Offline Retailers

Licious plans to first establish a strong offline presence in Bengaluru before expanding to cities like Chennai and Mumbai

The move is significant since most retailers mandatorily ask for a buyer's phone number as they generate the bill for their purchase

The Consumer Affairs Ministry has issued an advisory directing retailers not to insist on the personal contact details of customers for delivering certain services, Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said on Tuesday. The advisory has been issued following several consumer complaints. Customers have complained about many retailers not providing them services if they refuse to share their contact number, he said. "Sellers say they cannot generate the bill until personal contact details are provided. This is an unfair and restrictive trade practice under the Consumer Protection Act and there is no rationality behind collecting the information," the Secretary told reporters. There is also a privacy concern. Therefore, an advisory has been issued to the retail industry and industry chambers CII and FICCI to address this issue in the interest of consumers, he said. It is not mandatory in India for customers to furnish their mobile numbers to a retailer to generate a bill. Howev

Spurred by the pandemic, the convergence between offline and online commerce could reach a tipping point in 2023

Neither of the officials provided details on how banks would be compensated for providing cheap loans

Sector sees volume decline of up to 25%; e-com firms do brisk business

Retail boom will be directly correlated to vaccination levels, Shoppers Stop MD and CEO Venu Nair said

Over 20,000 offline retailers and kiranas from 'Local Shops on Amazon' programme will participate in their first 'Great Indian Festival' sale event, to be hosted by the e-commerce giant this month

Pricing - a prime complaint of domestic retailers - is set to be the focus, with the government considering an annual review of discounts given by e-marketplaces.

Planning for a post-lockdown world, retailers have realised that competiton will be high and customer needs will shift.

Malls will reopen on June 8 in most parts of the country barring Mumbai, where the state government has decided against it for now.

At the heart of the matter are revenue-share rental agreements that retailers are mooting over fixed-rent contracts that they say are unsustainable

The two companies have already trained more than 800 offline retailers and more training sessions are lined up in the coming weeks

Companies say low-unit packs as well as lesser-known brands seeing greater traction during lockdown

Barring Mumbai, shops across other key metros reopen

Called bharatemarket.in, the announcement comes at a time when e-tailers Amazon and Flipkart and offline player Reliance Retail are trying to woo small traders

Extend relaxations given to manufacturing units in green zones to retail sector, say industry players

The statement acquires significance given the growing Covid-19 cases in India.

Retail-led brands, say experts, are increasingly acquiring an identity of their own, goading some players such as the Future group to have a widespread distribution strategy

The trend is similar to what retailers had experienced during Diwali last year, when sales picked up during the festival of lights