E-commerce Industry

China's Instagram-like Xiaohongshu making inroads with e-commerce sales

Xiaohongshu, sometimes compared to Instagram, has long been one of China's most important marketing tools

Swiggy expands its 10-minute delivery offering 'Bolt' to over 400 cities

Bolt is now active not only in emerging hubs, but also in Tier-2 and -3 cities such as Roorkie, Guntur, Warangal, Patna, Jagtial, Solan, Nashik, and Shillong

Meesho unveils multilingual Gen AI-powered voice bot for human-like support

Designed to autonomously handle a wide range of customer interactions, Meesho said the voice bot currently handles about 60,000 calls daily

7% workforce growth expected in H2 driven by logistics, e-comm: Report

With 59 per cent of employers planning to increase headcount in October-March FY25, 7.1 per cent workforce growth is expected during the period, driven by logistics, e-commerce, and manufacturing sectors, a report said. According to TeamLease Services 'Employment Outlook Report for October 2024 to March 2025', an additional 22 per cent will maintain their current staffing levels. The report is based on primary and secondary research, taking inputs from 1,307 employers across 23 industries in 20 cities. These findings reveal a dynamic hiring landscape where industry-specific demands and macroeconomic factors are significantly shaping employment trends, the report added. This growth will mainly be driven by sectors including logistics, EV & EV infrastructure, agriculture and agrochemicals, and e-commerce, which are heavily investing in infrastructure and technological advancements, it said. Logistics, for instance, stands out with a 14.2 per cent net employment change, as 69 per ...

Public procurement through GeM portal crosses Rs 3 trn so far this fiscal

The government's procurement through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal has crossed Rs 3 lakh crore so far this financial year, an official said. Higher buying activities by various ministries and departments have helped in reaching the figure, the official said. In 2023-24, the portal handled procurement of Rs 4 lakh crore by government departments of centres and states and public sector enterprises. The Government e-Market (GeM) portal was launched on August 9, 2016, for online purchases of goods and services by all central government ministries and departments. In October, the GeM signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Sikkim to facilitate procurement by the state on the platform. "That covers all the states under the GeM," the official said. Apart from large government agencies, GeM has also onboarded panchayats and cooperatives. The procurement by central organisations on the portal in October stood at around Rs 30,264 crore. The official said that since

ONDC partners with Nazara to launch in-game shopping platform 'gCommerce'

The platform aims to bolster revenue options for Indian game developers, who face challenges

Amazon launches facility in Bengaluru to train school students in tech

Initiative in AI, robotics aims to have 4,000 'young innovators' by next year

Amazon developing driver eyeglasses to shave seconds off deliveries

If successful, the glasses would provide drivers with turn-by-turn navigation on a small embedded screen, along their routes and at each stop, according to the people

Quick commerce dark stores poised to boost India's real estate demand

Q-commerce majors rush to grab these mini warehouses to cut logistics costs and attain the last-mile delivery objective

Amazon's belt-tightening produces strong cloud, e-commerce results

The Amazon Web Services cloud division, which suffered record low sales growth last year, continued to regain momentum during the third quarter

E-commerce firm Udaan raises about Rs 300 crore in debt funding round

The latest debt funding will strengthen Udaan's balance sheet, offering flexibility to invest and maintain its leadership

CCPA sends notices to several quick commerce cos over disclosure violations

Consumer protection regulator CCPA has issued notices to several quick commerce companies for failing to comply with mandatory product disclosure requirements, a top official said on Tuesday. The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has given the companies 15 days to respond to the notices, CCPA Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare told PTI, declining to name specific firms involved. The notices have been issued to "three to four" quick commerce companies for violations related to packaged product disclosures mandated under the Legal Metrology Act, said Khare, who also serves as the Consumer Affairs Secretary. The law requires online and offline retailers to display key product information, including maximum retail price, expiration date, weight, manufacturer details, and consumer grievance addresses on packaged goods. Quick commerce, which offers ultra-fast delivery of groceries and daily essentials, has gained significant traction in India's major cities, attracting consumers a

D2C brands raise funds to boost sales through quick-commerce platforms

With consumers preferring quick deliveries of items from groceries to mobile phones, direct-to-consumer brands find quick-commerce platforms the best option to increase their footprint

Market, consumers best teachers for biz growth: Mamaearth co-founder

Market and consumer insights are the best teachers to learn from to grow business, a philosophy which has guided Mamaearth's decisions, contributing significantly to its growth, its co-founder Varun Alagh said on Thursday. Alagh, co-founder and CEO of beauty and personal care brand Mamaearth, speaking at the 119th Annual Session of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) here, stressed the significance of consumer feedback in shaping business strategies. "I think the market and the consumer are the best teachers. As long as you're listening, they keep telling and teaching you. There is no better teacher than them. And we have treated the market and consumer like that, which has been very helpful because they have guided a lot of our decisions and got us to where we are today," he said. Alagh further highlighted the transformative impact of e-commerce and digital marketing in India, noting that these platforms are crucial for expanding access to products across diverse inco

Predatory pricing, deep discounting by Q-Commerce to impact brands: AICPDF

Deep discounting by quick commerce firms impact brand value, AICPDF told the FMCG industry, suggesting that they closely monitor and evaluate effects of these hyper delivery platforms, their distribution and retail networks. In an open letter, All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) asked FMCG companies to "ensure fair practices that do not alienate or undermine" their existing distributor and retail base. "Over the past few months, we have observed an alarming trend of predatory pricing and deep discounting practices by quick commerce platforms," the association, which claims to be representing about eight lakh FMCG distributors, said. These practices "not only undermine the integrity of the established distribution network but also erode brand value" by creating unrealistic consumer expectations around pricing, it said. Moreover, "distributors and retailers are facing the brunt of these unfair pricing models" AICPDF said, asking FMCG companies to "intervene t

DPIIT refers complaint against quick e-commerce players to CCI: Report

DPIIT, which comes under the commerce and industry ministry, has referred a complaint of alleged unfair business practices against quick commerce players to the Competition Commission, according to sources. The complaint was submitted by the All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) to the Union Commerce and Industry Ministry. Quick commerce platforms are those that typically deliver goods within 10 to 30 minutes. The Competition Commission of India (CCI), which works to ensure fair business practices across sectors in the marketplace, is already looking into alleged anti-competitive ways of e-commerce companies. The sources in the know on Friday said the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has referred a complaint made against quick commerce players to CCI. There was no immediate comment from CCI on the issue. When contacted for comments on the complaint, AICPDF President Darshil Patil said he has come to know that the letter writte

Trade groups call for Amazon, Flipkart suspension over antitrust breaches

Indian antitrust investigation reports have found Amazon and Flipkart violated local competition laws by giving preference to select sellers and priority to certain listings, hurting competition

Payment aggregators to create 'negative' database to tackle digital fraud

The proposed database, to be made accessible to all licensed payment aggregators, will work as an early warning system to help prevent fraud and reducing risks to merchant and consumers

E-commerce industry fuels state's packaging, export capability: Adityanath

E-commerce platforms added momentum to Uttar Pradesh government's efforts towards enhancing packaging and export capabilities and promoting Centre's One District One Product (ODOP) scheme, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Friday. The chief minister said the state is focused on enhancing packaging and export capabilities by leveraging design, technology, and market access and also called upon companies to take advantage of the state's warehousing policy, according to an official statement. "We focused on enhancing packaging and export capabilities by leveraging design, technology, and market access. However, the work of giving it more momentum happened when Flipkart Group joined us," Adityanath said at an event at Lok Bhavan, where he virtually inaugurated Flipkart's two new warehouses in Unnao and Varanasi. He also emphasised how these platforms are fostering healthy competition and empowering every citizen, whether in urban or rural areas, to reach global markets. He said th

Amazon India head Manish Tiwary resigns, plans to join another company

Tiwary will continue with Amazon until October to help ensure a smooth transition