Facebook readies India launch of mobile-first marketplace

Facebook is preparing to disrupt the online classifieds market in India with the launch of a customised, mobile-first marketplace, once the ongoing pilot in the US and three other countries is completed.

“It is currently being tested in the US (and other countries). A specific model will be formed that is focussed on the way business and consumers in India work and (this) will be implemented. The marketplace model makes discovery of products and businesses much more efficient,” said Esme Lean, lead - SME India, Facebook, in a telephonic interview. However, she did not specify a timeframe for the India launch.

Last month, Facebook opened a mobile-first marketplace on its platform in the US, the UK, Australia and New Zealand, allowing users to discover, buy and sell as part of a community. In India, it could potentially take on Naspers-owned OLX and Tiger Global-backed Quikr, which are competing heavily to dominate the Indian online classifieds market.

India’s digital classifieds industry is expected to grow threefold to $1.2 billion (around Rs 7,900 crore) by 2020, with horizontal classifieds cornering around 30 per cent share, according to a joint study by Google and KPMG in September. Google says search trend reveals that non-metros such as Pune, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Kochi, Coimbatore, Indore and Jaipur have seen four-fold increase in local searches for e-services, real estate and automobiles.

Facebook’s mobile push for marketplace would also help it tap one billion-plus mobile users in India, where nine out of 10 users have first access to internet on their smartphones.

In India, Facebook has over 155 million users, or nearly one in every two smartphone users, making it one of the most used internet platforms.

Facebook hopes the marketplace will increase engagement of users on its platform as it hosts over 2 million small business pages in the country with nearly 2.4 billion interactions a day. Out of the 2 million business pages, 30 per cent are owned by women.

The social network has offered features allowing small businesses in India to run ads on its global network.

"When a small business is confused where exactly to market the product, the second feature comes in use. For example, if there is jewellery seller in India who wants to expand sales abroad but can not decide whether to market in Canada, the US or the UK, the artificial intelligence works for them, finds out the maximum interactions that have got converted in India and finds an international page with the same audience," said Lean.

According to the company, the platform acts as a mobile-first strategy for any small business in India instantly as businesses are able to find customers. There are 175 million interactions each day between users outside India with business in India on the platform. Facebook has a "shop" tab that allows users to directly interact with businesses and buy online, only the final money transaction is done outside. Lean hinted at possibilities of Facebook allowing a direct transaction feature on its platform.

GIANT LEAP

• 155 million Facebook users in India
   
• 2 million small businesses have Facebook pages
   
• $1.2 billion expected size of digital classifieds industry in India by 2020
   
• OLX, Quikr likely to be directly hit by Facebook marketplace in India

Source: Facebook, Google-KPMG study