced an economic emergency in August 2021, just a couple of months before the foreign reserves crash. This emergency was implemented to control the situation and contain it. The effect was to lessen the hoarding of items by people in their homes, which could lead to more severe shortages.
Four months went by and as the inflation rose more, basic goods became unaffordable for the general public. Not just that, it has been reported that even well off or socially rich people are having trouble affording basic needs and wants. These many months, the citizens of Sri Lanka faced a tough time to make both ends meet.
The government had appointed a former army general as commissioner of essential services, giving him the power to seize food stocks hoarded by traders and retailers, and ensure essential items were sold at prices set by the government, but little was done on the ground to lift people out of their misery, the Guardian report said.
What Sri Lanka is facing right now is inhuman and horrendous. The economic conditions there have seen very tight phases but this phase is the most horrific. Adding to that, this is when the whole world is facing a global pandemic which could lead to any ruins. This has broadened the possibilities of Sri Lanka going bankrupt. After witnessing a drop of 70% in foreign exchange reserves during the past 2 years, the government of Lanka and the people of the island country, are experiencing a currency devaluation and are looking forward for help from the global lenders. According to the latest news dated March 28, 2022, Sri Lanka, which is a country for 22 million people, is struggling to pay for essential imports Let us see what the numbers and opinions about the country say.
This is not a certain statement but the probability of this country going bankrupt has never been this high. It has been reported that the country is super deep in debts and owes tremendous amounts to other counters. Here we are presenting a few stats that prove the misery of Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka owes an amount that is more than $5 billion to China. This is probably the biggest amount of debt that the country has ever taken. The country is paying the China debt in instalments.
Not only that, but Sri Lanka is also a debtor to Beijing for $1 billion, which it took to overcome the previous acute crisis. Along with the major countries and regions that Sri Lanka owes money to, it is reported that there are many private and government entities that it owes money to. This situation of enormous debts and depreciating foreign reserves can be a âCheckmateâ situation for the republic of the nation.
“We have high debt from three countries â China, Japan and India. The total outstanding for this year would be USD 6.9 billion,” FM Rajapaksa, the younger brother of President Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, was quoted as saying in the PTI report.
The finance minister of Sri Lanka openly announced the amount they owe to countries. He said that Sri Lanka owes a sum total of about $7 billion to countries like China, Japan and even its neighbour, India.
Sri Lankaâs huge foreign debt burden is one of the main reasons for its economic crisis. As of November, foreign currency reserves available with the country were just $1.58 billion, down from $7.5 billion when Rajapaksa became the president in 2019, the report said.
National debt of Sri Lanka
Amid the falling environment, the opposition party in Sri Lanka also took a dig. An opposition member of parliament, Harsha de Silva (who is also an economist) told parliament that foreign reserves would be in the negative if the rate of decline continues. Moreover, the Sri Lankan newspaper âDaily mirrorâ quoted âThe nation will go totally bankruptâ.
Opposition MP Harsha de Silva, who is also an economist, told Parliament in December that the countryâs foreign currency reserves would be minus $437m by January, and the total foreign debt services would be $4.8 billion between February and October 2022. âThe nation will be totally bankrupt,â Sri Lankan newspaper Daily Mirror quoted him as saying.
De Silva said he was not trying to scare anyone but it was a reality that âall imports will come to a halt, the entire IT system will be shut down including the google map as we will not be able to pay for itâ.
The government has, however, always made an optimistic approach and has insisted that it can meet the obligations.
Minister Ramesh Pathirana has said they would try to settle past oil debts with Iran by paying them with tea. Sri Lanka plans to send $5m worth of tea every month to Iran to save âmuch needed currencyâ, The Guardian reported.
Ministers are worried about what the future may look like and all they want is to minimise the damage.
Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal has also said that Sri Lanka would be able to pay off its debts âseamlesslyâ.
Former central bank deputy governor WA Wijewardena, however, told The Guardian that there were high chances that the country would default on repayments, and that would have catastrophic economic consequences.
âWhen the economic crisis deepens beyond redemption, it is inevitable that the country will have a financial crisis too. Both will reduce food security by lowering production and failing to import due to foreign exchange scarcities. At that point, it will be a humanitarian crisis,â he warned.
The chances of Sri Lanka defaulting on loans and debts have never been high. However, when we dug up information about the finance department in the government and what the finance minister has to say about this, we found that they have a plan.
The plan is a new and strong relief package that will try to rebalance the economic imbalance. The debt can be looked at as a secondary objective but for now, the thing that they would like to focus on is the foundation of the economy. The employees, pensioners and differently-abled soldiers are the first-hand people who will get the benefits.
The finance minister, meanwhile, said Tuesday they have a plan in place. He said the new $1.2 billion (229 billion Sri Lankan rupees) economic relief package includes payment of a special monthly allowance of Rs 5,000 to 1.5 million government employees, pensioners and differently-abled soldiers from January 2022.
This is by far the response of the Sri Lankan government to the crisis that the nation is facing. Let us now look at some of the major factors on why and how the economy at Sri Lanka sunk this much, the first one is the tourism setback.
Reasons Behind the Economic Crisis in Sri Lanka
Tourism in Sri Lanka and turmoil
The impact of the pandemic was huge on Sri Lanka. Covid 19 has stopped any sort of travel and tourism in the country for a long time now. According to the reports of the world travel and tourism council, nearly 2 lakh people have lost jobs in the travel industry since the pandemic began and globalised.
The loss of foreign revenue is huge too. According to the Hindu report last year, forex reserves have dropped from $7.5 billion to $2.8 billion, which is a steep decline and is obviously not healthy at all. The loss of foreign revenue from the sector has been substantial.
Adding to the above-mentioned deficits, the Sri Lankan rupee is depreciating too. This is known as inflation and it is very high in Sri Lanka right now. Basic livelihood items such as food itemsâ prices have risen manifold and people have to face difficulties to meet both ends. The nation, for now, has to depend heavily on imports.
Food Shortage in Sri Lanka
Photos of Lines and queues of people can be seen all over the news from Sri Lanka. These are the lines of people who are in a queue to buy home essentials, like food items. Prices of such basic items have risen enormously and are out of reach for many. Prices of bread, rice, wheat, sugar etc., have all risen several times.
People standing in Queue in Sri Lanka
It has never been hard for poor and middle-class people to buy items like these. The daily wage earners especially are affected the most.
Quoting a man who works as a chauffeur in Colombo, The Guardian report said he has now taken up a second job and his family now eats two meals every day, and not three. He said his village grocer now makes ten 100g packets out of a 1kg milk powder packet because no one can afford to buy the full packet.
The pandemic has just more severely affected those in the nation. The governmentâs efforts to make Sri Lanka â100% organicâ is at a loss. Last year, The Hindu reported that the country is planning to cut the use of chemical fertilisers to almost zero. To which farmers opposed and replied that this will affect food production. Pandemic made the food situation of Sri Lanka more severe.
âThe government has no money for fertiliser subsidies. Many of us farmers are reluctant to invest money because we donât know if we will make any profit,â A farmer was quoted as saying.
At the time of crisis, everyone hopes high from the government and the people of Sri Lanka are hoping the same from the government there. Speaking at the parliament in December 2020, MP, Harsha de Silva said that the only solution to the crisis is to seek assistance from the IMF(International Monetary Fund). He said homegrown solutions would not help, and only the IMF can revive the countryâs economy.
The presidentâs office did not have an official notice or announcement for the citizens and the central bank is appealing for the foreign currency. The government of Sri Lanka is hustling to make things better for the people but it is just too hard. They are trying to stabilise the situation and try to help poor and sick people first and apply that others have to sacrifice a little.
The central bank had earlier last year prohibited traders from trading more than 200 Sri Lankan rupees for a single US dollar, they also have stopped traders from entering into forwarding currency contracts. The government has since been taking temporary relief measures to ease the situation.
Early December, Finance Minister from Sri Lanka Basil Rajapaksa visited neighbour India and commenced talks with his Indian counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman and Indiaâs External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to which they were thinking to take forward.
Basil Rajapaksa with Nirmala Sitharaman
The talks included a total of $1.9 billion of assistance for the country and besides that, a $500 million credit line for fuel and $400 million swap was discussed too. Similar talks were also held with China and Bangladesh.
Of all the reliefs and grants, Rajapaksa, (The President) assured that the relief package would not contribute to further inflation and that there won’t be any new taxes.
Indiaâs Relations with Sri Lanka and the Assistance
India has always been a healthy and supportive friend to its neighbours. One of the neighbours of the Indian subcontinent is Sri Lanka. Speaking of help and assistance from India, the news is flooded with nice gestures from the Indian government for the Sri Lankan government. Let us have a look:
India assured Sri Lanka of its support to ally over these “difficult times” even as it welcomed the Trincomalee tank farms project saying it will augment bilateral energy security.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, when asked at a media briefing on the possibility of India extending the credit line to help Sri Lanka overcome its economic crisis, said it has always stood by the people of that country.
It is a great hope to notice how countries are helping each other in such times. India has agreed to mostly increase the credit line and time for repayments for Sri Lanka. Decisions like these will help foster friendly relationships with neighbouring countries.
After a telephonic conversation with his Sri Lankan counterpart, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India will support Sri Lanka in “these difficult timesâ. “Greeted FM G.L. Peiris of Sri Lanka in the New Year. A reliable friend, India will support Sri Lanka in these difficult times. Agreed to remain in close touch,” Jaishankar tweeted.
“We have seen reports that the Sri Lankan Cabinet has approved the development of the Trincomalee tank farms. Energy security is an important area of our bilateral cooperation with Sri Lanka,” he said supporting relations with the neighbour.
The Sri Lankan government replied that after analysing the three existing agreements with the Indian government about the strategic Trincomalee oil tank complex, usually known as the Trinco oil tank farm, the two countries have reached an agreement to implement a joint development project to make
On the query on extending the credit line time by India, Bagchi referred to the visit to New Delhi by Sri Lankan Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa last month.
“He briefed the Indian side on the economic situation in Sri Lanka and his government’s approach in addressing these challenges. India has always stood by the Sri Lankan people and Sri Lanka is an important part of our neighbourhood first policy,” Bagchi said relying on support to the island.
The above dialogues and discussion proved that India was ready to help Sri Lanka. Therefore, after mutual agreements and deals that were beneficial for both the countries, India extended a relief fund of $1 billion to the present Sri Lankan government. This was a good move indeed and helped Lanka in its time of need. However, after the March relief extended by India, Sri Lanka is again seeking for an additional credit line of $1.5 billion on top of the earlier funds. This credit line will also be met by India, which will be used by Sri Lanka for the import of its essential goods like rice, flour, sugar, pulses, medicines and more, as far as the Reuters reports go. Â
The help, extended by India, will undoubtedly be beneficial for the economically devastated Lanka and will further help in bettering the relations between the countries. India always proves that it is very much ready to help out everyone and set an example of moral duties for onlookers.
It is not that the nation of Sri Lanka has found this issue very sudden, but that the country is experiencing it for quite some time now, which is more worrying. It has been two years since the pandemic started and globalised but the foreign reserves at Sri Lanka were depleting long back and it only shows some leniency. The tolerance of the Sri Lankan government can be detained in the present crisis as a reason for the same.
India, as a supporting country, has always been together with other countries who are in need. It plans to do the same this year too, even when the shadows of the pandemic are hovering above still and India itself needs support. It is time that every country follows the same rules and morals so that the world can be a happier place to live in. The pandemic has massively accelerated empathy in the world and whatever lies ahead, we can feel a sense of togetherness.
FAQs
Why is there an economic crisis in Sri Lanka?
The economic crisis that Sri Lanka is currently undergoing points to a severe depreciation of the country’s foreign exchange reserves. The crisis started back in 2019, when there was a massive dip in the country’s overall produce, which declined by 50%. Then the Covid19 pandemic struck, which made it insanely difficult for the country to recover, followed by a ban on import on March 2020. Now, the struggle of the country is real, with debts piling in and the government requesting relief funds from the other countries to import the essential goods.
How much does Sri Lanka owe the world?
The national debt of Sri Lanka is around $51 billion, as of March 2022.
Is Sri Lanka in an economic crisis?
Yes, Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic and debt crisis, which started in 2019 and is continuing even now!
Modern technology made great advancements in the medical industry. Now, this technology is making the reach of various medicines even easier.
The times when we had to roam around the market to find a particular medicine are gone. At present, we can find any medicine and get it delivered to our doorstep. This has been made possible with PharmEasy, the Indian online medicine delivery platform. We can use this app to order medicines and healthcare online.
PharmEasy has made great progress with its idea of making medicine delivery easy. It has gained huge popularity among the customers with its advertising and marketing. They have even made campaigns addressing customersâ concerns in a creative way.
About PharmEasy – Indiaâs Leading Medicine Delivery App
PharmEasy is Indiaâs health tech startup of online pharmacy and diagnostics. PharmEasy’s acquisition of Medlife has made it the biggest online pharmacy platform. After the acquisition, it aimed to serve 2 million customers a month.
In 2021, it also acquired Thyrocare technologies and Aknamed. The platform offers services of medicine delivery, diagnostic test sample collection, and teleconsultations. With its various partner vendors, it offers services to over 710 cities covering Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai, etc. The company covers 98% of pin codes in the nation to deliver medicine.
Founders of PharmEasy
Dhaval Shah and Dharmil Sheth
PharmEasy is the healthcare startup that came into existence in 2014. Its co-founders include Siddharth Shah, Dhaval Shah, Dharmil Seth, Harsh Parekh, and Hardik Dedhia. The startup began with the idea of making healthcare in India easily accessible. API Holdings Private Limited is the parent organization of PharmEasy.
How does PharmEasy Work?
It is an e-commerce platform where one can buy medicines and other healthcare equipment. A person uploads an image of the prescription on the app or website. This prescription is then sent to a medical store in your area and the order is packed.
Once the order is ready, a delivery agent comes to pick it up. The order then gets delivered to your home. It is as simple as its ads make it look.
Marketing Strategies of PharmEasy
Marketing is super important for any business to grow. When it comes to startup, it becomes even more important. To make a startup stand out in the market, strategic marketing is essential.
PharmEasy opts for various strategies for marketing. It tries to gain the customers’ attention through online marketing as well as tv commercials.
The following are some of the marketing strategies of PharmEasy:
Television Commercials
PharmEasy is an Indian company. The best way to get the attention of the Indian audience is through TV ads. PharmEasyâs TV ad was a successful marketing strategy that gained great popularity.
The company made a music track for its ad. The track was a version of the popular Bollywood song, âUrvashiâ. They created their slogan in the tune of it. The slogan said âPharmEasy, PharmEasy, Take it easy PharmEasyâ. Every time this soundtrack played on the television; it got the viewers’ attention.
When viewers find something interesting, they like to know more about it. In this way, this strategy by the brand got successful. This ad made the app and its services popular among the customers.
Meme Marketing
PharmEasy Instagram Marketing
PharmEasy is a new-age startup. The brand knows how to keep up with the latest trends. With the increasing popularity of memes over social media, PharmEasy took a dip in this strategy.
The company posts memes on its Instagram handle. This catches the customer’s attention in a creative and quirky way. For example- They made a meme on weekend working and attached its slogan #TakeItEasy, its tagline to it. There are several other memes that the company keeps on making according to the trends.
Once a person signs up on the PharmEasy app or website, the role of this strategy begins. The company uses technology to send automated messages or emails to its customers.
These messages include the information of new offers or discounts that the company has to offer. This is a great strategy by the company to gather up the customers’ attention.
Sponsorships
The PharmEasy startup was not popular right from its birth. It had to create a space and trust for itself in the market. One of the most successful strategies by PharmEasy in its early years wascricket sponsorship.
PharmEasy Cricket Sponsorship
After investing in cricket, people began to associate PharmEasy with cricket. Most of the Indian audience watches the world cup. An ad between the match gets the viewersâ attention and help develop a level of trust.
PharmEasy earned huge popularity through this marketing strategy. People now consider it a reliable brand in the e-pharmacy industry.
Influencer Marketing
We all are aware of the power of social media nowadays. Influencers and bloggers over various channels are getting more and more popular. They also have a large audience.
So, PharmEasy has also opted for influencer marketing. In this way, it can promote itself at the leverage of the influencerâs audience. For example- PharmEasy has indulged in making reels. You can see Viraj Ghelani, Digital Creator, and Sapan Verma, Comedian in the PharmEasy reels.
Traffic Sources of PharmEasy
The traffic generated by PharmEasy is 63.39% from search. Besides, there is 30.97% direct traffic, 0.72% from social media, 3.29% from display, 0.66% from emails and 0.97% from referrals.
PharmEasy Covid-19 Marketing Strategy
PharmEasy Covid-19 Marketing Strategy
Every brand advertised itself in association with the pandemic. So, PharmEasy too made ads related to covid-19. They decided to take a witty and sarcastic road for their advertisement.
The company has used a statement that is very common among the Indian audience. It is âSab uparwale ke hath mein hai.â So, taking a sarcastic take, the company used the actual uparwala i.e, the neighbour living up to promote their brand.
Another popular ad of PharmEasy was the ‘WFH’ campaign. This ad was focused on lockdown, as people were confined in their homes. The advertisement showcases while everything changed, one thing that didn’t change was getting medicines with ease.
PharmEasy has given a simple and sensible message to the people with their ads. It is to not leave everything up to fate. People need to understand that they have to take care of their health. The ad shows that to take care of medicine and healthcare, PharmEasy is always there.
PharmEasy, Indiaâs largest e-pharmacy came as a boon. It made the process of medicine buying easy, accessible, and reliable. During the pandemic, when people could not go out and find their medicines, PharmEasy has been a great help.
It is safe to say that PharmEasy gained great popularity with its marketing strategies. It has always kept its ads short, catchy and relatable. All such strategies helped PharmEasy to gain trust and popularity among the customers.
FAQ
Is PharmEasy a profitable company?
Yes, PharmEasy reported revenue of âš2360 crore in the financial year 2021.
Is PharmEasy a unicorn?
PharmEasy achieved unicorn status with a valuation of $1.5 billion.
Who is the founder of PharmEasy?
Dhaval Shah and Dharmil Sheth are the founders of PharmEasy.
Tanusha Verma
