The AI-powered voice agent automates customer outreach after failed deliveries, helping ecommerce brands reduce return-to-origin shipments and improve delivery success rates
Amazon is in the midst of its "most aggressive phase of expansion" in India yet, country head Samir Kumar has said, adding that the ecommerce giant is firmly focused on playing the long game for market and customer wins. The comment from Amazon India's top honcho comes against the backdrop of the company's recently announced USD 35 billion investment by 2030 - building on USD 40 billion already invested - to support business expansion, AI-driven digitisation, exports and job creation. "If you look at our investments, we are one of the largest investments in India...USD 35 billion over the next five years, USD 80 billion of exports enablement, continuing to invest in Amazon Now and speed with 100 cities and 1,000 micro fulfillment centres, so we are in the most aggressive phase of expansion in India yet, we are here to play a long-term and win in India," Kumar told PTI. Brushing aside concerns over market complexities and rising competitive intensity, Kumar emphasised the company's .
Food delivery and e-commerce platform magicpin aims to more than double the merchant base of its AI assistant, Vera, to over 10 lakh by the end of 2026, after onboarding more than 5 lakh restaurants and retailers within three months of its launch, Founder and CEO Anshoo Sharma said. Launched during the recent LPG crisis, Vera provides restaurants and retailers with real-time order-volume insights to help them plan operations and manage demand more effectively. According to magicpin, the AI platform has facilitated over 50 lakh interactions across merchant workflows, with more than 5 lakh merchants actively using Vera across over 25 business verticals. "We believe this is just the beginning of how AI will transform the way merchants operate and grow. The pace of adoption has been much faster than we expected. magicpin aims to onboard 1 million (10 lakh) merchants on Vera by the end of 2026," Sharma told PTI. Among merchants with identified city-level data, Bengaluru leads adoption w
Meesho says its PRISM recommendation engine is reshaping product discovery, with AI-driven personalised feeds powering most orders on the platform
Social media is no longer just shaping conversations. With creators, algorithms and commerce converging, platforms are increasingly influencing what consumers discover and buy
E-commerce platform Meesho has partnered with the BSE to launch a new initiative aimed at helping micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and digital businesses transition into publicly-listed companies. The initiative, named 'Project Shikhar', was formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and aims to facilitate the listing of high-performing independent e-commerce sellers on the BSE SME platform, addressing their need for growth capital. BSE Managing Director and CEO Sundararaman Ramamurthy said the exchange pioneered the SME platform to give dynamic, job-creating businesses a direct route to capital markets. "Over the years, the BSE SME platform has enabled hundreds of MSMEs to list, raise growth capital and strengthen governance standards. This partnership with Meesho extends that ecosystem to digital-first entrepreneurs, helping e-commerce sellers become public companies," Ramamurthy said. A substantial segment of India's retail commerce operates in the informa
The Finance Ministry is discussing with states possible simplification of GST registration norms for dark stores and warehouses amid rapid quick commerce expansion
The US and 17 WTO members launched a separate pact to avoid e-commerce duties after talks failed to extend the WTO's long-standing digital trade moratorium
E-commerce giant expands rapid-delivery service to 100 cities as competition intensifies in quick-commerce market
Tier-II and III cities fuel D2C growth, contributing 66% of new orders in FY26 as ecommerce demand spreads beyond metros
Gen Z shoppers, AI-led personalisation and rising digital adoption to drive India's e-commerce growth to $250 billion by 2030, says Google-Deloitte report
D2C brands are using AI tools to tackle last-mile challenges in smaller cities, boosting delivery success rates by 11% and cutting costly return-to-origin losses
B2B ecommerce firm rolls out horeca360 in Hyderabad, plans expansion across metros, focusing on local sourcing, quality control and fulfilment for food-service businesses
This will give businesses greater predictability, says Goyal
A key area where member nations could not agree on was the moratorium on Customs duty on ecommerce
Ministerial ends without consensus on key issues including e-commerce tariffs and TRIPS, with talks set to continue in Geneva amid deep divisions among members
India has been resisting a long-term ecommerce duty moratorium citing concerns over revenue loss
India's workforce is projected to expand 4.7 per cent in the first half of FY27, driven largely by growth in e-commerce, tech startups, healthcare, pharma and manufacturing, a report said Wednesday. This improving sentiment is most visible among large enterprises, where 74 per cent indicate expansion, compared to 57 per cent of mid-sized firms and 38 per cent of small businesses, pointing to a scale-driven recovery in employment growth, TeamLease Services projects in its Employment Outlook Report (EOR) for April-September FY27 noted that the momentum carries across sectors, with both digital and core economy industries contributing to the demand. E-commerce and tech startups led with a net employment change (NEC) of 8.9 per cent, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals at 7 per cent, followed by manufacturing, engineering and infrastructure at 6.6 per cent, said the report. It projected an NEC of 4.7 per cent during the period. The report is based on insights from 1,268 employers across 2
Amazon views India as a long-term investment market where e-commerce is still in its early stages, with substantial headroom for growth supported by strong macroeconomic fundamentals and upbeat consumer sentiments, according to a senior company executive. Abhinav Singh, VP - Operations, India and Australia for Amazon, said that the company's recent announcement here on expansion of 'zero referral fee' coverage to 12.5 crore products (from 1.2 crore items in 2025) has got positive and encouraging response from sellers. "The response from the sellers has been very encouraging. They're excited not just with the fee reduction, but also excited to pass on those benefits to the customers, so customers in the marketplace can enjoy better prices. And at the same time, from a seller perspective, they are able to improve their margin so they are really excited about it," he said. He said the company's long-term outlook for India remains robust, given the structural advantages. "... We have b
Walmart-backed e-commerce firm cites progress across key metrics and journey toward sustainable profitability as it prepares for a potential IPO