Page 3 - E-commerce Market

E-commerce sales hit $6.5 billion in a week, up 26% during festive season

Sales for the week beginning Sept 26 accounted for roughly 55% of the expected total e-commerce sales for the festive season

Amazon India launches safety, wellness initiatives for delivery associates

Amazon India launches safety, wellness initiatives for delivery associates

New Delhi: Amazon India has launched ambulance services for delivery associates in partnership with Dial 4242 and rolled out a comprehensive six-month health campaign which is expected to benefit over 50,000 associates, the company said on Monday.

The company's health campaign is aimed to provide free health check-up to delivery associates including eye and dental check-up along with creating awareness among delivery associates for their ongoing comprehensive health and accidental coverage including maternity cover for female delivery associates, the company said.

"The service addresses the need for immediate medical response during emergencies, ensuring timely assistance during the first few critical hours following an on-road accident, and will be available across Dial 4242's PAN India network," the company said in a statement.

Over the next six months,

NCERT books will now be sold on Amazon as well via authorised sellers

NCERT textbooks for students from Kindergarten to Class 12 as well as for UPSC aspirants will now be sold by authorised sellers on Amazon India website as well, the e-commerce firm said on Monday. Amazon India said that it has partnered with the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to facilitate the sale of books at maximum retail price (MRP) across all serviceable pin codes in India. Amazon India said that it has partnered "with the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to expand the availability of textbooks for students from Kindergarten to Class 12, as well as UPSC aspirants, through Amazon.in". In addition to serving individual customers, Amazon.in will work with NCERT on bulk ordering for government agencies and schools. "To support this, NCERT has appointed designated distribution vendors who will work with sellers on Amazon.in to ensure timely and efficient deliveries," the statement said. Union Education Minister Dharmendra

Emami expects Q-commerce channel to grow five-fold in 2 years: VC & MD

Home-grown FMCG major Emami expects four to five-fold growth in sales through quick commerce channels in the next two years, the company's Vice Chairman & MD Harsha V Agarwal said on Monday. Besides, it is also looking for more acquisition opportunities in D2C (direct-to- consumer) segments in sectors like nutrition, pet care or health food. The Kolkata-headquartered company is quite encouraged by a good monsoon this season and is "optimistic" for good festive season sales, even from the rural markets, which were lagging. Emami has recently acquired the remaining 49.6 per cent stake in Helios Lifestyle, which owns men's grooming brand 'The Man Company'. Besides, it had acquired a 26 per cent stake in Axiom Ayurveda, marking its entry into the packed juice business and increased its stake in pet care product maker Cannis Lupus. "...we have been very aggressive in the acquisition and even going forward, we are looking for acquisitions, be it full acquisitions or partnering with D2C

E-com retailers may clock Rs 120K cr in GMV during festive sales: Redseer

The latest analysis forecasts 20 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth, fuelled by high pent-up demand and a premiumisation wave

More urban shoppers opting for quick commerce platforms: NIQ study

According to the report, shopping frequency has increased across channels, with more frequent visits to both modern trade and online platforms

Meesho's annual festival sale from Sep 27, sees 42% rise in seller base

Softbank-backed e-commerce firm Meesho will start its annual festival sale, Meesho Mega Blockbuster Sale, from September 27 onwards with the highest number of sellers onboard among its competitors, the company said on Tuesday. The company has recorded about 42 per cent surge in sellers on a year-on-year basis to 20 lakh for the upcoming festival season. "Meesho's Annual 'Meesho Mega Blockbuster Sale' Starts on 27th September. With over 20 lakh sellers and 12 crore product listings across 30 categories, Meesho aims to make festive shopping more accessible, affordable, and convenient for shoppers across the country," the company said in a statement. Meesho claimed to have 14 lakh sellers onboard for Meesho Mega Blockbuster 2023. Amazon India has seen a 14 per cent growth in seller base but remains lower than that of Meesho for their upcoming annual festival sale "The Great Indian Festival". "Our current seller base exceeds 16 lakh sellers from all across the country," Amazon India,

How technology is helping D2C brands hitch ride on quick commerce

Digital commerce has evolved with payment gateways becoming faster, simpler and user-friendly

Govt extends incentives to exports via courier medium to boost e-commerce

The government has extended incentives for exports through the courier medium, a move aimed at promoting shipments through e-commerce. This was informed in the meeting of Board of Trade (BoT) in Mumbai. "In the realm of e-commerce exports, the Board of Trade was informed by officials from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) that effective immediately, RoDTEP, RoSCTL, and drawback benefits will be extended to all exports made via courier," the commerce ministry said in a statement. It added that plans to extend these benefits to postal route exports are also in the pipeline, creating a more equitable environment for e-commerce exporters utilising the courier and postal mode. RoDTEP (Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products) provides refunds of central, state, and local taxes and levies on exported products that are not covered by other schemes. The scheme covers a range of sectors, including marine, leather, gems and jewellery, agriculture, electrical,

Half of respondents plan to spend more online in festive season: Report

Around 50 per cent of respondents are planning to spend more on online shopping during the upcoming festive season, an IPSOS survey commissioned by Amazon said on Thursday. The survey claims to have captured replies from 7,263 people in July-August 2024 across 35 centres including Delhi NCR, Allahabad, Lucknow, Mathura, Muradabad, Etawah, Jalandhar, Jaipur, Udaipur, Kolkata etc. Around 89 per cent of respondents expressed their excitement for the upcoming festivities, with 71 per cent indicating their intension to shop online. "Nearly 50 per cent of respondents who intend to shop online, stated they would spend more on online festive shopping compared to last year. This trend cuts across metros (55 per cent) and tier-2 cities (43 per cent in cities with 10-40 lakh population)," the report said. Convenience emerges as a major driver for online shopping with 76 per cent appreciating the ability to shop remotely anytime, anywhere. "Speedy delivery at scale (74 per cent), trustonline

Nykaa appoints Sukhleen Aneja as business head to drive Kay Beauty

Nykaa on Friday announced the appointment of Sukhleen Aneja as Senior Vice President and Business Head for Kay Beauty. Kay Beauty is Nykaa's celebrity beauty brand launched in partnership with Katrina Kaif. Announcing Aneja's appointment, Nykaa, in a release, said her role will focus on propelling growth for Kay Beauty in international markets on the back of a successful launch in India. "Sukhleen will also hold responsibility for Nyveda, a brand based on the science of Ayurveda with a universal appeal in India and abroad, as well as provide strategic directions for a few of the young brands in wellness and personal care," the release added. With over two decades of sales and marketing expertise across Fortune 500 organisations like Unilever, L'Oreal and Reckitt Benckiser, Aneja was most recently the CEO of brands at Good Glamm. Launched in 2019, Kay Beauty is a celebrity makeup brand co-created by Nykaa and Katrina Kaif. "Reaching record sales of over Rs 150 crore annually, Kay

Govt-backed ONDC receives award for 'application of emerging tech'

The government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) on Tuesday received the gold award for application of emerging technologies. ONDC is an initiative of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). It aims to promote an open platform for all aspects of e-commerce retail and help small retailers expand their business through e-commerce medium and reduce dominance of giants in the sector. The network is now enabling more than 12 million orders per month, spread across categories ranging from fashion to electronics in products, and ride-hailing to metro ticketing in services. Over 6 lakh sellers across India have been on-boarded so far. The gold award, under the category 'Application of Emerging Technologies for Providing Citizen-Centric Services' in the National Awards for e-Governance (NAeG), was received by Sanjiv, Joint Secretary in the DPIIT and other officials from the department in Mumbai. The national awards for e-governance by the Departm

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 plans to set up rest-points across cities where it operates

Amazon India plans to set up rest points for its delivery associates across cities over the next couple of years under Project Ashray, a senior company official said on Friday. The Ashray centres will provide clean drinking water, phone charging stations, washrooms, and rest areas for delivery associates. As a pilot, five rest points will be set up in collaboration with Udyasa Foundation in Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, and Mumbai. "Our plan is to be able to go to every city we operate in. We have 1,800 delivery stations across the length and breadth of the country. In the next couple of years, you will find this in pretty much every city in India," Amazon India, Vice President Operations, Abhinav Singh said. He said that the project will be launched initially in cities where the company has a high number of drivers. "As we find a scalable model we will scale it to the rest of the country," Singh said. The Ashray centres will also cater to the larger community, providing access to deliv

Govt seeks proposals from industry for setting up e-commerce export hubs

The government has sought proposals from the industry to set up e-commerce export hubs (ECEH) in the country for examination, support, and hand-holding. Based on the proposal, further details, including software requirements for ECEH, to facilitate seamless and expeditious export clearances, will be firmed up, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has said in a trade notice. In this regard, it said, draft modalities for operation of these hubs have been formulated. Based on draft modalities proposed, the government would like to initiate a pilot launch of ECEH. "In this regard, detailed proposal(s) for setting up ECEH may be submitted to this directorate, for examination, support and hand-holding," the DGFT said. In the Budget, the government announced setting up of these hubs to promote exports through e-commerce medium in public-private-partnership (PPP) mode. Initially there are plans to set up 10-15 hubs in the country. These hubs would be designated areas, which wo

Online vs offline retail: Industry divided over Piyush Goyal's comments

Raises debate over large e-commerce players eating into share of smaller offline retailers

Amazon's home, kitchen segment witnesses 25% growth in FY24 in Odisha

E-commerce major Amazon India on Wednesday said its home, kitchen and outdoors segment has grown by nearly 25 per cent in Odisha in the 2023-24 fiscal as compared to the previous year. The company also registered a 15 per cent growth in new customers in Odisha which is one of the fastest-growing states, Amazon India's Home, Kitchen and Outdoors segment Director K N Srikanth said. There is growing demand for sports and sporting equipment in the region with the cricket gears experiencing more than 80 per cent year-on-year growth, he said. Similarly, demand for equipment for racquet sports, including badminton, tennis and table tennis, surged nearly 150 per cent during the last financial year, indicating a strong focus on outdoor sports, he said. The online marketplace has 51 service partners, 52 delivery stations and nearly 16,000 sellers in the state. The company will continue to work with local stores and MSMEs across the state, he added. Catering to evolving customers' needs, Am

Temu owner's billionaire founder Colin Huang becomes China's richest person

Huang has mainly stayed out of the limelight after he stepped down as PDD's chief executive in 2020

India's e-lifestyle market to triple by 2028, reach $45 billion in value

The penetration of e-commerce within the lifestyle sector is expected to rise from the current 13 per cent to 18-22 per cent by 2028, according to a report

GST dept developing registration system for shared warehouse for e-commerce

GST authorities are working out a mechanism to deal with the taxation and registration issues related to shared warehouses maintained by e-commerce companies, where multiple suppliers store their goods for the last mile delivery, an official said. The issue of taxation for warehouses has cropped up after multiple suppliers have geo-tagged the same warehouse as their 'additional place of business' under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rules. "We are working to see whether a 'shared workplace' or 'coworking space' concept can be implemented for the warehouses maintained by e-commerce companies to store goods of multiple suppliers," the official told PTI. Under Goods and Services Tax (GST) law, suppliers to an e-commerce platform can store their goods at a common warehouse. However, the suppliers in their GST registration are required to show the warehouse as an additional place of business. The official said that when multiple taxpayers register at a single warehouse, the geo-tag ..