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Tag: Flipkart.com

  • Brings browse-led, video-based shopping experience

    Flipkart’s 2gud forays into social commerce

    By A Correspondent

     

    Flipkart has announced the launch of social commerce on its independent platform – 2Gud. With the aim to widen the customer proposition, the social commerce feature will be available to all app users.

     

    Commenting on the launch, Chanakya Gupta, Head of 2Gud at Flipkart, said: “We want the next 200 million customers to be able to experience social commerce comfortably and build their trust on 2GUD as they come on to the platform for an engaging shopping experience. These consumers quite often face trust and style deficits. In a situation like this, recommendations from a person like yourself or an influencer play a critical role. Influencers are changing the landscape of online retail and bringing greater opportunities for social commerce platforms in India. With millions of followers across the country, they have the potential to impact consumer’s buying decisions. With this focus, we have specially curated a set of influencers who are best positioned to understand our target audience and help them through their buying decisions on the platform.”

     

     

  • Backlash on social media even as Flipkart claims of sales of over $100 million in 10 hours

    The Big Sale: Hit or Flop?

     

    By Harsimran Julka & Aditi Shrivastava

     

    Flipkart declared on Monday it had created Indian e-commerce history by clocking $100 million (Rs 600 crore) in sales in just 10 hours of its much-heralded discount sale, but not before its hard-won reputation for customer service excellence suffered knocks amid technical glitches and recriminations from angry buyers disappointed with the pricing and availability of products.

     

    As India’s largest online retailer and the posterboy of its startup boom took pride in successfully seeing through what it termed as an unprecedented event, competitors took advantage of its missteps and cut prices, diverting traffic away from Flipkart on what was supposed to be its big day.

     

    Backlash on Social Media

    “It feels a bit like a boxing bout in which one boxer accidentally knocked himself down before the opponent even entered the ring,” said Kartik Hosanagar, professor of internet commerce at The Wharton School in the United States.

     

    Flipkart’s so-called ‘The Big Billion Day’ is the first time in India that a discount sale of this magnitude has taken place. Modelled after the Black Friday shopping bonanza in the US, Flipkart said its aim is to create an online equivalent for India.

     

    Sachin Bansal, the cofounder and CEO of Flipkart, said he was pleased with the outcome, admitting at the same time that there were surprises and some errors. The company said it sold goods worth $100 million (almost Rs 1 crore every minute) within 10 hours and its site recorded one billion hits. “This was unprecedented. It is an historic day for ecommerce,” the 32-year-old entrepreneur said.

     

    Online sales of goods, while they are growing rapidly, are still a minuscule part of India’s retail sector. Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon and others account for just $5 billion in annual sales compared to the retail industry’s size of over $500 billion but projected to grow exponentially.

     

    Flipkart ended up with lot of backlash on social media sites as its system continued to change prices of products during the day. A Delhi-based customer who had paid Rs 27,000 for an LCD TV listed at a pre-discount price of Rs 49,000 was declined purchase as Flipkart said that the product had gone out of stock. “Mean sites for the same product,” the customer wrote on Twitter.

     

    Another customer who wanted to buy an LCD set on Flipkart saw the price change by Rs 10,000 within two hours. Customers were also peeved as Flipkart did not allow cancellations. Many shoppers who encountered better deals or changed their mind after clicking the buy button had no choice left, unlike on other days when cancellations and replacements are allowed.

     

    Flipkart attributed some of the problems to the “largest scale of traffic and customer visits e-commerce has witnessed across the country”, noting that it had got a billion hits on its website. As angry customers took to social media, rivals gained traction. “Amazon was the most trending site on our site on Tuesday,” said Swati Bhargava, CEO of CashKaro, an online cashback site which directs user traffic to sites such as Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal.

     

    “People are loving the Amazon discounts which keep on getting bigger and Monday compared to Sunday, making October 6 its biggest day ever in India. The company attributed this to deals every hour and “ensuring the availability of the deals advertised.” Amazon India’s site was redirecting to bigbillionday. com during the day.

     

    Rival Snapdeal, which cocked a snook at Flipkart with an advertisement that sought to make light of its rival’s big day (“For others, it’s a big day. For us today is no different), also did not leave any stone unturned. Its co-founder and CEO Kunal Bahl said Snapdeal had also sold goods worth Rs 1 crore a minute. “The best part of the day: we didn’t really spend much to bring customers to Snapdeal,” Bahl said, in an apparent dig at Flipkart’s advertising blitz that preceded Monday’s sale that, industry watchers say, would have cost the company tens of crores of rupees.

     

    Bansal admitted errors with “a few products and few customers.” These he attributed to mistakes on Sunday night while uploading prices of products and promised to rectify the problem. “it was not intentional at all. We are sorry for that,” he said, adding that the Flipkart team had burnt the midnight oil ahead of the sale. “I slept only 2-3 hours last night. Living on Red Bull.”

     

    Despite the backlash, there was optimism about the future of the ecommerce sector. Experts said that the Flipkart sale and the Diwali bonanza from Amazon and Snapdeal will help change the habits of the Indian consumer used to thronging bazaars and malls during the festival season.

     

    “This looks like a transformational move for ecommerce in India, a tipping point,” said Arvind Singhal, CEO of retail consultancy Technopak.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2014, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

     

    Companies accuse e-retailers like Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon of devaluing brands and threatening livelihoods

     

    By Writankar Mukherjee & Sagar Malviya

     

    As Flipkart’s discount sale ran into a storm of protests in the virtual world, the company and its ilk of online retailers found little comfort in the real world too.

     

    A parade of big name consumer goods makers and brick-and-mortar retailers took aim at the e-retailer flock of Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon, accusing them of devaluing their brands and threatening their livelihoods, further marring a day that was billed as an important milestone in the evolution of the fledgling sector.

     

    LG Electronics, the country’s largest white goods maker, issued a rare advisory on Monday in which it explicitly stated that it had not authorised any e-commerce company, bar its own online store, to sell its products in India and hence it retains the right of not extending additional services, warranties on such products as it does not vouch for their genuineness.

     

    “This is to safeguard our consumers,” a company spokesperson said. Flipkart, however, sought to reassure customers that all products sold on its site were genuine.

     

    Tightening the noose

    “We can assure our customers buying LG, Sony or Canon products on Flipkart.com that they are genuine. Our customers will continue to enjoy the warranty and services extended to all original LG products as always,” a company spokesperson said. But officials at several consumer goods makers, many of which have also had an uneasy relationship with the lot of e-retailers, said they would henceforth tighten the noose on online discounting.

     

    LG’s rival Sony said it will not allow massive online discounting of its wares because it impacts the company’s brand image and accused e-retailers of having violated business arrangements. “The online sale war of Monday was really disappointing and alarming. This is not the way we have agreed to do business as partners,” said Sony India sales head Sunil Nayyar. He said Sony televisions had borne the maximum brunt of discounting and that it had taken a toll on the company’s brand image as customers who brought the same product a day earlier at its correct market price could feel cheated and blame the brand.

     

    “We have decided to handle online discounts now with an iron hand and will ensure Sony is not involved again and there is a fair play for all channels,” he said. The maximum discounts at Monday’s flash sales were for electronic products, notably items such as Apple’s iPhone, iPod and laptops, Sony’s televisions and smartphones, Canon’s cameras, lenses and printers, Samsung’s television, smartphones, refrigerators and washing machines, LG’s televisions, refrigerators, microwave ovens and smartphones, and tablets and computers of Lenovo, Asus, Dell and HP.

     

    Camera maker Canon said it would henceforth ask distributors to have separate sets of products for brick-and-mortar stores and online stores. “We have just reached an agreement with Amazon and Flipkart that while they can sell offline models, they cannot discount it. We hope Monday’s sale is just one-off scenario and will not be repeated,”said Canon India Executive Vice President Alok Bharadwaj, adding that the hefty discounting of its products on online marketplaces was not endorsed by Canon and was also difficult to control.

     

    “Probably, the best way to reduce disruptions like these is deeper engagements with these online marketplaces which we now plan to do.” Lenovo, which had earlier this year urged customers against buying its products from online retailers only to subsequently withdraw its advisory, said it would also have different models for its online and offline sales channels. Lenovo India MD Amar Babu said his company was keen to have fair competition in the marketplace and did not favour one sales channel growing at the expense of another.

     

    The tongue -lashing from the consumer goods biggies on Monday followed a huge brouhaha created by traditional retailers, upset that the hefty discounting by online sites would hurt their business. Brick-and-mortar stores remain the mainstay sales channel for consumer goods brands, but fear that their businesses are threatened by the fast march of online retailers. In categories such as smartphones, online retailers now account for more than a 10% market share, so much so that some new model launches now happen exclusively on these sites. Online retailers also account for 5% of television sales.

     

    As Flipkart’s discount sale and Snapdeal’s riposte captured shoppers’ imagination on Monday, small retailers and trader lobbies said they wanted the government to intervene.

     

    The All India Mobile Retailers’ Association, a new body that claims to represent the interest of around10,000 mobile retailers, said it would approach the government and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to stop such predatory pricing deals by e-commerce marketplaces.

     

    “The way e-commerce is progressing, several shops may have to shut down, which will jeopardise lakhs of jobs,” said the organisation’s secretary general Dhiraj Malik. He accused e-commerce firms of cartel-like behaviour, discounting products and selling them below cost prices. “This in turn has impacted our sales by 30% and profitability by 60%,” he said.

     

    The Confederation of All India Traders, an umbrella body representing some six crore traders and small retailers, has already written to Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to stop discounting by online marketplaces. It said discounting by these sites had affected store sales of items such as cosmetics, footwear, apparel, jewellery, watches, electronics, computer hardware and software, mobiles, sports goods, travel luggage and books.

     

    “Since e-commerce firms merely provide a technology platform for sellers who are registered with them and because the ownership of the inventory is not their’s, how can these marketplaces offer discounts?” asked its secretary general Praveen Khandelwal. He said his association would complain to the competition watchdog this week.

     

    Officials at large retail chains, also taken aback at the aggressive discounting offered by online players, said e-retailers not only antagonised brands by selling products at throwaway prices but also affected distributors who might now demand unreasonable margins.

     

    “This event will perhaps now trigger many brands to go against all online channels for spoiling their imagery and pricing strategy,” said the owner of a leading electronics store chain. Vijay Sales managing director Nilesh Gupta said when it comes to appliances and durables, consumers still want the touch and feel factor, especially in smaller cities.”Also, most of the popular products are not sold online and consumers will have to visit stores if they want latest collection,” he said.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2014, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

     

     

  • Flipkart's growing valuation helps staff create enormous wealth in less than a decade

    I-Day Eve Feel-Good: Meet the Flipkart Crorepatis

     

    By Radhika P Nair

     

    About 400 employees with stock options at online retailer Flipkart have hit the ‘crorepati’ jackpot because of the surging valuation of the online retailer.

     

    The bonanza is reminiscent of the times when thousands of employees – among them office assistants, drivers and receptionists – at another Bangalore-based company Infosys hit Esop paydirt. “About 400 of the employees who own a stake have now become crorepatis,” said a person who has direct knowledge of the employee stock option scheme at Flipkart, which received $1 billion (Rs 6,000 crore) in funding last month, valuing it at $7 billion.

     

    About one-fourth of Flipkart’s 7,000 full-time employees own a stake in the company.

     

    At the seniormost level, nearly 20 employees who are at the grade of senior vice-president or above and joined over two years ago are now dollar millionaires, meaning their stock options are worth at least Rs 6 crore on paper. The firm’s stock options get vested over four years. Flipkart declined to provide details for the report.

     

    It is the online retail market leader’s valuation jump that has led to this wealth creation.

     

    In 2012, the company was valued at about $850 million when it raised about $150 million.

     

    In two years, Flipkart’s valuation has grown eight times. For the company’s founders, Esops are a conscious attempt at creating wealth for their employees. “While we are competitive when it comes to salaries, Esops offer the opportunity for wealth and value creation,” said Sachin Bansal, 32, Flipkart’s co-founder and chief executive. “It’s a long-term reward for those who believe in the future of Flipkart.”

     

    After the IT services industry, ecommerce is now the next big opportunity for employees to create wealth, said Anshuman Das, managing partner at Longhouse Consulting, a recruitment firm that works with startups. “The message going out to entrepreneurs is that wealth creation cannot be restricted to just the founders.”

     

    A number of junior employees at Flipkart too hold sizeable stake in the company. This has helped employees like 29-year-old Ambur Iyyappa, a senior manager of customer operations at Flipkart. “I was getting married in 2012 and the buyback allowed me to take care of my wedding expenses,” said the graduate of Annamalai University.

     

    Iyyappa, who sold only a part of his stake at the time of the buyback, declined to reveal how many shares he still holds.

     

    He was the second non-founder employee to join Flipkart in 2008. It was only in 2009, the same year that the company raised its first round of funding of $1 million (over Rs 6 crore) from Accel Partners, that Flipkart started providing Esops.

     

    Fashion e-tailer Myntra, which was acquired by Flipkart in May, allowed employees to sell shares at the time of the acquisition, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal. The company declined to confirm this. Myntra provides Esops to all its core employees, numbering about 600, in functions such as technology and marketing across all levels.

     

    For existing employees like Iyyappa, Esops provide recognition. “Esops are a motivation for us employees,” said Iyyappa. “It is how the company recognises our work.”

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2014, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

     

  • As Flipkart and Amazon battle it out for control in the marketplace, it's customers who will profit most

    In ecom-land, it’s Bezos v/s Bansals

     

    By Radhika P Nair

     

    Deep discounts for customers and big incentives for merchants who sell on their marketplace are what Flipkart, India’s largest online retailer, is planning as it aims for fourfold growth in sales over the next 12 months.

     

    In the aftermath of the biggest round of fund-raising in India’s Internet industry, Flipkart and challenger Amazon plan to open more warehouses, hire in larger numbers and acquire companies with newer products or technology as they battle for supremacy in one of the fastest growing markets for online commerce globally

     

    “It is still day-one of Indian e-commerce,” said Amit Aggarwal, vice-president and India country head at Amazon. Last Wednesday, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said he will spend $2 billion (.`12,000 crore) to build operations in India without offering a timeframe. The announcement came a day after Flipkart declared funding of $1 billion from a host of global investors.

     

    Amazon’s announcement is being viewed as the strongest call for battle between the two protagonists.

     

    This month, Amazon will add a new category and also increase the range of books and electronics – its two main product lines in India — as it powers ahead to reach sales of Rs 6,000 crore this fiscal. In the past year, 8,500 sellers have hawked their wares on Amazon’s marketplace.

     

    Flipkart, which adopted a marketplace model last year, aims to increase the number of sellers to 50,000 in the next year from the current level of over 4,000.

     

    “China’s ecommerce industry reached its inflection point in 2005 when Alibaba raised $1 billion. We believe Indian ecommerce is at that inflection point right now,” said Sachin Bansal, Flipkart’s cofounder who expects a significant chunk of the latest funding to be used to enhance services for sellers. The Bangalore company runs six warehouses and intends to open 50 more in the next three years.

     

    Amazon is also increasing its warehouse count to ten with three new ones coming up in Maharashtra’s Bhadarpur, Haryana’s Manesar and Ghaziabad in the next few months.

     

    Experts said the focus of all this splurging will be dominated by one ultimate goal, attracting more customers. “Consumers will be wooed like never before. And it will not just be in the form of discounts; the two companies will unleash assortment and services that are specifically meant to retain them,” said Arvind Singhal, chairman of retail advisory, Technopak.

     

    Merchants who do business with both companies said Amazon for now, is more focused on electronics and books. “This brings scale and helps them show customers that they can provide products at lower costs quickly,” said one person.

     

    This is exactly how Flipkart scaled up, by focusing on books initially and then on electronics. Now, fashion has become its most important category, especially after it acquired fashion portal Myntra in May, contributing to one-third of the company’s sales, said Mr Bansal.

     

    The Flipkart site will focus on fastselling fashion products that will bring in volumes, while Myntra will focus on the higher-value products and inhouse brands that deliver profits, said a senior official at Flipkart. Branded apparel can bring in margins of up to 35% while in-house apparel brands command profit margins of up to 60%.

     

    “We are here for the long term. Our aspiration is to make Flipkart a $100-billion company,” said Mr Bansal, 32, whose company clocked $1 billion in sales in March 2014.

     

    Amazon also aims to reach the milestone this fiscal. “The aim is to have a 30% market share soon,” said a senior executive at Amazon, who did not want to be identified.

     

    Flipkart also plans to get a bigger share of exclusive sales on its portal, as it did recently with Motorola phones. Last month, it started selling China’s Xiaomi phones while Amazon launched sales of a Samsung phone and Swipe’s Slice tablets exclusively.

     

    Flipkart is also actively scouting for companies to purchase. “We are looking across the board. We will acquire if we find interesting companies in wearable devices, fashion technology, mobile internet, and robotics and in other areas,” said Flipkart’s Mr Bansal.

     

    The companies are also setting aside money for hiring and for increments. “War on talent is yet to begin as both are targeting the FMCG and telecom industries,” said a consultant. Flipkart will double headcount to 26,000 this fiscal. Amazon too is expanding and pays two-year joining bonuses of over Rs 40 lakh at the top levels.

     

    “Many companies who scaled up much slower than these two have faltered before,” said Technopak’s Mr Singhal. “It is like making an entire army move in tandem. Who will get that right is what we need to see.”

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2014, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • This online music store will allow users to download music in the form of individual songs or entire albums.

    Flipkart launches Flyte for music

    By A Correspondent

     

    Flipkart.com has launched Flyte, its digital music store which marks the e-commerce player’s foray into the emerging digital content market. This store will allow users to download music in the form of individual songs or entire albums from a collection that is backed by leading Indian and international music companies.

     

    Flyte promises the Indian consumers:

    • Country’s most comprehensive online music collection of over a million tracks from 150,000 unique albums.

     

    • Mp3-format music downloads that can be played back on any digital media device (mobile phones, PCs, tablets, car stereos and others).

     

    • CD-quality music (320 kbps) available for 99 per cent of the music catalog – a first inIndia.

     

    • “DRM-free” music which means that users can freely transfer their music from one device to another very easily

     

    • Downloading the same file 3 more times after the initial download – at no extra cost, to make it even more convenient for users to sync their entire Flyte music library across their multiple digital devices

     

    • Single songs prices starting at Rs6 and albums start at as little as Rs25.

     

    • All standard payment options such as credit / debit card, internet banking, gift vouchers and the Flipkart Wallet will be available for purchases made on Flyte.

     

    Speaking about the launch of Flyte, co-founder and CEO, Flipkart, Sachin Bansal said: “We had maintained that making digital content available was one of our focus areas and this launch marks our first step in that direction. An online music store made sense, given the wide appeal this category enjoys in the country. Needless to say, all the features that delight Flipkart customers – selection, convenience and customer service will also be intrinsic to Flyte.”

     

    Sameer Nigam, VP, Digital at Flipkart added: “With Flyte, consumers inIndiawill now be able to download a wide range of music legally, and at an extremely reasonable price. We hope that such a move will help curb piracy and go a long way in supporting original music and its creators. With music available across 55 languages and 700 genres and sub-genres – this is a service that should appeal to all age groups and music lovers”.

     

    Till date there have been few, if any, platforms available in the country for legal music downloads and this has contributed to rampant piracy. With Flyte, legal music will become available and affordable to everyone inIndiawith Internet access – at the click of a button.

     

    Flipkart.com,India’s largest e-commerce player for physical goods, started with books in 2007 and entered the consumer electronics category with the launch of mobiles in Sep 2010. Since then it has grown rapidly with the introduction of innovative features like COD, 30 day replacement guarantee and its own delivery network. Today the portfolio ranges across 11 categories. The site ranks among top 30 in the country (as per Alexa rankings) and gets 12 million+ visits every month.

     

  • With this move, Flipkart has firmly established itself as the leader in the consumer electronic space

    Flipkart acquires Letsbuy

    By A Correspondent

     

    Flipkart.com has acquired Letsbuy, the second largest retailer in electronics. With this move, Flipkart has firmly established itself as the leader in the consumer electronic space. This deal will also allow for a faster rate of expansion for both companies, giving the combined entity a much larger share in the consumer electronics market.

     

    The acquisition is a combination of cash and equity. The founders of Letsbuy along with their 350+ team will continue to function independently, with the added advantage of being able to access Flipkart’s superior technology platform and supply chain capabilities.

     

    Speaking about the acquisition, Flipkart’s co-founder and CEO Sachin Bansal said: “This acquisition fits into our strategy of building dominant shares in all categories we operate in. We are already leaders in the books and media verticals. Given that we managed to build a leadership position in consumer electronics as well since its launch in early 2011, it made sense for us to consolidate when we saw this opportunity. This acquisition opportunity came at a very attractive price for us and the timing has also been ideal. The synergies will now allow us to accelerate faster and get to share similar to what we enjoy in the online books category.”

     

    Letsbuy.com founder & CEO Hitesh Dhingra said: “Letsbuy.com has experienced a phenomenal growth in the last one year and holds a dominant position in e-commerce industry inIndia. We believe that our expertise in 3Cs category matched with Flipkart’s superior technology and supply chain could be a killer combination. The company had a choice to raise a large round of funding as well, however aligning our business with the largest player in the market made sense as the resultant synergies will guarantee our customers the best possible service, price and selection.”

     

    While the finer details on mutual synergies are being worked out by both teams at present, the move has been welcomed by investors of both firms. Helion, the lead investor in Letsbuy.com has said it believes that the combined strength of the two leading players is formidable and will be able to deliver a stronger value proposition to customers.

     

    Letsbuy.com, started by Hitesh Dhingra and Amanpreet Bajaj in 2009, has built a strong presence for itself in the consumer electronics space in short span of time. It has strong relationship with over 400 brands in this category.

     

  • Buyers of books (and other stuff) are now browsing more than ever, and not in the bookshop meaning. Flipkart.com CEO Sachin Bansal on the e-buying phenomenon.

    The Anchor: 5 indications that India is e-commerce-ready

    #1 Internet penetration

    The sheer number of internet users has grown drastically in the past decade. In 2001, the number of internet users in India stood at 7 million. In 2010 this figure had grown to 100 million (source: Internetworldstats). As a result, the size of the market that needs to be addressed by e-commerce players today is very different and has much more potential.

    This growth in internet users is also largely due to the fact that the key enablers for e-commerce are currently coming together in the Indian market. Aspects like broadband and credit card penetration, wireless connectivity, and penetration of hand-held and computing devices have found widespread acceptance today, unlike their limited penetration in 2001. Moreover with mobiles, especially smartphones, becoming more accessible to the average consumer, internet access through mobile platforms is also on the rise.

     

    #2 Multiple players investing to increase awareness and adoption rates

    The players currently operating in the e-commerce space are also of an extremely different mindset. Players are more organized, and understand and appreciate the value proposition offered by the industry far better. E-commerce companies are today making investments in technology and innovation that will serve to strengthen and grow their business in the long run. They are not looking at short-term business solutions but are interested in scaling up their operations over a period of time. They are also taking the trouble to understand the points of concern that consumers may have with respect to online shopping and taking the trouble to address that. At Flipkart, for example, we have started our own logistics company to smoothen last-mile deliveries. We also offer services and features like cash/card on delivery, EMIs and 30 Day Replacement Policies to deal with concerns like revealing credit card details or not being able to check the quality of products online.

     

    #3 Change in consumer mindset

    Additionally, an increasing number of Indians are now trusting online players as a reliable channel for shopping. Post the success of travel sites, more and more customers are beginning to appreciate the convenience of online shopping. They are beginning to realize that the choice, convenience and cost benefits of online shopping outweigh those of physical retail stores, and are turning to e-commerce for more and more of their shopping requirements.

    The industry is expected to grow by 47 percent in 2011 to reach Rs.46, 520 crore by the year-end, according to a report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India. Online retail (excluding travel ticket booking, etc.) will account for 6 percent, or about Rs.2, 700 crore, of the total market. By 2015, this space is expected to grow to about $10 billion. E-commerce users today stand at 10 million (including travel) and this number is constantly growing.

     

    #4 Popularity of online travel sites

    Certain sectors related to e-commerce have already proven themselves in terms of their growth and popularity. Online travel sites began to do well even when there were hardly any players in the online retail sector. This has given e-commerce companies the confidence that the Indian consumer is open to the idea of shopping online and the success story of online travel has consequently begun to rub off on other verticals as well.

     

    #5 Growing investment in an e-commerce eco-system

    Market trends are not going unnoticed and more and more professionals/industry bodies are giving serious consideration to e-commerce as a viable investment option. There have been extensive investments made in the e-commerce ecosystem by both government and private players. The realization that the industry players are in this for the long term and are building up their business, keeping in mind benefits to the consumer and the economy, have fuelled an interest that can only speak well for the Indian e-commerce market.

    We have been a big believer in the e-commerce story of India. With the country poised to become one of the largest e-commerce led economies in the world, we will continue to aggressively invest in this space and contribute to this growth story in every way we can.

     

    Sachin Bansal is the CEO and Co-founder of Flipkart.com.