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Category: E-Tailing

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest E-Commerce & Etail news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • Snapdeal bats for new FDI policy in e-commerce from Feb 1

    Snapdeal bats for new FDI policy in e-commerce from Feb 1

    Leading Indian e-tailer Snapdeal on Tuesday supported the implementation of revised Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy on e-commerce from February 1. “Snapdeal supports the immediate implementation of the current FDI policy on e-commerce so that marketplaces are not misused to run inventory operations,” Delhi-based Snapdeal told IANS in a statement.

    The Ministry of Commerce and Industry on December 26 issued revised policy guidelines on FDI in e-commerce.

    The policy revision, which will be in force from February 1, dictates that e-commerce platforms providing a marketplace will not exercise control or ownership over the inventory.

    E-tail majors Flipkart and American online retailer Amazon’s Indian arm, however, sought an extension on the implementation of the new norms, amid protesting voices from retail traders’ bodies against granting the extension.

    “Government policy changes will have long-term implications in the evolution of the promising sector and the whole ecosystem,” American retail giant Walmart-owned Flipkart told IANS through a statement earlier.

    The new norms also barred e-tail firms from allowing any company to sell its products exclusively on their e-commerce platforms alone.

    While Amazon India had said in a statement to IANS that “it has always operated in compliance with the laws of the land”, it did not respond to queries on the changes it may have to make to its business model to suit the new norms.

    On the other hand, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has asserted that delaying the execution of the policy will allow the e-tailers to continue with their “dominance over retail trade”.

    “The modus operandi of these e-commerce companies for seeking extension (on implementation of new FDI norms) is to keep delaying fair execution of the policy,” CAIT wrote in a letter to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry this month.

    “They (e-commerce platforms) may continue with their sinister designs of operating all kinds of malpractice including predatory pricing, deep discounting and exclusivity, in order to ensure their control and dominance over retail trade and wipe out the competition,” the letter said.

    The Ministry, however, has not indicated any possible extension of deadline to implement the new norms.

  • Lazada to ramp up Southeast Asian grocery offering

    Lazada to ramp up Southeast Asian grocery offering

    Lazada Group has announced plans to ramp up its supermarket business in Southeast Asia as part of its strategy to become the region’s biggest e-commerce ecosystem. The supermarket transformation is being started off in Singapore, as homegrown online grocer RedMart is integrated into the Lazada platform on March 15 following its acquisition in 2016. Following the launch, shoppers will be able to buy groceries and fresh produce along with Lazada’s other product categories on the single platform, boosting the brand’s grocery and supermarket offering to more than 165,000 products.

    Elsewhere in the region, Lazada is looking to launch its grocery and supermarket business in at least one other city from the second half of 2019.

    The new moves are aimed at catering to the growing demand of supermarket shopping as consumers increasingly buy groceries online. The grocery market in Southeast Asia is expected to be worth US$309 billion by 2021, with shoppers filling their baskets online more than twice a month. In Singapore, seven in 10 people who buy their groceries online already do so on RedMart.

    “We want to drive the evolution of grocery shopping in the region by combining our unparalleled assortment of products and superior logistics network to transform the way customers get their daily essentials and fresh produce,” said Jing Yin, co-president of Lazada Group. “Most of us shop for groceries and other household items very frequently. This presents a unique opportunity for Lazada to be part of our daily lives.”

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  • Behind Amazon’s 63 per cent income rise

    Behind Amazon’s 63 per cent income rise

    The latest Amazon results are positive – but there is now a clear divergence in performance between the top and bottom lines. On the profit front, Amazon’s results are impressive. Net income increased by 63.1 per cent and operating income by 78 per cent. Much of this is coming from the AWS segment, where income from operations rose by 61 per cent. However, some credit should also go to the North American operation where volume increases helped ease up operating profits by 33 per cent. These uplifts come in spite of the fact that Amazon is still investing huge amounts in the business. Therefore they go a long way to justify the myriad of projects that Amazon has undertaken and continues to undertake.

    While the profit lines look rosy, the sales line presents a mixed bag. The slowdown in product growth is now tangible and although an 8.2 per cent uplift is strong compared to many retailers, by Amazon’s standards it is a weak performance. On a divisional basis, North America held up better than international markets, largely thanks to the confidence of the American consumer. Even so, sales growth in North America has also dipped.

    There are several dynamics at play here. First, is the maturity of Amazon’s operation: Amazon is now a massive retailer and it is simply unrealistic to expect it to keep on growing at its historic pace. However, more concerningly, this maturity is also coinciding with a period of rising competition. Retailers like Target and Walmart have invested heavily in their online operations and pulled out all the stops this holiday season. Our data show that they made solid customer gains, and some of that dented Amazon’s growth. In our view, the gap between Amazon and the rest is now narrowing.

    Another area of concern is Whole Foods. Amazon’s results show that sales at physical stores dropped by 2.7 per cent over last year, largely thanks to the grocery division. The investment in lower prices partly explains this, but it does not account for the bulk of the decline. In our opinion, much of this is because Whole Foods’ proposition is simply not up to scratch. Basics and commodity products still cost way more than at rivals like Target, and this is one of the reasons perceptions that Whole Foods is needlessly expensive have persisted. Such expense is not justified by store experience nor by customer service, both of which remain lackluster.

    Arguably, a holiday period that coincided with strong consumer finances should have been fertile ground for Whole Foods to thrive. However, very little effort was made to entice or enthrall customers. Aside from fresh counters, the festive product line up was incredibly poor with a noticeable lack of treats and interesting items. As a result, many consumers simply went elsewhere.

    We are cognisant that many of the Whole Foods issues are not of Amazon’s making. However, the poor performance underlines how much work remains to be done in transforming the chain’s fortunes.

    Despite these niggles, we remain positive about Amazon. The Prime platform still has enormous potential, there is plenty of upside in devices, and there are many opportunities to improve own-brands (some of which have underperformed). Taken together, along with AWS, this means Amazon has scope for future growth.

    However, it is also clear that Amazon will now need to work doubly hard to achieve any future sales gains.

  • Grofers crosses Rs 300 cr sales in single month

    Grofers crosses Rs 300 cr sales in single month

    Grofers, the low price online supermarket, announced the record revenue of Rs 310 crore in January 2019. With this, Grofers became the first online grocer to cross Rs 300 crore in monthly sales and also became the largest e-grocery company in the fast growing space. Aligned with its aim to drive the next wave of growth for e-commerce sector, the company has brought 2.5 lac new customers to its platform in January. The brand is eyeing a revenue target of Rs 2,500 crore for FY 2019.

    On the back of the industry’s biggest grocery sale – Grand Orange Bag Days, Grofers recorded an average of 14 lakh visits per day on the app. During this period, a total of 1.81 crore items worth Rs 207.5 crore were sold. With an average ticket size of Rs 2,640 and 20 items per cart, Grofers recorded highest customer engagement in Delhi NCR followed by Mumbai and Bengaluru.

    Speaking on the success Albinder Dhindsa, Co-Founder and CEO, Grofers said, “We are excited to emerge as India’s favourite e-grocer. We have received a tremendous response in the Grofers Orange Bag Days sale and we will sustain the momentum going forward. We are geared to bringing better priced grocery products to 100 million customers and this is just the start.”

    Customers received jaw dropping offers during Grofers Grand Orange Bag Days sale. Grocery and staples were the highest selling items followed by household items (detergents and dishwash bars) and personal care products. During this time period, Grofers recorded a 80 percent increase sales of Grofers branded products as well.

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  • Reliance has true potential to evolve into India’s Amazon or Alibaba

    Reliance has true potential to evolve into India’s Amazon or Alibaba

    A week after Reliance Industries (RIL) reported a 8.82 percent rise in consolidated net profit for its third quarter at Rs 10,251 crore, global financial services firm UBS on Thursday said the Mukesh Ambani-led RIL has the true potential to evolve from an integrated energy company into a consumer giant like Amazon or Alibaba.

    In a comprehensive 100-page report, UBS said RIL can become a market leader in telecom and media, while gaining a significant share in retail/e-commerce.

    “Its success could be built on an ecosystem or bundling strategy, and a home-court advantage, similar to Alibaba’s success in China, beyond explicit or implicit policy support,” noted the report.

    RIL posted a net profit of Rs 9,420 crore in the corresponding quarter of 2017-18. The company’s consolidated revenue from operations during the quarter in consideration at Rs 1,60,299 crore jumped a massive 56.38 per cent over Rs 1,02,500 crore earned in the October-December quarter of FY18.

    According to the UBS report, its China Internet analyst, Jerry Liu, has listed some comparables between Alibaba and Reliance such as pursuing an ecosystem or a bundling strategy in a high-growth fragmented retail sector with lower online penetration and home-turf advantage.

    “Similarly, Eric Sheridan, our US internet analyst, thinks Amazon’s core value proposition to customers is its Prime subscription, which offers free shipping and video and music content,” the report noted.

    “Our assessment of the capital framework, regulations, business positioning and emerging trends in each of its consumer-facing business indicates RIL can lead in telecom and media and gain significant share in retail/ecommerce,” it added.

    The report found another similarity RIL shares with Amazon and Alibaba – an ecosystem strategy.

    “The biggest difference is that the Chinese and American internet platforms do not own telecom networks.

    “But based on the success of Amazon Prime, and similar memberships such as Alibaba’s 88VIP and JD’s Plus in China, we believe bundling of products and services is a tried and true strategy, and this should play to Reliance’s advantage,” the report highlighted.

    Addressing the “Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2019” on January 18, Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani announced that Reliance would double its investment and employment numbers over the next decade.

    He said Reliance Jio and Reliance Retail would soon launch a new commerce platform for small retailers — a mega mission which will first be launched in Gujarat and then across the country, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lead a fight against ‘data colonisation’.

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  • Global business leaders raise concerns over e-commerce policy changes in India

    Global business leaders raise concerns over e-commerce policy changes in India

    Several global business leaders have raised concerns over the evolving regulatory challenges concerning the e-commerce sector in India and said they want a stable policy regime to help this space achieve its robust growth and investment potential. According to a report, multiple business leaders attending the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting here said there are confusions in their mind in the backdrop of recent policy changes for e-commerce players having FDI in India.

    They did not want to be named, given the sensitivity of the subject and the evolving nature of the proposed rules, but said they have directly, or through their representatives, raised their concerns with the Government. They wanted to raise the issue directly with Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu in Davos, but his plan to come here got changed at the last moment.

    At a session here at the WEF meeting, WTO Chief Roberto Azevedo also said there was a need for a global multilateral framework on e-commerce business.

    India’s FDI policy allows 100 percent foreign direct investment in marketplace model, but investors also want a stable policy and regulatory regime, a senior official of a leading online retailer said.

    An industry lobby group official said there is a fear that certain new rules proposed by the Government could lead to discrimination against investors as this policy is only for foreign players and not for domestic ones in the e-commerce sector.

    Another executive claimed it is being seen as a non-consultative approach even with investors who bring in huge foreign direct investment.

    However, Government officials rejected these allegations and said the new changes seek to safeguard competition and the interest of domestic players. The rules have been made after due consideration and consultations with concerned stakeholders, they added.

    The Commerce and Industry Ministry brought certain changes to Press Note 2 on December 26, 2018 which prohibited e-commerce companies from entering into an agreement for exclusive sale of products along with tightening norms for firms having foreign investment.

    The Government has also barred online marketplaces like Flipkart and Amazon from selling products of companies where they hold stakes and banned exclusive marketing arrangements that could influence product prices.

    The revised policy on foreign direct investment in online retail also requires these firms to offer equal services and facilities to all its vendors without discrimination. The policy would be effective from February 2019.

    In India, the policy as such does not permit FDI in inventory-based model of e-commerce.

    Companies have been seeking more time to implement the changes even as some of them have warned that these substantial modifications in the way they do business pose risks of derailing the e-commerce sector that has been a big job creator.

    Executives from another global retail major said the impact could also be felt by several connected sectors such as advertising, logistics, warehousing and manufacturing.

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  • Walmart, Amazon India seek extension of Jan 31 deadline on e-commerce compliance

    Walmart, Amazon India seek extension of Jan 31 deadline on e-commerce compliance

    There is trouble in paradise. The Government’s drastic intervention in e-commerce at the behest of vested domestic interests and the powerful traders lobby has created consternation in the bulge bracket world of e-commerce in India. With the big players having reached out to the Government to give them breathing space on the new compliance measures beyond the January 31 deadline, the Industry ministry has not responded, leading to panic attacks across the board.

    Powerful stakeholders led by Walmart and Amazon from the e-commerce eco system have sought a six-month extension since lakhs of sellers – small and medium-sized – in the market place need to be educated, IT-enabled and connected to meet the statutory audit requirements. Moreover, contracts have to be re-negotiated so that the compliance measures remain ongoing with time being of the essence.

    It is believed that the DIPP or Industry Secretary Ramesh Abhishek, who was earlier encouraging the major players to ramp up their investments in India, has not responded to their pleas and petitions.

    The situation has become precarious primarily because the clarification to press note 2 was even more confusing. On a granular level, the market place cannot have any equity in the seller.

    Hence, Amazon which has five percent equity in Shoppers Stop has to comply with the new standards. The new government directive does not allow private labels, nor does it allow big brands to have commercial tie-ups with the market place. Basically, the rules of engagement have been turned on their head.

    Bain Capital reckons that the heavy lifting e-com players have generated three lakh jobs in India. Over and above this, there are lakhs of vendors.

    Further, the eco system has multiple spin-offs like advertisements, courier companies, logistics companies, supports innumerable manufacturing operations and caters to large scale supply chains. Flipkart has 80,000 employees, 80 fulfilment centres (warehouses), nearly one lakh plus sellers and artisans of all hues across the land. Ditto for Amazon, which has similar numbers across its business spectrum.

    Walmart paid US$ 14 billion for Flipkart stock with a promise of an additional US$ 2 billion in physical structure investment. So, there is a lot riding on these heavy lifters for both know that this is the last frontier in terms of a consumption market, since India consumes 67 percent of its own US$ 2.6 trillion GDP. Interestingly, Walmart runs Flipkart as a stand-alone entity.

    For Walmart this is a priority market and it is keen that the January 31 compliance window deadline is extended. Its commitment to the Indian market can be gauged from the fact that it recently got 100 acres in Bengal for warehousing as a pivot to the northeast market. Hence the size of the commitment is seeing enlargement almost daily.

    It is on the verge of closing another 100 acre fulfilment centre in Telengana to service the southern market. Remarkably, the Indian retail market is estimated to be US$ 650 billion, of which 90 percent is the kirana stores while nearly eight per cent is made up of Indian retail players and only two percent is e-commerce. However, since the biggies in e-com are global behemoths, impediments are being placed in their path.

    At the kernel of the government notification and clarificatory statement is the targeting of e-commerce giants who are quick to retort that they helping small sellers with a channel that is tech-enabled to put their products on the marketplace.

    At the time same time, even as they try and get the government to listen to their litany of woes on immediate compliance, the process of evaluation of sellers will continue and remain ongoing so that they are effectively compliant every single day. The government’s intervention is perceived to be through a non-consultative process and the global giants want more time for compliance and enhanced level of dialogue.

    The audit requirement on the sellers by opening their books to the marketplace in such a short time is reminiscent of the haste in the launch of GST, which threw small businesses out of gear.

    Many of the sellers will now have design IT systems and the marketplace cannot be liable for this. In parallel, there is no clarification on how to conduct the private label business.

  • Alibaba develops new technology to help the blind shop online

    Alibaba develops new technology to help the blind shop online

    E-commerce giant Alibaba has developed new technology to make it possible for blind and partially sighted people to shop online, according to an article on Alibaba’s news site Alizila. Alibaba plans to launch Smart Touch, an affordable silicone sheet that goes on top of smartphone screens, later this year. The plastic film includes three mini buttons on each side that sensory-enabled. Pressing on each one will trigger a different command, such as “go back”, “return to homepage” and “confirm”.

    Depending on the app, the buttons can lead to different destinations, such as “My Shopping Cart,” “Tmall Global,” and “Tmall Supermarket” in the Taobao app.

    Smart Touch is a joint effort of Alibaba’s Damo Academy and China’s Tsinghua University to improve the smartphone experience for the blind.

    The technology also has an “ear touch” feature, which gives blind and visually impaired users a simple way to listen to text clearly and privately in public, without the need for headphones. It senses when the users is holding the phone to their ear and automatically routes the sound output from the loudspeaker to the earpiece speaker.

    In October last year, Alibaba added Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology to the pages of its online marketplace Taobao, an artificial intelligence-driven feature that reads text written on images.

    Before adopting OCR, Taobao’s 300,000 daily active users who are blind or have reduced vision would have used screen-reading software that simply announced “image” as it scanned the page. By early December, OCR was being used to read close to 100 million images per day, Alizila reported.

    “Images are becoming ever more important in the shopping experience,” said Wang Yongpan, algorithm specialist who led the OCR upgrade.

    “A typical product page on the site contains about 40 images, and most product specifications and descriptions are often found within images, rather than typed out in plain text.”

    Yongpan said that while Alibaba has been using OCR for many years in various capacities, the technology’s accuracy in reading images has grown exponentially due to advances in machine learning.

    According to Taobao president Jiang Fan, making the platform more inclusive, user-friendly and a home for creativity is part of its larger strategy.

    “If I had to do one thing this year, that would be to make Taobao simpler and bring [us] back to our original purpose,” he said.

    “Alibaba is famously known by its motto, ‘To make it easy to do business anywhere’.”

    The OCR launch was driven by Alibaba’s “Barrier-Free Lab”, which started with a handful of employees in 2011 and has since grown to hundreds of volunteers, ranging from programmers to user-experience designers.

    Now, similar tools can be seen across Alibaba’s ecosystem, expanding from Taobao to B2C e-commerce site Tmall, payments affiliate Alipay, online delivery platform Ele.me, enterprise chat app Dingtalk, navigation firm Amap, music streaming app Xiami and internet browser UC Web, from desktop to mobile.

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  • AirPass helps Aussie retailers woo Chinese shoppers

    AirPass helps Aussie retailers woo Chinese shoppers

    Recently, Australia fintech company AirPay Financial Technologies announced its regional collaboration with China leading mobile payment technology company SwiftPass to form a new lifestyle brand “AirPass”. Connecting Australian merchants directly with Chinese consumers, AirPass lets local retailers accept WeChat Pay and Alipay both online and offline, as well as reach overseas markets to make the most of the global Chinese spending boom.

    AirPass is a lifestyle brand backed by Australian fintech startup AirPay Financial Technologies, in partnership with leading Chinese mobile payment provider SwiftPass. The new brand brings China’s most popular ePayment, eStore, eCard, eMarketing and eWallet services to Australia, allowing Chinese tourists, students and migrants to make over the counter purchases by simply scanning a QR code on their smartphone.

    The payment platform can also be integrated into Australian e-commerce websites and mobile apps, taking advantage of AsiaPay’s PayDollar payment gateway. Supporting multiple shopping cart plugins, PayDollar provides a one-stop online payment solution allowing local merchants to accept Alipay, WeChat Pay, Visa, MasterCard, Amex, PayPal and ZipPay

    “AirPass is providing a user-friendly platform for Australian retailers to build their own eStore to facilitate marketing and payment – which is the key to entering the Chinese consumer market,” says SwiftPass Technologies VP Tong Liu.

    Meanwhile, the AirPass app for iOS and Android lets Australian retailers connect directly with Chinese shoppers. AirPass assists Australian retailers and brands with setting up their own WeChat eStore to tap into Chinese social marketing channels. This allows local retailers to sell products via the WeChat ecosystem, reaching new customers in China along with Chinese communities around the globe.

    AirPass’ arrival in Australia comes as Boxing Day saw record high sales to Chinese shoppers across major retailers and shopping centre groups such as Westfield, Chadstone, QVB and Pacific Fair.

    “We are thrilled to announce our regional partnership with SwiftPass and recently launch WeChat Pay and Alipay to Australia’s largest and oldest pearling company Paspaley,” says AirPay Financial Technologies chief executive Jimmy Zhu. “There is huge demand from the market pushing us to deliver more advanced payment and marketing products.”

    Another Australian family-owned luxury retailer, Harrolds recently launched a WeChat Official Account and will soon accept WeChat Pay and Alipay in-store.

    Other luxury brands such as Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Valentino, Mulberry, Givenchy, Off-White, Marais, Furla, Folli Follie and Sneakerboy are also adopting the AirPass platform in order to better reach Chinese shoppers.

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  • Reebonz to use blockchain technology to assure authenticity

    Reebonz to use blockchain technology to assure authenticity

    Southeast Asian online luxury marketplace Reebonz is exploring blockchain technology as part of its strategy to demonstrate the provenance of products. Complementing the firm’s existing in-house team of ateliers who specialise in authenticating leather products, timepieces, gemstones and jewellery, Reebonz intends to incorporate all transactions on a blockchain to ensure the comprehensive traceability of all products sold within its ecosystem. The firm’s goal is to enable buyers to verify the authenticity of products on their own and stamp out losses and distrust generated by the global exchange of counterfeits.

    By establishing end-to-end traceability, customers will also be able sell their items back to Reebonz, which would allow the company to easily identify a customer’s purchase.

    “The Reebonz leadership team is extraordinary and has already developed a cutting-edge technology and platform”, said Tim Draper, senior advisor of Draper Oakwood Technology Acquisition and founding partner of Draper Associates.

    “The authentication of pre-owned luxury items using the blockchain is just one of many high impact innovations Reebonz is pioneering to improve the luxury shopping experience for customers across Asia Pacific.”

    “While we started as an online platform that helps consumers access affordable luxury, we have evolved into an ecosystem that connects buyers and sellers through the widest range of luxury,” added Reebonz CEO and co-founder Samuel Lim.

    “Identifying gaps and opportunities in the luxury e-commerce landscape and spearheading strategies that present innovative ways of redefining luxury consumption has made us a leader in this industry. As we continue to build out a thriving community of buyers, sellers and international boutiques, it will become critical for the industry to evolve, and for us to become a leading innovator of authenticity solutions. We are excited to use the blockchain technology to solve one of the key global issues that impacts our industry.”

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  • Myntra India taps 9,000 kirana stores to boost last-mile delivery

    Myntra India taps 9,000 kirana stores to boost last-mile delivery

    Flipkart-owned ecommerce platform Myntra that saw 80 percent revenue fall in FY2018 has doubled down on last-mile delivery, tapping into over 9,000 kirana stores across 50 cities to fast deliver packages. Today, nearly 60 percent of all Myntra’s product pick-ups and deliveries happen through its ‘Kirana Delivery Programme’ — helping the company reduce delivery costs, the company said on Tuesday.

    “Myntra’s ‘Kirana Delivery Programme’ is a successful model introduced by the company to accelerate order delivery in the most efficient way possible, while ensuring we provide a good partnership opportunity to our kirana partners,” a company spokesperson said.

    “We will continue to innovate, expand and hope to register more kirana partners in the future as well,” the spokesperson added.

    The ‘Kirana Delivery Programme’ is an ingenious model introduced by the company to accelerate order delivery, while creating a platform for kirana stores to have an additional source of income.

    “A mutually beneficial model, it has helped Myntra achieve greater consumer satisfaction and is enhancing the standard of living of the owners of several ‘mom & pop’ stores across the country,” said the company.

    Several tailors and beauty parlour owners, among others, have also signed up with Myntra for the programme.

    The online fashion retailer narrowed its consolidated losses to Rs 178.7 crore for 2017-18, compared with a loss of Rs 655.8 crore in the previous fiscal.

    According to business intelligence platform Tofler, the company saw its income growing nearly threefold to Rs 427.4 crore in 2017-18 as against Rs 155.6 crore in the previous financial year.

    Ananth Narayanan, Chief Executive of e-tail portals Myntra and Jabong, stepped down from the post on January 14 “to pursue external opportunities”.

    The 11-year-old Flipkart Group, owned by US retail giant Walmart, includes e-tail sites Flipkart, Myntra, Jabong and digital payment platform PhonePe.

    In May last year, Walmart bought a 77 percent equity stake in the company for a whopping US$ 16 billion.

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  • India’s Reliance to take on Walmart and Amazon online

    India’s Reliance to take on Walmart and Amazon online

    South Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani is establishing an e-commerce platform to compete with Walmart and Amazon in India. The Reliance Industries chairman will roll out services in Gujarat before extending them nationwide. “Jio and Reliance Retail will launch a unique new commerce platform to empower and enrich our 1.2 million small retailers and shopkeepers in Gujarat,” said Ambani.

    Reliance introduced the 4G Jio network in September 2016, a market disruptor with its free voice calls and cheap data plans. Its move into e-commerce will aggravate an already cut-throat battle between market leader Flipkart, owned by Walmart, and Amazon’s services in the territory.

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  • Trends that coming in 2019 e-commerce

    Trends that coming in 2019 e-commerce

    Led by transformation in sales channels and customer demand, consumer trends for 2019 will center on subscription e-commerce, faster delivery, and eco-packaging, according to market experts. Subscription e-commerce, a field of business that involves curating products and delivering them on a regular basis, has been gaining popularity because it meets needs for tailored services, value, and convenience. From clean, neatly ironed business shirts to craft beers, you can get almost anything through a subscription service — now, even a car.

    Earlier this month, Hyundai Motor’s Genesis introduced a car subscription program that offers subscribers a choice of four Genesis vehicles for 1.49 million won (US$1,330) per month.

    “Our target group is drivers who want to experience a different variety of vehicle without having to worry about car management. The ultimate goal of our subscription program is to satisfy consumer needs amid shifting mobility trends,” Hyundai Motor said.

    According to industry data, subscriber-based businesses are undergoing an explosive expansion, having grown from 241 trillion won in 2000 to 470 trillion won in 2015, globally. Industry experts expect that number to surpass 594 trillion won by 2020.

    McKinsey & Company said in its “State of Fashion 2019” report that the subscription trend goes hand in hand with users’ desire for experiences, as they are more willing to spend money for a service that delivers tangible benefits along with personalized offerings.

    Meanwhile, over the past year, delivery has gotten faster for merchandise purchased via websites and apps. With services like Coupang’s Rocket Delivery, expecting one’s purchase to arrive the next day has become the new norm.

    Cutting down even further on delivery times will be a major sticking point for e-commerce businesses looking to stay afloat, market insiders said, with businesses now competing to ensure overnight deliveries, particularly of fresh food items.

    Overnight delivery is usually available only in Seoul and some parts of Gyeonggi Province and Incheon for now. Experts estimate that the market value of the industry will have reached 400 billion won this year.

    Lotte Mart currently plans to test-operate a 30-minute delivery service in the first quarter of the new year. Since September, it has offered a delivery service that moves products from its stores within three hours after purchase at an offline store.

    E-commerce company Coupang also plans to make a concerted effort to expand the overnight and even same-day delivery of fresh food products in 2019.

    “Our latest paid membership service, Rocket Wow club, which guarantees next-morning delivery for signed-up members, had already garnered almost 1 million members just two months after the service’s launch. We plan to expand the service to cover all customers across the country in the new year,” a Coupang representative said.

    The environmental packaging boom is set to continue well into 2019 as well. While plastic is not inherently bad, the way it is thrown away is problematic. As a result, an increasing number of consumers are rethinking their plastic use in an effort to cut waste.

    With environmental packaging campaigns spreading worldwide, manufacturers have been challenged to innovate their packaging methods.

    Since September, Starbucks Korea has replaced plastic straws with paper straws at some 100 of its stores in Seoul, Busan and Jeju, in an effort to reduce waste and protect the environment. All its paper straws are coated with soybean oil to make them more durable, the company said.

    The coffee franchise plans to eliminate single-use plastic straws from its 28,000 stores worldwide by 2020. Angel-in-us Coffee, the cafe chain operated by South Korean retail giant Lotte, also introduced special lids for cold drinks in an effort to reduce plastic use.

    “The throwaway culture is rapidly being challenged by increasing consumer awareness of the perils of plastic waste. A dramatic change in attitudes has occurred, forcing brands to rethink how they make better use of plastic in what they offer to consumers, who increasingly demand brands reduce, reuse and recycle plastic waste to better protect them and their world,” said Matthew Crabbe, a director of Trends APAC, in Global Consumer Trend report by Mintel.

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  • Flipkart secures more funding to face competition

    Flipkart secures more funding to face competition

    Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart has received US$201 million funding for its wholesale business from its Singapore-incorporated parent. The investment comes during a period of intensifying competition between the firm and its Amazon-backed competitor in a market estimated to be worth $18 billion. It signals a prioritising of sales growth by the retailer since its acquisition by Walmart.

    A report last year indicated that Flipkart has seen a more than 80-per-cent increase in transactions in recent months, prompting the company to expand into new business lines such as furniture and groceries over the next three years.

    Separate reports show that Amazon also looks to invest significant funds into the market in order to challenge Flipkart’s present lead in the territory.

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  • Central Retail to double online after Shopee acquisition

    Central Retail to double online after Shopee acquisition

    Central Retail Corporation has announced plans to to double its online sales to THB10 billion (US$315.76 million) this year. Central’s CEO Nicolo Galante said the firm intends to lead in the omni-channel e-commerce business, overtaking Shopee. “Non-food businesses globally have been disrupted by digital transformation and are struggling against the likes of Amazon and Alibaba. As the biggest non-food player in Thailand, Central Retail pledges to move aggressively this year to tap into digital transformation,” said Galante in an interview.

    “We can be for Thailand what Amazon is in Western countries and Alibaba is in China. Everywhere in the world, the No.1 player in e-commerce and digital is always a new-economy company, but in Thailand it could be a company that is 71 years old.”

    In this regard, Central intends to launch an omnichannel platform of services distinctive from those of Lazada, Alibaba and Shopee, whereby the company will retail products and services both at physical stores and online. Central will assist partner brands who lack the resources to build their presence in the marketplace.

    It will launch the first such marketplaces for Central Department Store, PowerBuy and SuperSports within the next six months.

    “We will launch our omnichannel marketplaces for our retail business,” said Galante. “If there are some problems with the products, the customer can return the products to the store, get advice and other services at the store.”

    For apparel, Central will launch launch a “Reserve and Collect” service that allows buyers to reserve two or more sizes or colours of products online and choose which to buy after trying them in-store.

    The move is part of the firm’s considerable investment in technology, teams and new services in the hopes of taking the lead in the e-commerce business by 2021.

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