Page 2 - E-commerce Industry

Swiggy Instamart appoints Sairam Krishnamurthy as chief operating officer

Krishnamurthy's appointment follows a series of senior hires at the quick commerce platform

Meesho onboards Hari Bhartia, three others as independent directors

Softbank-backed e-commerce firm Meesho on Friday said it has appointed Jubilant Bhartia Group founder Hari S Bhartia along with three other seasoned business leaders as independent directors. Along with Bhartia, Meesho has onboarded former JP Morgan Chairman Kalpana Morparia for South and South East Asia, PhonePe non-executive Chairman of the board Rohit Bhagat, and San Francisco-based AI company Ema's CEO Surojit Chatterjee. "As we embark on the next phase of growth, I am thrilled to announce the appointment of Surojit Chatterjee, Kalpana Morparia, Rohit Bhagat, and Hari S. Bhartia as independent directors to Meesho's board," Meesho, Founder and CEO Vidit Aatrey said in a statement. Bhartia is the Founder and Co-Chairman of Jubilant Bhartia Group. The Jubilant Bhartia Group has four flagship companies listed on Indian stock exchanges, with a combined market capitalisation of approximately USD 7.65 billion, it added. Bhartia is also the Co-Chairman and Managing Director of Jubilan

Expecting 30-40 mn monthly transactions by March 2025: ONDC CEO Koshy

The government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is expecting 30 to 40 million monthly transactions through the platform by March 2025, its CEO T Koshy said on Wednesday. The open network witnessed 10 million transactions in June, up from over 7 million in March. "In March (2024) it was 7 million plus transactions. Now in June we had 10 million transactions and I think by the end of the fiscal year it should be 30 to 40 million (monthly) transactions," Koshy said at a CII event here. He further said the ONDC platform has 5-6 lakh merchants onboard with the number expected to rise significantly in the coming months. He was addressing MSME Growth Summit organised by the industry body. ONDC was set up with an aim to democratise the country's e-commerce ecosystem. Addressing the summit, Sameer Gupta, Chairman of CII National MSME Council, emphasized the transformative impact of the industry body's initiatives like Digital Saksham. He highlighted the pivotal role of MSM

Govt steps help boost toy making, exports; more work needed: DPIIT secy

Government measures such as mandatory quality control orders and increasing customs duty have helped boost exports of toys from India, but there is a need to do much more for the sector, a top official said on Wednesday. Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Rajesh Kumar Singh also indicated that they are diligently pursuing the proposal of extending fiscal incentives under the production-linked incentive scheme for the sector. He said that the industry is wondering about one proposed major policy intervention and "let me assure you that we are still pursuing that". In the interim Budget in February, the Commerce and Industry Ministry has recommended an outlay of Rs 3,489 crore for the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for toys to boost domestic manufacturing of the sector. As the scheme is yet to be cleared by the Union Cabinet, the interim Budget has made a token provision of Rs 1 lakh towards the scheme for 2024-25. The scheme a

E-commerce demand surges amid heatwave, manpower needs increase

In the past month alone, daily deliveries by e-commerce entities have escalated to over two million, compared to 1.2-1.5 million deliveries recorded a year earlier

Govt plans to make anti-fake review rules mandatory for e-commerce firms

The government is considering to make it mandatory for e-commerce companies to comply with quality norms for consumer reviews after a voluntary push failed to effectively curb fake reviews, a top official said on Monday. The government issued the new quality norms for e-tailers a year ago, prohibiting them from publishing paid reviews and demanding disclosure of such promotional content. But fake reviews of products and services on e-commerce platforms are still slipping through, said Nidhi Khare, Secretary at the Consumer Affairs Ministry. "It's been more than one year that the voluntary standard on 'online reviews' was notified. Some entities claim that they are complying with it. However, fake reviews are still getting published," Khare told PTI. "To safeguard the consumer interest, now we want to make these standards mandatory," she said, adding that the ministry has scheduled a meeting with e-commerce firms and consumer organisations on May 15 to discuss the proposed move. Th

Flipkart Ventures to invest up to $500,000 in GenAI-based startups

As part of the Flipkart Leap Ahead (FLA) programme, selected startups will receive equity investments between $200,000 and $500,000, according to a statement

Average salary hike in India likely to be 8-11% this year: Randstad India

The junior professionals are likely to outshine senior professionals in terms of salary hike percentage

Alibaba approves additional $25 bn share buyback as revenue disappoints

Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding on Wednesday approved an additional USD 25 billion authorisation to its share buyback programme, after reporting lower-than-expected sales revenue for the last quarter of 2023. The company's Hong Kong-traded shares plunged 6.8 per cent on Thursday. Alibaba's New York-listed stock price sank 5.9 per cent on Wednesday and has fallen nearly 26 per cent over the past year. Alibaba posted a 5 per cent increase in sales to 260.3 billion yuan (USD 36.67 billion) in the quarter that ended in December, slightly missing analysts' estimates. Net income sank to 14.4 billion yuan (USD 2 billion), down 77 per cent compared to a year earlier. The Hangzhou, China-based firm attributed the drastic decrease to declining values of its equity investments and falling revenues. Alibaba has struggled to sustain its growth and faces increasing competition in the e-commerce sector from rivals such as Pinduoduo and ByteDance, which operates TikTok and Douyin. On

R-Day sale 2024: Smartphones, PCs, and electronics fly off e-com shelves

Beginning January 13, e-commerce majors Amazon and Flipkart rolled out their Republic Day sale events in India, with various bank offers and discounts on gadgets and electronic items

Quick commerce app Zepto elevates Nikhil Mittal to chief technology officer

In his new role, Mittal will be handling all verticals of engineering - customer facing, platforms and supply chain - at the company

Temple fever grips Indians, lifts travel demand and hotel bookings

Spiritual merchandise sales on e-commerce platforms surge ahead of Ram Mandir inauguration

Meesho posts 1st profitable quarter in FY24; loss dips to Rs 141 cr in H1

Softbank-backed Meesho on Friday said it became the first e-commerce unicorn to post consolidated profit after tax in the second quarter ended September 2023. The company did not disclose the amount of profit it earned in the July-September period. During the first-half period of the current financial year, the company reported narrowing of losses to Rs 141 crore and an increase in revenue by 37 per cent on a year-over-year basis to Rs 3,521 crore. "Meesho recorded its first-ever full quarter profitability in the second quarter of financial year 2024 and continues to remain so. The positive momentum in the business continued post this period's end and into the festive season as well where we witnessed continued growth across categories. This is an impressive feat as Meesho became the first horizontal e-commerce company to turn profitable in India," a Meesho spokesperson said. The company said it had posted its first-ever profit in July. "Consolidated revenue from operations were Rs

Govt to extend RoDTEP benefits to e-commerce exports: Piyush Goyal

The RoDTEP scheme, which came into effect three years ago, refunds the embedded non-creditable central, state, and local levies paid on inputs to exporters

Online platforms may need to delete data of users inactive for 3yrs

New Digital Personal Data Protection Rules proposed by the government may require online platforms, including e-commerce, gaming, and social media, to permanently delete data of inactive users

Over 80% Indian retailers do not see e-commerce as threat: Report

A majority of Indian retailers surveyed do not feel e-commerce is threatening their operations, with only 18 per cent saying that their sales have been impacted by online selling platforms, claims a study. The top industries witnessing the highest contribution from offline sales are FMCG & Retail (97 per cent), Food & Beverage (95 per cent), and Consumer Durable & Electronics (93 per cent). MSME-focused digital lender in India NowGrowth surveyed around 3,000 Indian retailers and shoppers across more than 25 top cities in India, wherein it was found that at-home delivery remains a top priority for shoppers, with 60 per cent of offline retailers receiving customer requests to start home delivery services. Physical stores remain the most popular mode of shopping for Indians despite the proliferation of online marketplaces. The ability to touch and feel the product is the top reason for the popularity of in-store shopping. Around 54 per cent prefer offline shopping due to the .

Majority of Indians check sellers' rating online before ordering: Report

A majority of adults check for a seller's rating online and assess a company's social media presence for authenticity before making a purchase, according to a study conducted just before the festivals. The Norton Cyber Safety Insights report, which was released on Thursday, surveyed 1,000 adults during August and September. According to the survey, about 96 per cent of the consumers geared up for pent-up purchases online during the festive season. As many as 88 per cent of adults check for a seller's rating online, while 82 per cent assess a company's social media presence for authenticity, the survey noted. The survey further revealed that the average amount lost to holiday shopping scams is over Rs 20,000. To curb this, 73 per cent of those surveyed said they preferred to make payments through third-party providers like PayPal. "With most consumers planning to shop online, it's imperative that we stay vigilant and prioritise security. The digital landscape offers fantastic deal

SHGs products to be made available on e-commerce platforms: Anurag Thakur

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Friday said the Centre has decided to sell products made by women-associated self-help groups through e-commerce to double their income. He addressed around 200 such self-help groups from different areas of Una district during an 'Atmanirbhar Narishakti se Samvad' (interaction with self-reliant women) programme. Thakur said that under the National Rural Livelihood Mission, about Rs 9,000 crore has been spent by the central government to make women living in rural areas self-reliant. He called upon the delf-help groups to take special care of the quality and packaging of the finished products so that these can compete with brands available in the market. In the future, products prepared by self-help groups will be made available on the e-commerce platforms to increase their sale, the Union minister added. Speaking to reporters after the event, Thakur accused the Congress governments in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh of looting

Record 1.4 bn visits during 'The Big Billion Days' festive sales: Flipkart

Choices in smartphones, laptops, tablets and home appliances indicate a strong premiumisation trend across India this year, said Flipkart

E-commerce aggregator ETrade aims to triple revenue to $ 750 mn by 2025

E-commerce aggregator firm eTrade aims to triple its revenue to USD 750 million by the fiscal year 2025 on account of a multi-faceted strategy, including the launch of their own white labels, the company said on Wednesday. eTrade claims to have an annual revenue of USD 250 million at present. "We are proud to have established ourselves as a leading e-commerce aggregator partner in India. We are fully committed to continuing our growth trajectory and reaching the USD 750 million goal by 2025, solidifying our position as a trusted partner in the e-commerce ecosystem," eTrade Founder, Anuj Bhatia said. The company provides technology, logistics, inventory management and other tools to enable companies to sell their product online. eTrade claims to have over 100 new clients and registered a growth of 60 per cent over the last year. The company said that it recently introduced over 50,000 new products specially curated for the festival season launched by some of its partner brands like