<b>Vantage point:</b> Insights from cutting-edge research

'Top' and 'active' e-sellers capture most of total online GMV

Indian e-tailers report a total of more than 4.5 lakh e-sellers listed on their platform. However, a deeper analysis highlights that “top” and “active” e-sellers capture most of the total online GMV (gross merchandise value), say a recent study by RedSeer on the credit needs for e-sellers. These are merchants with the greatest credit need having a quick online inventory turnover and long offline credit cycles. E-sellers have been a primary target segment for lenders (banks and non-financial banking companies) during 2016 with access to credible credit scoring information through their e-tailing partners. Almost all merchants express the need for business credit, totalling up to Rs 11,000 crore. However, only a few of these merchants have the credit-worthiness to avail of loans from banks and NBFCs at an opportune interest rate with loan approval rates below 10 per cent. Over the past year, NBFCs and banks have disbursed Rs 700 crore in partnership with leading e-tailing platforms such as Flipkart and Amazon.

Cashless society of Sweden driving cards and payments industry

Sweden, dubbed as the most cash-free society in the world, is making the most of the support from the likes of UN Capital Development Fund's Better Than Cash Alliance funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, MasterCard and Visa for its drive towards going cashless. With over 80 percent of transactions involving no physical exchange of money, the people are vouching for cash-free society with the exception of the elderly who are finding it difficult to adjust to the rapid changes in payment methods, according to recent research by Ken Research. Cash transaction accounted to only two per cent of value of all payments last year and is estimated to drop by 50 per cent by 2020, revealed the Swedish National Bank. According to a Ken Research analyst, the success of Sweden in adoption of cashless means lies in the fact that its people were digitally ready. The proliferation of mobile phones and internet connections in Sweden is among the highest in the world, making it easier to adopt new electronic payment systems.

Worldwide IT spending to grow 2.7 per cent in 2017: Gartner

Worldwide information technology (IT) spending is projected to total $3.5 trillion in 2017, a 2.7 per cent increase from 2016, according to Gartner, Inc. However, this growth rate is down from earlier projections of three per cent. Devices spending (PCs, tablets, ultra mobiles and cellphones) is projected to remain flat in 2017 at $589 billion. A replacement cycle in the PC market and strong pricing and functionality of premium ultra mobiles will help drive growth in 2018. Emerging markets will drive the replacement cycle for mobile phones as smartphones in these markets are used as a main computing device and replaced more regularly than in mature markets.
 

Further, the worldwide IT services market is forecast to grow 4.2 per cent in 2017. Buyer investments in digital business, intelligent automation, and services optimisation and innovation will continue to drive growth in the market, but buyer caution, fuelled by broad economic challenges, remains a counter-balance to faster growth.