Page 2 - E-commerce Sellers

FSSAI asks states to enhance surveillance in warehouses of e-com operators

Food regulator FSSAI on Thursday asked state authorities to increase surveillance in warehouses of e-commerce operators and issue standard operating procedures (SoPs) for delivery personnel to ensure safe food to consumers. According to an official statement, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) held its 45th Central Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting here on Thursday. In the meeting, States and Union Territories were urged to ramp up surveillance at popular tourist destinations to ensure heightened safety standards in preparation for the peak tourist season from November through March. Keeping in mind the high footfall of both domestic as well as international tourists at popular destinations during the season, States/UTs were advised to utilize Food Safety on Wheels Mobile Labs at these tourist spots. FSSAI CEO G Kamala Vardhana Rao asked "Food Commissioners of various states to step up surveillance on warehouses and other facilities utilised by e-commerce ...

Mangaluru police bust multi-state scam targeting e-commerce giant

The Mangaluru police have uncovered a multi-state, multi-crore scam with the arrest of two men accused of defrauding an e-commerce giant across India, officials said on Saturday. The suspects, Raj Kumar Meena (23) and Subhash Gurjar (27) from Rajasthan, are alleged to be part of a large-scale fraud spanning over 10 states, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, Karnataka, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar. Mangaluru City Police Commissioner Anupam Agarwal described the arrests as a significant breakthrough. A case has been registered at Urwa police station in Mangaluru. The scam, reportedly, involved orders worth Rs 11.45 lakh placed under a false identity. The accused used the name Amith, to place orders, for two high-value cameras and other items, providing a fictitious address near the KSRTC bus stand in Mangaluru. Upon delivery, Meena collected the items and provided the OTP while Gurjar distracted the delivery personnel. They, then, swapped the original stickers on the Sony camer

E-commerce major Flipkart narrows loss to Rs 4,248 crore in FY24

E-commerce major Flipkart has reported narrowing of consolidated net loss to Rs 4,248.3 crore in 2023-24 helped by increase in its revenue, according to a regulatory filing report shared by Tofler on Monday. The company posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 4,897 crore in the financial year (FY) 2022-23. The company's expenses on purchase of stock in trade increased by about 24 per cent to Rs 74,271.2 crore in FY 2024 from Rs 59,816.6 crore in FY 2023. According to the Tofler report, Flipkart's return on equity dropped to the lowest level in the last five years to negative 49.6 per cent. The return on capital employed for the company was also the lowest at negative 54.09 per cent in the last five fiscal years. The consolidated revenue of the Walmart Group firm increased by about 26 per cent to Rs 70,541.90 crore in FY 2024 from Rs 55,823.9 crore in FY 2023. An email query sent to Flipkart elicited no immediate reply.

Zepto sells over 100,000 dandiya sticks during the Navratri festival

With Navratri festivities drawing to a close, quick commerce firm Zepto co-founder and CEO Aadit Palicha took to LinkedIn to inform that the platform sold over 1 Lakh dandiya sticks during the season. "What a day! Closing out Navratri 2024 with a grateful heart, seeing the beauty of India's diversity through our users, sellers, brands, and every Zeptonian, who made it all happen. From essentials to festive picks, thank you for making us part of India's celebrations across nine incredible days," he wrote on LinkedIn. Through graphics, he shared that the Mumbai-headquartered firm sold 1,00,000 plus dandiya sticks during the season. He further said sales for fasting-friendly chips, Kattu and Rajgira atta, grew significantly compared to last year's Navratri sales. Palicha also shared how Zepto's dark stores indulged in Navratri festivities across the country. In Coimbatore, Kochi, Chennai, and Bangalore, the stores celebrated Ayudha Puja, honouring tools and equipment. The Bhawanipore

GeM slashes transaction charges levied on sellers, service providers

Public procurement portal GeM has significantly slashed transaction charges levied on sellers and service providers on its portal, a senior government official said on Friday. Government e-marketplace (GeM) Additional CEO Ajit B Chavan said that this "bold" move was part of the government's 100 days initiative. "Aligning with the government's ongoing commitment to foster ease of doing business and build a more inclusive economy, Government e-Marketplace has recently announced a significant reduction in the transaction charges levied on sellers, service providers transacting on its platform," he told reporters here. Accordingly, GeM has announced a New Revenue Policy of the portal with effect from August 9. As per the new policy, all orders valued up to Rs 10 Lakh will now attract zero transaction charges, as opposed to the earlier order value ceiling of Rs 5 lakh. "Orders above Rs 10 Lakh up to Rs 10 crore will be levied transaction charges worth 0.30 per cent of total order value

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,

Festive feast: E-com, logistics players load up carts for peak demand

The company had, earlier this year, launched its own logistics service, Valmo, but also relies on 3PL providers such as Delhivery, Ecom Express, Shadowfax, and Xpressbees to fulfil deliveries

FMCG distributors raise concern over unregulated growth of 'quick commerce'

FMCG distributors have raised concerns over the "rapid and unregulated growth" of quick commerce platforms, saying it needs immediate scrutiny. In a letter written to Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, FMCG distributors' body AICPDF said this unchecked expansion of quick commerce platforms, which typically deliver goods within 10 to 30 minutes, is creating an "uneven playing field", threatening the livelihoods of millions of small retailers and distributors who have been the backbone of India's retail sector for decades. The All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) also suspected potential violations of FDI regulations by these quick-commerce companies and sought an immediate investigation into the operational models of these platforms. The rapid growth of quick commerce platforms like Blinkit, Zepto and Instamart has posed significant challenges to the traditional retail sector and the established fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) distribution ...

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

Raise a toast: State govts may allow home delivery of your favourite drink

State authorities are reportedly seeking feedback on the advantages and disadvantages of online liquor delivery from e-commerce platforms and spirits manufacturers

Tens of thousands of small biz gear up to offer Prime Day deals: Amazon

The owners of small firms would offer deals on lakhs of products to customers across various categories such as home and kitchen, fashion and grooming on the e-commerce website

Amazon expands grocery service to over 130 cities as competition increases

The firm is expanding rapidly amid increasing competition in the sector, where it is competing with players like Flipkart, Reliance's JioMart, Tata Digital-owned BigBasket, and others

Flipkart introduces new rate card policy to enhance the seller experience

Through the Simplified Rate Card, Updated Shipping Costs and Economical FBF (fulfilment by Flipkart) rates, sellers will be able to deliver superior value to the customers

Walmart announces dedicated page for Indian sellers on its website

Multinational retailer Walmart announced the launch of a dedicated page for Indian sellers to register and sell on the company's marketplace site. The company hosted a global seller meet in Jaipur on Tuesday, kicking off a series of regional events to help prospective sellers with insights and knowledge on consumer and category trends and assist with onboarding support and catalogue setup, a release said. "India is a priority market for Walmart, and the dedicated landing page builds upon our commitment to Indian sellers. Walmart Marketplace strives to unlock the potential of Indian businesses by giving sellers access to customers around the world," Michelle Mi, Vice President of Emerging Markets and Business Development for Walmart stated in the release. "Through dedicated onboarding support and expertise in navigating global supply chains, we are empowering sellers with the tools they need to thrive in the US marketplace and beyond," the release added.

Remove Bournvita from health drinks category: Govt tells e-commerce sites

The food safety regulator had iterated that 'energy drinks' is permitted to be used for carbonated and non-carbonated water-based flavoured drinks

Jeff Bezos unloads another $2 billion of Amazon stock in latest sale

The move to Florida has now likely saved Bezos about $430 million in taxes. Washington state recently implemented a 7% levy on capital gains, while Florida has no such tax

SoftBank-backed Meesho unveils Valmo to enable low-cost deliveries

Valmo would partner with fulfilment centres across the country. This way, it aims to create a national logistics solution by eliminating entry barriers for local players

Meesho delists 200,000 products; to reduce visibility of low-rated items

Softbank-backed Meesho on Tuesday said it has delisted nearly 2 lakh products from its e-commerce platform in the last quarter after quality check and plans to reduce visibility of low-rated items by 20 per cent within six months. The company said that quality evaluation was conducted through a comprehensive analysis of customer reviews, ratings and feedback. "Post evaluation, Meesho delisted nearly 2 lakh products in the last quarter alone. Meesho has further invested in the power of artificial intelligence to fortify quality checks while continuously working to improve key word databases and detection capabilities on the platform," the company said. The company further said that it determines quality through customer reviews, ratings and feedback as well as through any reported issues or returns related to the product's condition, functionality, or overall satisfaction. The e-commerce firm largely focuses on small sellers that mostly sell unbranded products on the platform. "Ove

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

Flipkart eyes profitability ahead of IPO; looks to go public in 1 -2 years

Flipkart Internet, the marketplace arm of the e-commerce giant, recently reported a 42 per cent growth in operating revenue for FY23 at Rs 14,845 crore