India Anchors Dutch Investor Prosus’ Global Strategy as E-Commerce Revenue Surges 21%

Prosus is doubling down on its ambition to become a global e-commerce powerhouse. In its latest annual report, the Dutch tech investor revealed a 21% surge in e-commerce revenue, reaching $6.2 billion for FY2025. This growth is being driven by its expanding portfolio across India, Latin America, and Europe, with a strong emphasis on AI-powered innovation and lifestyle commerce.

Prosus has invested $8.6 billion across more than 30 Indian ventures. It’s building a “lifestyle e-commerce ecosystem” by integrating food delivery (Swiggy), fintech (PayU), commerce (Meesho), and services (Urban Company).

Key Highlights:

• Adjusted EBIT for e-commerce jumped 12x to $443 million, signaling a sharp pivot toward profitability.
• Prosus is now free cash flow positive (excluding Tencent dividends) for the first time, with a $513 million improvement
• The company invested $7.8 billion to strengthen regional ecosystems and acquire AI-native startups, including the ongoing integration of Just Eat Takeaway.com.
• CEO Fabricio Bloisi emphasized a cultural shift toward an AI-first mindset, aiming to create the next $100 billion in value through innovation and ecosystem synergy.

India remains a central pillar of this strategy, with Prosus backing major players like Swiggy, Meesho, PayU, and Urban Company.

The company aims to replicate its Tencent success story in India, expecting the country to produce a $100 billion tech company.

After Swiggy’s successful IPO in 2024, Prosus is eyeing five more public listings in FY26, including Meesho, Urban Company, BlueStone, and Captain Fresh. 

Shiprocket Unveils Same Day Delivery in Bengaluru, continues to revolutionise eCommerce for India's MSMEs

Aims to empower merchants to meet growing consumer demand for faster deliveries

Shiprocket, India’s leading eCommerce enablement platform, has launched Same Day Delivery (SDD) in Bengaluru, bringing enterprise-grade, fast deliveries to every seller of Bharat. Traditionally, fast delivery has been a luxury available only to major eCommerce brands. Shiprocket is changing this by democratising high-speed delivery, ensuring that MSMEs can also offer quicker deliveries and stay competitive. The service is already live in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Hyderabad.

With eCommerce shifting towards speed-driven consumer expectations, merchants who offer quick deliveries see higher conversions and stronger customer retention. A Market Data Forecast report states that India’s Same Day Delivery market is projected to surpass $10 billion by 2028 at a CAGR of 23.6%. Shiprocket is leading this transformation by leveraging its advanced tech-driven platform and strategic courier partnerships to bring quick commerce capabilities to a broad spectrum of sellers.

Saahil Goel

Bringing Speed as a Competitive Advantage to Bengaluru’s eCommerce Ecosystem.

Bengaluru is a high-potential eCommerce hub, with an average order value of ₹2,000. The top three selling categories in the city include beauty & grooming, clothing & accessories, and jewellery. Shiprocket's Same Day Delivery as a product has already proven to be a game changer, with brands such as Bata, Ketch, Mamaearth, BoAt, Giva, NEK, Plum, and Wildcraft leveraging it to drive their business forward. SDD provides Bengaluru-based sellers a powerful tool to enhance customer satisfaction, drive repeat purchases, and scale their businesses.

Key Offerings:

Shiprocket’s Same Day Delivery offers multiple fulfilment solutions designed to cater to various business models:

• Same-Day Delivery: Orders picked up between 12 PM to 1 PM from a merchant’s location will be delivered on the same day.
• 3 PM Pickup/Half-Day Delivery: Orders picked up by 3 PM from the seller’s location or warehouse will be delivered on the same day with PICO as the courier partner.
• Store Pickup/Mall Pickup: Designed for omni-channel brands, this service enables stores within shopping malls to function as supply points. Orders picked up between 2–3 PM will be delivered the same day. Bata and Khadim currently utilise this service at Bhartiya Mall, Brigade Road, Falcon City Mall, Forum Neighbourhood Mall, Garuda Mall, Lulu Mall, Mall Of Asia, Mantri Square, Nexus Forum Mall, Orion Mall, Phoenix Marketcity in Bengaluru.

Powering the Future of Commerce.

Shiprocket is a tech platform that empowers sellers with seamless high-speed delivery integration, advanced checkout solutions, and cutting-edge marketing tools. Through AI-driven routing and optimised delivery networks, Shiprocket anticipates merchant needs and offers solutions that unlock massive, baseline-shifting growth. By partnering with leading courier services like Pikndel, PICO, Blitz, Shadowfax, and Xpressbees, Shiprocket ensures merchants can deliver orders with unprecedented speed and efficiency.

Driving MSME Growth with Innovation

Commenting on the launch, Saahil Goel, MD & CEO, Shiprocket, said,

We at Shiprocket are committed to being the trusted growth partner for merchants across India. By introducing Same Day Delivery, we are empowering MSMEs of Bharat to compete with the best in the industry, providing them with tools to enhance customer experience and drive repeat business. Speed is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity, and we are ensuring that every seller, regardless of size, has access to best-in-class solutions.

“This initiative is a crucial step towards our vision of democratising eCommerce tech for every seller in India while contributing to the broader digital transformation of the economy,” he added.

Delhi HC Orders Amazon to Pay $39 Mn to Lifestyle Equities for Trademark Infringement

The Delhi High Court has ordered Amazon to pay $39 million (approximately ₹340 crore) in damages to Lifestyle Equities for infringing on its 'Beverly Hills Polo Club' trademark.

The court found that Amazon Technologies and others used a deceptively similar mark on apparel and other products sold on their platforms. The case was filed by Lifestyle Equities in 2020, and the court issued an interim injunction in October 2020, prohibiting Amazon and others from using the infringing logo.

The detailed order from Justice Prathiba M Singh is awaited.

The court issued an interim injunction in October 2020, prohibiting the use of the infringing logo and instructing Amazon Seller Services to remove the infringing merchandise. Amazon Technologies failed to appear in court and was prosecuted ex-parte.

Amazon Seller Services was removed from the list of parties as they agreed to remove any future listings of infringing products.

Cloudtail India, involved in selling the infringing products, acknowledged its liability and proposed a settlement. The court awarded damages of ₹4,78,484 against Cloudtail, representing 20% of the revenue from infringing products.

This ruling highlights the importance of trademark protection and the legal consequences of infringement.

Amazon has faced several trademark infringement cases over the years, and their responses have varied depending on the specifics of each case.

In 2017, Birkenstock, the German footwear company, accused Amazon of selling counterfeit products on its platform. In response, Birkenstock decided to stop selling its products on Amazon. Amazon took measures to improve its anti-counterfeiting efforts, including enhancing its Brand Registry program to help brands protect their intellectual property.

In 2020, Salvatore Ferragamo, the Italian luxury brand, filed a lawsuit against Amazon for selling counterfeit Ferragamo products. Amazon worked with Ferragamo to identify and remove counterfeit listings and took legal action against counterfeiters. This collaboration led to the seizure of counterfeit goods and the shutdown of counterfeit operations.

In 2019, Nike decided to stop selling its products directly on Amazon, citing concerns over counterfeit goods and unauthorized sellers. Amazon responded by enhancing its anti-counterfeiting measures and working with brands to improve the authenticity of products sold on its platform.

In general, Amazon has taken steps to address trademark infringement by improving its anti-counterfeiting measures, collaborating with brands to remove counterfeit listings, and taking legal action against counterfeiters. However, the effectiveness of these measures has been a subject of ongoing debate and scrutiny.

Myntra Reports Loss of ₹1.1 Crore Due to Refund Scam in Bengaluru, Fraudster Exploits Refund Policy

Myntra, a Flipkart subsidiary, recently reported a significant loss of ₹1.1 crore due to a refund scam in Bengaluru. Fraudsters exploited the company's refund policy by placing bulk orders and then claiming refunds for non-existent, incorrect, or fake items.

The scam took place between March and June 2024, and involved around 5,529 fraudulent orders delivered to various addresses across Bengaluru.

The fraudsters would often claim that the number of products received was less than what they had ordered, or that the items were different from what was ordered.

Myntra has approached the Bengaluru police to investigate the matter. It's suspected that a gang from Jaipur, Rajasthan, is behind these fraudulent activities. The police have registered a case under the Information Technology Act and IPC sections 419 (cheating by personation) and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property).

Myntra's case of fraud comes within a few days after another e-commerce platform Meesho faced similar cheating by fraudsters. Cybercrime police in Surat arrested three individuals who cheated Meesho by posing as suppliers and customers. They placed orders and then claimed refunds or raised complaints about the products received.

Myntra is also working on tightening its refund policies and improving its fraud detection mechanisms to prevent such incidents in the future.

According to reports, Flipkart and Myntra may soon start charging cancellation fees for orders that are canceled. The reports, that are still speculative, suggest that Flipkart and Myntra customers will only have a limited amount of time to cancel their orders. After that deadline is crossed, the customers will not be able to cancel the order. However, the e-commerce giant has not confirmed the development yet.

Besides, Myntra has recently ventured into quick commerce with its new service, M-Now, which promises to deliver fashion and beauty products within 30 minutes.

Myntra has bounced back to profitability in FY24 after a loss of ₹782 crore in FY23. The company posted a profit of ₹30.9 crore in FY24, driven by a 14.71% growth in operational revenue and effective cost-cutting strategies.

Getting back to rise in cases of frauds, e-commerce frauds in India have been on the rise, especially with the increase in online shopping. About 57% of all fraud incidents in India are platform frauds, with over 26% of organizations losing over USD 1 million due to it, said a report by PwC India.

Payment Fraud accounts for 92% of all customer frauds, including unauthorized digital purchases and identity theft. Around 40% of platform frauds are conducted by internal actors, often in collusion with external perpetrators.

Amazon Expand Partnership With India Post to Unlock Deliveries Across All of India’s Serviceable Pin Codes, Even in the Remotest Areas

Amazon India and India Post have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to boost nationwide delivery capabilities. This collaboration aims to enhance Amazon's reach, especially in remote and rural areas, by leveraging India Post's extensive last-mile delivery network.

Amazon will tap into India Post's vast postal network to facilitate deliveries across every pin code in the country.

Under the MoU signed, Amazon India and India Post aim to collaborate to harness the postal service's extensive last-mile delivery network, enabling Amazon to enhance the speed, efficiency, and reach of its deliveries, especially in remote and rural areas, which is about 19,300 pin-codes and Army pin-codes across India. 

Notably, Amazon and India Post have been partners since 2013, and this MoU further strengthens their collaboration.

In 2014, Amazon India launched a pilot project to test India Post’s cash on delivery model, and eventually became the first e-commerce company to enable an end-to-end integrated cash-on-delivery solution with India Post. This along with overall improvements has resulted in an almost 3x increase in the volume of Amazon parcels being delivered via India Post in the past 18 months.

Both companies will closely synchronize operations to maximize efficiencies, optimize resource utilization, and explore capacity sharing across their logistics networks.

Amazon has enabled an end-to-end integrated cash-on-delivery solution with India Post, which has significantly increased the volume of Amazon parcels being delivered via India Post.

Over the years, this India Post-Amazon collaboration has hit several milestones—from Amazon India becoming the only e-commerce company to serve Army-restricted locations through the Army Postal Service, to serving customers in remote locations such as Leh’s Nubra Valley, the South Garo hills in Meghalaya, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, among others.

This partnership is expected to improve delivery speed, efficiency, and reach, benefiting both Amazon and its customers.

Fake Reviews of Health, Wellness Products Deter Over 42% Shoppers from Making Purchases: PwC Report

PwC India has released a report unveiling insights on the evolving dynamics of e-commerce in India, particularly focusing on the shopping behaviour of consumers in tier 2 and tier 3 regions. Titled "How India shops online: Consumer preferences in the metropolises and tier 1-4 cities", the report encapsulates comprehensive research that aims to reshape the trajectory for businesses operating in India's burgeoning digital marketplace.

45% of the respondents look at the ratings and reviews before shopping, said the PwC report. 37% of Urban dwellers accept that fake customer reviews are a key barrier for using other platforms in the electronics category.

The report is based on an online survey of 2,100 people, 100 qualitative interviews, and 400 in-person interviews across India with leading experts and industry partners. The insights derived from the report highlight the similarities and differences in the purchasing habits, choices and mindsets of online shoppers across the country.

Some of the key findings of the report include the following:

• 50% of consumers in metros and tier-1 cities value quick delivery, while for 54% of consumers in tier-2, 3 and 4 cities, deals and offers take precedence.
• With increasing financial independence, women's shopping behaviour shifted from social to individualistic across geographies as per our survey.
• Fake reviews of health and wellness products deter over 42% of tier-2, 3 and 4 cities' shoppers from making purchases in this category. They also prefer buying these products online since there are concerns related to the authenticity of these products in brick-and-mortar stores.
• More than 60% of our respondents preferred to shop using an app rather than using any website. There was a clear preference for marketplace apps since they cater to many categories.
• YouTube emerged as a clear winner when it comes to a reliable platform (discovery. information, usage experience and unboxing videos) for making buying choices.
• Interestingly, Gen Z prefers cash on delivery (CoD) in tier-2, 3 and 4 cities.

This report aims to understand the pulse of India's diverse consumer base and provide insights into their behaviour. 

Beyond the urban landscape, a new trend is rapidly unfolding in India – tier-2, 3, and 4 cities – where aspirations have begun to surge, and shopping habits are undergoing a transformation.

Average basket size based on last purchase

Average basket size based on last purchase

Today, consumers from rest of India are dedicating more time to shopping, with order volumes in tier-2 and 3 cities expanding by more than 0%3 compared to previous years. As India’s e-commerce narrative evolves, it is crucial to observe these behavioural changes.

The report also elucidates the disparities in e-commerce shopping patterns between urban and rural India. A significant shift is observed in the shopping behaviours of consumers from tier 2, 3, and 4 cities, compared to their urban counterparts. While urban dwellers are enticed by perennial discounts and convenience of online shopping, consumers from rest of India regions are driven towards online shopping by factors such as limited product availability and stockouts in local offline stores.

The preference of Apps

Over 60% of surveyed respondents prefer shopping via mobile apps due to ease of navigation, user-friendly interfaces, and vernacular support, highlighting the importance of app-based platforms in India's e-commerce landscape.

Social Media Influence

Social media platforms play a pivotal role in driving product trials, with 62% of users trying products after seeing them on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Urban and rest of India consumers exhibit differing preferences in social media channels for product discovery and trials.

Payments Preferences

Mode of Payment

While both urban dwellers and rest of India consumers display comparable acceptance of UPI payments, cash on delivery remains the preferred option among the latter to minimise fraud risks. Generation X from rest of India regions prefers card transactions for mid-high value purchases, citing transaction safety as a key factor.

Category Preference 

Categories purchased

The report delves into specific category preferences among consumers, highlighting varying trends in fashion, sports and fitness, electronics, home and kitchen, beauty and personal care, health and wellness, and grocery segments. In these categories, urban dwellers prefer online shopping for its quick delivery which meets their demand for instant gratification, even if it means paying a premium. In contrast, Rest of India consumers are more focused on finding the best deals and discounts online.

The report aims to help businesses not only increase market share and revenue but also make a positive difference in the lives of millions of consumers in India. By embracing empathy, businesses can tap into the human side of e-commerce and unlock the potential of a nation on the cusp of greatness.

E-Commerce Industry Records 26% YoY Order Volume Growth in FY23: India’s E-Commerce Index by Unicommerce

• Electronic Peripherals & Home Appliances reported a whopping 47% increase in order volumes during FY-23
• Marketplaces reported 31.2% growth, while brand websites grew by 24% in FY-23
• Tier I Cities reported the highest growth of 31.1%; while Tier II and Tier III cities grew 23.3 and 22.4% respectively

Unicommerce, India’s leading e-commerce enablement SaaS platform today launched the third edition of its annual trends report, the ‘India E-commerce Index’ 2023. Indicating a maturing e-commerce landscape across the country, India’s e-commerce industry has recorded an impressive 26.2% YoY order volume growth in FY-2023 supported by a 23.5% rise in annual GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) compared to the previous financial year.

The report throws light on the consistently rising consumer inclination towards online shopping and provides a rationale for the rapid adoption of omnichannel strategies by brands to cater to the rising demand across both physical and digital channels.

Electronic Peripherals & Home Appliances, Eyewear & Accessories most demanded during FY-2023

The e-commerce space has witnessed robust growth in the electronic products & peripherals segment with a notable 46.8% YoY order volume growth and GMV grew by 20.6% in FY-2023, the report stated. This can be attributed to the inclusion of newer brands which were seen offering economical products across the segment.

The Eyewear & Accessories segment recorded a substantial 44.6% YoY order volume growth during FY-2023. The segment’s GMV saw a significant uptick and rose by 52.8% annually during the same period as compared to the last financial year. The Beauty & Personal Care segment recorded a reasonable 26.6% YoY order volume growth and an 18.9% YoY growth in GMV during FY-2023. Driven by the increasing number of young consumers, the Fashion & Accessories segment witnessed a YoY order volume growth of 19.5% along with a rise in its GMV by 15.3% during FY-2023.

Newer Ecommerce categories Home Decor, Health & Pharma showcase fast growth

With rising demand for artifacts, kitchenware, wall hangings and plant accessories, the Home Decor segment witnessed strong YoY growth of 27.2% in its order volumes during FY-2023. As a result of brands offering high-quality products, the segment’s GMV increased by 46.5% annually during the same period as compared to FY-2022 resulting in a jump in the average order value by 15% during the period.

Health & Pharma, which has become an important ecommerce segment as consumers continue to shop for medicines and nutraceuticals online, recorded a YoY order volume growth of 22.1% during FY-2023. With the segment catering to the discrete needs of a diversified audience, the segment’s GMV rose by 38.5% leading to the average order value growing by 13% during the same period.

Marketplaces witnessed faster growth of 31.2% in FY-2023

As brands continued to adopt a mixed approach to serve their customers across their brand websites as well as marketplaces, FY-2023 saw consumer preference move slightly towards marketplaces which witnessed a 31.2% YoY order volume growth during the period. Brands continue to offer exceptional experiences via their brand websites, providing exclusivity and personalization and saw a YoY order volume growth of 24% during FY-2023.

With a rising number of Beauty & Personal Care brands offering higher discounts across marketplaces, order volumes grew exponentially by 80.1% during FY-2023 whereas, brand websites witnessed a 20.5% rise among the segment during the same period as compared to the last financial year. On the other hand, Electronics Products & Peripherals and Home Appliances saw a higher YoY order volume growth across brand websites recording a 55.4% increase during FY-2023 while marketplaces witnessed a YoY order volume growth of 36.7% within the same segment. Other segments like Home Decor, Fashion & Accessories and FMCG saw higher YoY order volume growth across marketplaces during FY-2023 witnessing 39.1%, 27.1% and 23.6% respectively during the same period.

Tier I cities showcased faster growth while Tier II and Tier II cities demonstrated immense potential

As offices return to regular operations, there has been a notable shift of consumers shifting back to Tier I and metropolitan cities for work, resulting in Tier I cities exhibiting fast growth in order volumes relative to Tier II and Tier III cities. Tier I regions indicated the highest YoY order volume growth of 31.1% during FY-2023, followed by Tier II and Tier III cities which witnessed YoY order volume growth rates of 23.3% and 22.4% respectively, during the same period. Consistent e-commerce growth in Tier II and Tier III cities underscores their substantial untapped potential. These cities are witnessing continued e-commerce adoption driven by increased online consumer activity and small businesses from these regions venturing into e-commerce as potential sales channels.

The market share of Tier II and Tier III cities stood at 18.6% and 37.1% respectively in FY-2023, reducing slightly from 19.2% and 38.6% respectively during FY-2022. Tier I cities however observed a slight increase in market share during the same period which stood at 44.3% in FY-2023 as compared to 42.2% in FY-2022.

Brands fight Order Returns to enhance the consumer experience

The FY-2023 exhibited a slight rise in order returns which stood at 10.4% as compared to 9.8% order returns in FY-2022. The report further attributed the rise in order returns largely due to Cash-on-Delivery (COD). In FY 2023, the return rate for Cash on Delivery (COD) orders stood at 20.9%, a slight uptick from the 19.3% recorded in FY 2022. Conversely, returns on prepaid orders exhibited a marginal increase, rising from 5.6% in FY 2022 to 5.8% in FY 2023. The notably lower return rate on prepaid orders has prompted companies to incentivize such orders, reflecting a strategic approach to minimize returns and enhance customer satisfaction. Also, COD orders continue to account for more than 60% of the overall returns, while prepaid orders accounted for 39.2% of the overall returns.

Interestingly, returns on marketplace orders grew by 26.3% in FY-2023, while it was 24.2% in FY-2022. With greater use of technology and deeper consumer connect, D2C brands witnessed a marginal reduction in order returns which stood at 6.2% in FY-023 as compared to 6.3% during FY-2022.

Omnichannel becomes central as a brand strategy

As the demand for omnichannel strategies rises, new-age brands have integrated this approach into their business models, while traditional enterprises are adopting cutting-edge technology to establish a cohesive framework that serves both their physical and online sales channels. The number of online orders shipped-from-store reported a 44.6% growth during FY2023 compared to the previous financial year.

Stores continue to adopt omnichannel technology to serve their customers better and enhance their shopping experience. During FY-2023, the number of stores that implemented omnichannel operations rose by 58.4% as compared to the last financial year.

Speaking on the launch of the third edition of the report, Kapil Makhija, CEO of Unicommerce said, "The launch of India's e-commerce Index 2023 marks a pivotal moment in our industry's evolution. The consistent growth of over 25% underscores the robust maturity of the sector. E-commerce is no longer just an additional sales channel; it has seamlessly woven itself into the fabric of modern business. Companies are harnessing digital platforms not only to sell but also to promote and engage with consumers. We are transitioning into a true omnichannel era where brands and consumers seamlessly interact and transact across a multitude of online and offline touchpoints. At Unicommerce, we remain committed to simplifying e-commerce selling through a range of initiatives. This comprehensive report, now available on our website, reflects our dedication to empowering businesses in this dynamic landscape.”

Unicommerce is one of the leading e-commerce enablement SaaS platforms in India that powers post-purchase experience for brands, marketplaces, and fulfillment service providers. With 200+ industry integrations across marketplaces & carts, logistics service providers & 3PLs, ERPs, POS, and accounting software, the platform is deployed by many leading brands namely Mamearth, boAt Lifestyle, Lenskart, SUGAR Cosmetics, Timex, Myntra, TCNS, Rare rabbit among others.

India's E-Commerce Market to Grow to $133 Billion by 2025 – Report

As per the Bernstein report, India's e-commerce market which amounted to $72 billion in 2022 is likely to hit $133 billion in size by 2025.

In a report on Wednesday, the U.S. asset management firm said the Indian e-commerce market is expected to reach $133 billion by 2025 from $24 billion in 2018, a rise of over five times with a compound annual growth rate of around 30%. "This is a $100-billion incremental opportunity with only three scaled players in the market (Amazon.com Inc., Reliance and Walmart Inc.)," it said. "The winner The winner in the Indian e-commerce market will be the one with the most compelling integrated value proposition, offline + online + prime.

Amazon, which has recently pledged $12.7 billion investment in Amazon Web Services in India hints the company’s focus towards cloud services in the South Asian market. Bernstein’s report suggests that while Amazon’s cloud business operates with losses of merely $500,000 to $1 million, the e-commerce division of Amazon in India, has lost up to $500 million.

About Reliance, its retail subsidiary Reliance Retail already operates India’s largest retail chain with over 18,000 stores. The report suggests that the conglomerate’s expansive physical presence, bolstered by numerous recent acquisitions of retail companies with a focus on e-commerce, and a partnership with Meta (Facebook) to develop a small business communication platform through WhatsApp Business, constitute a formidable “competitive moat” for the Indian powerhouse. E-commerce still accounts for less than 10% of India’s overall retail.

AJIO, a fashion and lifestyle brand, is Reliance Retail's digital commerce initiative and Reliance recently launched AJIO STREET, an e-commerce platform with low-cost products. AJIO STREET guarantees the “lowest price” for its offerings, waives delivery charges, and promises a straightforward returns process.

Whereas, Flipkart, which primarily relies on the wireless and mobile category, accounting for half of e-commerce sales in India, is facing concerns as the country’s smartphone shipments slow. Moreover, the lower-margin nature of the smartphone category necessitates both Flipkart and Amazon to grow their high-margin categories.

Bernstein values Reliance Retail’s e-commerce business at $36.4 billion, surpassing Flipkart’s adjusted $33 billion valuation after the spin-off of PhonePe. The wealth management firm values Reliance Retail at $110.9 billion.

Notably, being foreign entities Amazon and Walmart owned Flipkart has marketplace model and cannot own, sell, and price goods directly. Whereas, Reliance’s inventory-led model allows it to navigate these challenges with inventory control, pricing autonomy, and an enhanced customer experience.

Fake Reviews on E-commerce Platforms Misleading Consumers Under Govt's Radar

To measure the immensity of fake reviews on e-commerce platforms which mislead consumers into buying online services or products and to further prepare a roadmap, the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) in association with the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) announced that they will be holding a virtual meeting today, along with various stakeholders.

DoCA, which comes under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, administers the policies for Consumer Cooperatives, price monitoring, essential commodity availability, consumer movement and control of statutory bodies and also responsible for Consumer Protection Act (2019).

Today's discussions between DoCA, ASCI and other unnamed stakeholders will be broadly based on the impact of fake and misleading reviews on consumers and possible measures to prevent such anomaly. Secretary of DoCA — Shri Rohit Kumar Singh, has written to all stakeholders: E-Commerce entities like Flipkart, Amazon, Tata Sons, Reliance Retail and others besides, Consumer Forums, Law Universities, Lawyers, FICCI, CII, Consumer Rights Activists etc. to participate in the meeting.

Along with the letter, Shri Singh has also shared a Press Release of European Commission dated January 20th, 2022 highlighting results of an EU-wide screening on online consumer reviews across 223 major websites. The screening results underlines that at least 55% of the websites violate the unfair commercial Practices Directive of the E.U. which requires truthful information to be presented to consumers to make an informed choice. 

Further, in 144 out of the 223 websites checked, the authorities could not confirm that traders were doing enough to ensure that reviews were authentic, i.e., if they were posted by consumers who had actually used the product or service that was reviewed.

The letter states — "It is relevant to mention that with growing internet and smartphone use, consumers are increasingly shopping online to purchase goods and services. Given that e-commerce involves a virtual shopping experience without any opportunity to physically view or examine the product, consumers heavily rely on reviews posted on e-commerce platforms to see the opinion and experience of user who have already purchased the goods or service. As a result, due to fake and misleading reviews, the right to be informed, which is a consumer right under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 is violated."

‘Since the issue impacts people shopping online on a daily basis and has a significant impact on their rights as a consumer, it is important that it is examined with greater scrutiny and detail,’ the letter states.

In September 2020, Britain's competition reported that Facebook and eBay removed hundreds of accounts, pages and groups involved in the illicit business of fake reviews.

Beyoung.in Clocking 3 Cr Monthly Revenue in Span of 2.5 Years - Shivam Soni Outlines Growth Plan

From Few Thousands to Crores, the e-com fashion industry has a new BIG BOY in the arena - Beyoung.in which is giving a breakthrough performance since 2018 by making the operations hub in Udaipur, Rajasthan.

Today, Beyoung.in is logging 3 crores per month revenue from an absolutely delightful product range. Beyoung is a home-grown fashion brand initiated with an ideology of catering the latest fashion trend in t-shirts, mobile accessories, and other USPs like couple tees, custom products, and not forgetting the Plus Size apparels which have swept the mass market with an ace at a pocket-friendly price. The company members calling themselves Beyoungsters include 3 passionate entrepreneurs Shivam Soni (CEO), Sakshi Soni (co-founder), and Shivani Soni (co-founder). Within one year, the team strength was noted 35, and further, by Sept 2020, 90+ Beyoungsters are working under the Beyoung’s Base.
 
Beyoung is a self-funded startup launched with a capital investment of Rs.1 lakh. During the initial days, the brand created its unique presence on the social media platform with a massive brand launch. Further, the quirky t-shirt designs like Peeping Panda and Believe were the bestselling along with the plus size tees that grabbed the eyes of all age-groups. This has led to acquiring approximately 10 Million users till date. As Beyoung claimed, they are observing 2X growth in the customers every month.
 
Recently, in 2020 like every other brand Beyoung has also faced delivery issues as the shipping partners were not working at full force that led to slow down Beyoung’s shipments. Simultaneously, they noticed a reduction on the average basket size from Rs 750 to Rs 500 and orders from 40,000 to 20,000. However, amidst lockdown, Beyoung planned to come back with a headstart by launching several campaigns and safety essentials. No layoffs were recorded during and post lockdown. Shivam Soni confirms the exponential growth in the basket size and number of orders. Also, expecting the 3X growth in the consecutive 3 months.
 
“While setting up a brand like Beyoung in Udaipur was a bit challenging because of obvious reasons but I was fortunate to have good team members and co-founders by my side who have a single vision of making Beyoung the best and fastest growing fashion brand.

Our all-time favorite products, like Plain and Graphic T-shirts, Boxers, and Combos, have changed the entire figures in no time. My objective is to make Beyoung a GO-TO brand where every age group and gender takes a happening shopping experience with them. Our customer satisfaction rate has always been around 90-95%. In a nutshell, we have just started and there is a long way to cover the unchartered territories. Our zeal, attitude and trust of shoppers makes Beyoung – Everyone’s Brand, and it will always be intact,” says Shivam Soni.
 
He also added that the company is now heading towards launching the android iOS Application with more additional features that have been kept concealed as of now. With such vibrant online presence Beyoung is in the offline market as well with exclusive fashion outlets which are kept on stand-by because of Covid Pandemic. In the first quarter of 2021, Beyoung is planning to resume the Fashion Outlets with Next-Gen Shopping Experience. Recently, the brand launched Canvas Painting that has received a flawless response. In the line of new-product range, the brand is coming up with 4-5 exclusive Beyoung Originals that confirm to drive 3X sales.
 
Further outlining the growth plan, by the end of FY 2021, Beyoung is targeting to process 60,000 orders per month, also to generate approximate 5 crore sales per month. The objective is crystal clear that is to make Beyoung Everyone’s Loved Indian Fashion Brand. In doing so, the brand is focusing on launching fresh designs in the most popular category like half-sleeve t-shirts, mobile covers and default templates in customization.

Till now, Beyoung has acknowledged a massive growth of 800% in the span of 2.5 years, which sets a hallmark for being a self-funded startup. Now, Beyoung is heading its footprint to another milestone with a wider product range in women’s category and home decor, new features on web-app, Android and iOS Application, Next-Gen shopping experience and order volume. The transparent and honest behavior of Beyoung is giving a free passage to become Everyone’s Brand.

B2B E-Grocer Peel-Works to Raise Rs 225 Crore; To Expand Business in Tier 2 & 3 Cities

The Company has 20% month-on-month growth since lockdown 

 

Peel-works, a B2B grocery e-commerce Company which operates through the app, “Taikee”, plans to raise Rs 225 crore to expand its business in Tier 2 & 3 cities and establish its footprints beyond 10 major cities where it currently operates in.

 

The Mumbai headquartered Company that primarily facilitates FMCG and consumer goods distribution to Corner stores across India has witnessed its turnover increasing by 20 per cent month on month after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. As the heart of traditional FMCG retail lies in the nooks and corners of every Indian cities, the Company is expanding its operations beyond metro cities to tap into a larger retailer network and provide them with a wide assortment at great prices, faster fulfillment and credit at good rates via its App ‘Taikee’.

Founded in 2010, Peel-Works has been analysing and working with the traditional grocery retail industry since its inception and launched their tech enabled B2B platform- Taikee to provide solutions to major market challenges faced by the humble and omnipresent kirana store owners. The platform already has a network of more than 20,000 retailers spread across 10 cities. Since inception the Company has raised more than Rs 100 crore from various investors, including Chiratae, Inventus Capital, HDFC Bank, Unilever Ventures, Indian Angel Network, Equanimity, and a few more.

The demand for Taikee increased exponentially during the ongoing pandemic as CornerStore owners set to find a solution for the supply chain disruptions. The lockdown resulted in overstocking by end consumers putting the pressure of fulfilment on neighbourhood corner stores. With an increased demand for new product categories like sanitizers, masks and other hygiene items that needed frequent replenishment, retailers adopted e-commerce distribution platforms on a massive scale.

"The pandemic has shown the potential of a B2B marketplace attracting multiple new players in the industry. With our years of experience, we aim to scale our operations to 30 cities and onboard one lakh retailers by 2021. We will need both equity and debt funding to expand Taikee. We are looking to raise USD 30 million," Peel-Works founder Sachin Chhabra said.

He said the company would focus on building an extensive assortment of products to drive higher profitability for corner stores.

“Corner Stores have ensured a smooth and uninterrupted supply of goods to its customers during this pandemic. We pride ourselves in having played an important role in making inventory available in time and at great prices to our retail partners," Chhabra said.

Chhabra also highlighted that packaged foods, health and personal care, home cleaning and sanitation products are high in demand. Demand for family pack size SKUs (stock keeping units) has also increased considerably.

During the early days of the lockdown, Taikee, supported corner stores by increasing the number of fulfilment centres, sourcing directly from brands and adding a mix of known and new local labels as its partners like Tjori Hand Sanitizers, Nutramantra Sanitizers, Unibic, Marico, Himalaya, Gold Winner, Mother Dairy and Sundrop among many others. In doing so, Taikee has been able to meet the increasing demands of its consumer’s consumer.

With a deep understanding of the various financial and logistical challenges faced by the Indian grocery retail landscape, Taikee by Peel-Works has dedicated itself to provide better lives to corner stores. Sachin says that Taikee is working relentlessly towards providing a wider assortment across FMCG categories, making credit available to retailers at a fair cost and increasing their profitability. With its expansion plans, Taikee will embark on a journey to multiply its network.

Peel-works Pvt Ltd is a Mumbai headquartered B2B grocery e-commerce company that operates the retail management platform, Taikee.

The Company was founded in 2010 and has raised more than Rs 100 crore from various investors, including Chiratae, Inventus Capital, HDFC Bank, Unilever Ventures, Indian Angel Network, Equanimity, and a few more. About Taikee - 

Taikee is our mission to provide better lives for corner stores. At the backend, it is an e-commerce B2B platform that serves the neighborhood corner store. We attempt to deliver all that it takes for stores to be more productive, profitable, and help serve their customers better, and thereby serve the country in turn. Be it through a broader range of products at better margins, faster replenishment to manage working capital better, credit facilities, customer insights or other value-added services for retailers, Taikee keeps corner stores at the core of its business.

Ecom Express to hire 30000+ Workforce for the Upcoming Festive Season amid E-Commerce Boom

Expects 30 per cent of seasonal hires to get permanent jobs at Ecom Express 

Adds Fulfillment centres, Delivery centres and invests in automation 

Makes foray into Andaman and Nicobar

Ecom Express, a leading technology enabled end-to-end logistics solutions provider to e-commerce industry, today announced that it will be creating 30,000+ seasonal employment through September and October months across its Fulfilment Centres, Hubs, Sortation Centres and Delivery Centres. The Company is gearing up for the surge in online shopping backed by festival sales and increasing preference to doorstep deliveries. The majority of the hires will be delivery personnel, hub and sorting centre associates and workforce for the warehousing activities. 

These seasonal positions have been created across the country with 3/4th of the hiring beyond metros as well as cities including, Ahmedabad, Surat, Vijayawada, Chandigarh, Indore, Patna, Lucknow, Kanpur, Bhopal and Jaipur.

Saurabh Deep Singla, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resource Officer, Ecom Express said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has made our services more relevant than ever. We plan to hire over 30,000 people for seasonal roles and anticipate some of the hires to move into permanent roles after the festive season. At a time when millions of Indians are looking for work, we have made great efforts to contribute towards helping our communities wade through the crisis and provide them with the opportunities to earn livelihood. We have increased our engagement across multiple models to bring seamless hiring and fulfil the required vacancies.’’

Over the last few years, about 30 per cent of people hired by the Company for seasonal jobs were later regularised in permanent positions post the festive seasons. Between June and July, the Company hired over 7000 employees across various business functions to keep the supply chain running for e-commerce industry and in ensuring safe and timely deliveries.

To keep up with the festive demand, the Company has added over a million square feet area across its Hubs, Sortation and Fulfilment Centres in Delhi-NCR, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Vijayawada.

The Company has also added 200 delivery centres across India with newer expansions in Himachal Pradesh and North East besides making foray into Andaman and Nicobar which takes its count of delivery centres to over 3000. With this expansion, the Company’s reach now extends to 27,000+ PIN-codes in the country.

The Company has invested in hi-speed automated sorters at centres, as well, and added capacity to handle surge in volumes.

Siddharth Agarwal, Vice President and Head of Strategy and Planning, Ecom Express said, “As a logistics partner to more than 2000 e-commerce companies in India, all our strategic expansions are directed towards aligning infrastructure ramp up to support better customer experience during this festive season. With the anticipated surge in online shopping, especially witnessed after the pandemic, the added manpower, expansion, and automation will strengthen and power Ecom Express’ network in ensuring seamless service and experience to customers consistently.”

About Ecom Express

Ecom Express Private Limited is a leading end-to-end technology enabled logistics solutions provider to the Indian e-commerce industry. Headquartered in Gurugram, Ecom Express was incorporated in 2012 by T.A. Krishnan, Manju Dhawan, K. Satyanarayana and late. Sanjeev Saxena with their 100+ years of cumulative experience in the Indian logistics and distribution industry. Ecom Express has its presence in all 29 states of the country and operates in over 2650 towns across 27,000+ PIN-codes in India. The company is the first private logistics company in India to envision a full-state coverage strategy, offered in 20 states including Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. Through this deep reach strategy, the company has a capability to deliver to over 1.2 billion people i.e. 92%+ of India’s population.

 

ShopX - Omnipresent get Govt. Approval to Start E-Commmerce Drone Delivery Trials from Sept 1

Soon you might be able to order food from your favourite restaurant 30 km away and get it delivered to your home via a drone in less than 30 minutes. Until now drones were mostly being used for videography and surveillance. But a recent change in Govt. regulations will now allow long range drone based deliveries such as food delivery, online purchase delivery, medicine and blood delivery in cases of emergency on a large scale across India. The ministries of civil aviation and home affairs have moved at a remarkable speed and have given permissions to a select few companies to run beyond visual line of sight operations of drones. Many well know players in the UAV industry could not make it to the list because of tough technology and safety requirements from the Govt.

ShopX has come up with an innovative Drone "AirTrain" concept, for just in time delivery across Indian B2B value chains. This allows small retailers to pick "Drone Delivery" as a delivery option and get a wide range of products delivered to them within 30-60 minutes. Currently, these stores are limited by what they can carry in their limited shelf space, and conventional supply chains typically fulfil their needs once a week. With AirTrain, they can get real time fulfilment of products, thereby increasing their merchandizing ability and sales. ShopX is already running one of the largest eB2B retail networks in the country, with over 2 Lakh retailers on its technology platform.

Omnipresent comes with some solid background in this area. They had earlier done trial drone deliveries for medicine for AIIMS hospital in Delhi. ShopX and Omnipresent had jointly done trial deliveries in ShopX warehouses. Omnipresent has also developed inhouse AI Engine called the Nerve Center which allows smart scheduling planning detection and classification on board the drone. They are already empanelled by over 7 state Govt. agencies for drone based services Agriculture, Telecom, Oil refineries, Factories and Survey applications. They have done over 1 lac acres of agriculture and city mapping. "Our drones have been deployed in almost all states in India now, they have been especially useful in significantly improving output of industrial factories by giving them actionable insights on structural damage, catching theft, accurate stock calculation, virtual 3d tours and accurate mapping. Recently, we also got recognised as one of the top 5 UAV companies selected by Union Ministry of Agriculture to be given permission do precision spraying to fight recent locust attack via drones," said Aakash Sinha, Founder Omnipresent Tech. Aakash is a MS Robotics graduate from Carnegie Mellon, under guidance of Dr. Raj Reddy who was earlier president of American Society of AI, he was also Ex IT/AI advisor to US President. Aakash was also awarded TR35 (35 under 35) by MIT. Recipient of this illustrious award include top innovators like Zuckerberg and Gates. Omnipresent had also developed AI software for navigation of Prgyaan Rover on Chandrayaan mission. They have also been doing their bit for environment with their Drone Boat (Ro-boat) for the Clean Ganga Mission.

"With our partnership with Omnipresent, we want to put India at the forefront of utilizing drone tech for real applications today and intend to create a major disruption in supply chain especially for retail segment," said Amit Sharma, CEO and Co-founder of ShopX.

The Govt moving at record speed and has eased out most of the drone regulations for commercial operations by trusted service providers. It is backing BVLOS operations and creating automated Digital Sky platform which will allow authorized drone operators to fly in nearly 80% of India (Green and Yellow Zones) with automated real time online permissions process. This would result in exponential growth in the drone market as host of applications related to Ecom, food delivery and cross country mapping of highways, powerlines, railroad etc. It is expected that the drone services market with grow to about $2 billion in next 3-4 years in India.

Sharing an instance from 7 years ago, Aakash recalls how they had tested the feasibility of drone deliveries for Jabong at the behest of then MD and Co-founder, Praveen Sinha. "He told us that once we could break through the technological and regulatory bottlenecks of the time, drone deliveries would disrupt the retail logistics space in the country. 7 years later, his prediction stands true."

On being asked on the potential of drone deliveries, Praveen Sinha said that technology always holds the key in accelerating any sector and it is the same for retail. "A decade ago E-commerce was at its nascent stages in India and here we are at a stage where drone deliveries are going to be a reality. Once drone deliveries and 3D Printing become economically viable, we will see a disruption in the supply chain that no one envisioned," he concluded.

Paytm Mall announces its weeklong Freedom Sale, focus on SMEs and Make In India brands

The sale happening between August 11 to August 17, discounts ranging from 10 percent to 80 percent on 200 plus brands

- SMEs, Make in India brands, local artisans to be promoted during the event- Deals on electronics, storage devices, fashion brands Van Heusen, Allen Solly, RedTape, Puma, ethnic wear from BIBA, W 

New Delhi, 12th August 2020: Paytm Mall (owned by Paytm Ecommerce Private Limited), which is redefining the e-commerce space in India with its unique O2O (Offline to Online) model, announced the successful launch of its Freedom Sale between August 11 to August 17. Special focus this Independence Day sale would be on SMEs and Make in India brands that would be extensively promoted during the weeklong event.

The company said that over 200 SMEs and start-ups are launching more than 500 new products across 20 different categories. More than 10,000 offline shop owners, including Kirana stores, have taken part in the sale and are fulfilling customer orders. 

Paytm Mall said that sellers and brands on the platform are offering discounts between 10% & 80% on various products in different categories including mobile phones, assorted accessories, electronics, home, and kitchen, work from home items, fashion, & electronics. Also, customers will be eligible for 10% additional cashback if the product is purchased using ICICI Bank Credit Card, ICICI Credit Card EMI Transactions & Net Banking on minimum order of Rs 3000. 

According to the company, several cottage emporiums, artisans, and women entrepreneurs would be showcasing unique products such as handmade jewellery, including Benarasi and Kanjivaram sarees, hand-stitched Kurtas, ethnic wear from different states, home & kitchen decor would all be sold on the platform. 

Abhishek Rajan, COO, Paytm Mall said, "This Independence Day we want to reach out to a large number of SMEs, artisans, Indian brands and empower them to leverage digital commerce as a potent distribution channel. In the post COVID world having the ability to sell products online will help these sellers and manufacturers grow and expand their business. Our Freedom Sale also hopes to reignite consumer buying sentiment with the best in category deals and seamless e-commerce experience. During the last few months, we have seen a 2X increase in sales on our platform, we hope that this event would push it further."

The company has seen over 2X growth in sales in categories including groceries, consumer durables, work from home essentials, grooming electronics, toys, and kidswear among others. 

Creaticity Launches First-of-its-kind Phygital Furniture and Decor Mall

Everyone is getting used to the new normal. This means work cannot stop, shopping cannot stop and making homes more aesthetic and functional can also not stop. To make life easier, to make shopping as "near zero contact'' as possible and to make shopping for home furnishing and decoration such as furniture and furnishings even more exciting, Creaticity, Pune launches a First-of-its-kind online platform www.creaticityonline.com arguably the first organized furniture mall to go completely online. In other words, a physical mall that is also a digital mall, exclusively for furniture, furnishings, home dcor and home styling is now available to the people of Pune to begin with.

The Digital Launch of India's 1st phygital eCommerce marketplace mall specifically in the Home & Dcor category took place recently. In the backdrop of the launch, an insightful webinar on HOMEBOUND, a new normal of living had four thought leaders and industry captains share their rich insights around adaptability and innovation in the present context. The Guests of honour and dignitaries for the evening were Aparna Piramal Raje - Columnist & Author, Dr. Ganesh Natarajan, Chairman - 5F World & Pune City Connect, Govind Shrikhande - Mentor & Ex-MD Shoppers Stop and Pratap Jadhav, Immediate Past President - Institute of Indian Interior Designers. In addition, several brand partners of Creaticity, designers and stakeholders of the industry also graced the occasion.

Creaticity which has been dedicated to all things HOME at their uniquely designed Pune mall for over a decade now is making its digital commerce foray. The eCommerce Launch was convened by Mr. Mahesh M. CEO-Creaticity. Speaking during the Launch, Mr. Mahesh. M said, "There had been a conscious effort to adopt technology and move towards omnichannel retailing since the last two years. Already, two phases of this journey were activated a couple of years back including techno-malling initiatives such as interactive touch kiosks, beacon-based solutions and a knowledge-based mobile app for engaging better with customers. The e-com initiative takes us one more step closer to our customers in offering them a seamless shopping experience, which is the fruit of integrating technology with the physical mall." He added that "Customers can now combine the best of physical benefits such as the touch/feel experience of products and seeking expert advice from the salespeople along with digital benefits of comfort, convenience, ease of buying and payments to name a few."

While we are all coming to terms with living life in the new normal, we are strongly realising that home is where our heart is and work/eat/play/live happens much more than earlier, Creaticity is leveraging the largeness of physical touch and feel with the introduction of the eCommerce facility and taking the first mover's advantage by launching this eCommerce platform which will host 4000 products, 20 product categories and 40 brands to begin with, The brands/sellers on this portal are a combination of many brands housed inside Creaticity and several reputed national and regional brands in the furniture and home dcor space.

"This eCommerce portal which is the 1st of its kind in India by a physical mall in the Home & Dcor category is the need of the hour and there are several distinctive features namely (1) customers can visually have a physical walk through in our Mall and individual stores, (2) They will have options of zooming into a particular product for checking out the finer details for visualization purposes. (3) live chat and video calls by appointment add depth to knowledge sharing and personal touch. The entire process of visiting the stores virtually, to evaluating products, finalizing the order and safe packaged delivery of the products will be taken care of in alliance with the sellers. In other words, it would be a start to end solution from easy browsing to virtually visiting physical stores, to video consultation with sales teams for advice on products to placing orders. Simultaneously, customers also have the choice of visiting Creaticity ,arguably India's first and finest home destination in a completely sanitized environment, to touch and feel products and interact personally with the retailers and make an informed choice to make their homes an abode of comfort, aesthetics and functionality," said Mr. Mahesh. M, CEO Creaticity.

Festivities and special occasions are around the corner, people will want to shop to furnish, decorate their homes and buy gifts for their loved ones. What better way than to be safe and sit in the comfort of your house with your entire family and visit our eCommerce portal and purchase everything you want right from a small table lamp, to a sofa set, or a dining set or a wardrobe. Our online experts will be there to help you through your selection and hand-hold you through the entire process. so, combine the heart of physical and the head of digital to get a complete personalised experience with Creaticity, Pune

The vowels of the new voyage for Creaticity are #adapt #empathise #innovate #own #understand and deliver a superior customer experience to truly be a first among equals.

Draft E-Commerce SOP - COO of Firms Responsible for Social Distancing Implementation, Sanitisation; Staff Compulsorily Download 'Aarogya Setu' App

Making the chief operating officer (COO) of firms such as Amazon and Flipkart responsible for strict implementation of social distancing and sanitisation norms and staff compulsorily downloading the 'Aarogya Setu' app are among the measures proposed in the draft Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for e-commerce operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the government allowing e-commerce companies to operate during the nationwide lockdown, a draft SOP has been formulated and circulated to stakeholders.

"The purpose of this SOP is to provide health and safety guidance for cleaning, maintaining hygiene and safety at workplace during a pandemic outbreak across the supply chain, including First Mile Sellers," according to the draft norms, accessed by PTI.

The COO, it said, will have the overall accountability for ensuring the compliance requirements of the SOPs.

Also, regional facility and infrastructure manager or similar shall be responsible for carrying out specific tasks while the management shall be responsible for educating and communicating the requirements of the SOP guidelines to all stakeholders.

The draft SOP provides for screening of staffers at seller, warehousing and sale operations for COVID-19 symptoms (cough, sneezing, fever, breathing difficulty) at entry and immediate reporting to nearby hospital in case of any symptoms.

In the event of any staff turning out to be positive for COVID-19, the entire facility shall be immediately evacuated and all assets shall be covered and isolated.

"It is mandatory of all staff and business owners to download and register on 'Aarogya Setu' application and if applicable on the 'Suraksha Store' app also," it said.

Logbook must be maintained for every employee and visitor accessing the premises.

"Management is responsible for safekeeping of such logbook and forms with detailed information of such visitors, such as name, age, address (current and permanent), proof of residence, mobile number, among others)," the draft SOP stated.

It provides for all staff using handwash / sanitizer at entry, at periodic intervals, and before exit from a facility.

Warehouses and hubs have to run on staggered shifts basis manpower availability to limit crowding. All staff must be provided with masks at the entrance by the MSME/ first mile seller.

They are also supposed to maintain social distancing, particularly at places most prone to gathering, such as loading bays.

"Seller staff to maintain minimum distance of 3 feet from e-commerce 1st mile executive," it said.

The draft SOP also provides for detailed guidelines for cleaning of the premises of sellers, including wet mopping with disinfectant once a day, wiping of all trolleys and other industrial machines every four hours with disinfectant and cleaning of doorknobs every two hours.

All first mile sellers/ MSMEs must follow FSSAI's food hygiene and safety guidelines for food business during COVID-19 pandemic.

"E-commerce company shall determine high risk areas/impacted pandemic zones and carry out fumigation of warehouse sites by external vendors at least once every 15 days or if any risk is identified (for example any person visiting the warehouse has been in contact with a COVID-19 positive person), whichever is earlier," it said.

Also, vehicles used for delivery need to be cleaned and norms similar to staff for drivers followed.

During last mile customer delivery, each delivery staffer/driver must carry company ID card and vehicles used must be cleaned/ sanitized / disinfected.

"Bags used by delivery person for carrying shipments shall be cleaned before they leave for delivery," the draft SOP said, adding all delivery staff shall strictly wear masks at all times during delivery and maintain minimum 3-feet distance with customers.

"Cash on Delivery options should be discouraged as far as possible for all order irrespective of the item or value of the order," it added. PTI ANZ

Centre Asks States to Resolve Immediately E-Tailers' Problems in Delivering Essential Items

The Centre on Wednesday asked state governments to resolve immediately the problems being faced by the e-commerce sector in delivering essential goods amid lockdown across the country to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

E-commerce and home delivery come under essential services and are exempt from the lockdown rules.

"However, there are reports of disruptions faced by e-commerce players. We have taken up with the state governments and local administration. Things will fall in place," Consumer Affairs Secretary Pawan Agarwal told PTI.

The e-commerce players like Big Basket have shared specific problems that the state governments have been asked to address immediately, he said and emphasised that the government's focus is on home delivery in the current situation.

The secretary also mentioned that the government is closely monitoring any disruption faced in the movement of essential supplies during the period of lockdown.

The home ministry has set up a control room for monitoring in which officials from the consumer affairs ministry are also present, he added.

The delivery of essential goods via platforms such as Flipkart, Amazon, Grofers and Big Basket have been affected as the police is enforcing the lockdown rules in many parts of the country. Even food delivery firms are facing similar challenges.

The Centre has imposed nationwide lockdown till April 14 in order to prevent spread of coronavirus. PTI LUX

E-commerce has been Lifeblood for Cities under Shutdown to Fight Covid-19: Flipkart

Flipkart on Saturday said that e-commerce worldover has been the lifeblood for cities under shutdown to fight against coronavirus while lauding the government move to exempt e-tailers from any order that restrict supply through them.

"We see that world over, e-commerce, powered by technology, has played a key role as a partner with the public authorities and has been the lifeblood for cities under shutdown to fight Covid-19," Flipkart spokesperson said in a statement.

To ensure there is no disruption of supply of essential commodities, the ministry of consumer affairs has advised state governments and local administration to exempt e-commerce operations (warehouse and logistics facilities and services), wholesalers, their vendors and third party delivery partners who are part of the supply and logistic chain eco-system, from any type of prohibitory orders.

"The government's decision gives e-commerce industry confidence in our ability to support and collaborate with Governments (both Center and States) and other stakeholders as we fight this crisis as a country," the spokesperson said.

Several state governments have imposed prohibitory orders like Section 144 and mandated closure of malls and shopping places in order to ensure social distancing in the wake of rising Covid-19 cases.

E-commerce companies have seen jump in order across several categories in last several days and have run out of stock in some categories specially masks and hand sanitizers.

Amazon said that the ongoing coronavirus crisis has impacted its operation in the short term and it is working to resolve it.

"In particular, you will notice that we are currently out of stock on some popular brands and items, especially in household staples categories. You will also notice that some of our delivery promises are longer than usual. We are working around the clock with our selling partners to ensure availability on all of our products, and bring on additional capacity to deliver all of your orders," Amazon said in a blog post.

The company did not share any comment on government move to exempt e-commerce for supply of essential items. PTI PRS SR

Coronavirus: Centre Asks States to Exempt E-Tailers, Wholesalers from Prohibitory orders

The Centre on Friday asked states to allow e-tailers, wholesalers and delivery partners to operate even where Section 144 been imposed amid the coronavirus outbreak.

An order in this regard was issued by the union consumer affairs ministry after discussing the matter in detail in an inter-ministerial meeting held here.

Several state governments have imposed prohibitory orders like Section 144 and mandated closure of malls and shopping places in order to ensure social distancing in the wake of rising Covid-19 cases.

To ensure there is no disruption of supply of essential commodities, the ministry has advised state governments and local administration to "exempt e-commerce operations (warehouse and logistics facilities and services), wholesalers, their vendors and third party delivery partners who are part of the supply and logistic chain eco-system, from any type of prohibitory orders."

These business players are requested to maintain proper hygiene and sanitisation in their facility and vehicles. They should also inspect regularly and disinfect their facilities and vehicles, it added. PTI LUX/MJH

Counterfeit, Pirated Goods on E-Commerce - CAIT wants India to Follow New Steps by US

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Sunday welcomed the steps taken by the US to stop supply of counterfeit and pirated goods on e-commerce platforms and wants similar measures by the Indian government also.

Under the new policy, published by the Department of Homeland Security of the US Government, the liability for counterfeits has been shifted from third parties to e-commerce platforms.

Notably, the new policy framework will put Amazon and other e-commerce companies in the US for policing the counterfeit goods, said the CAIT in a statement.

Commenting on the development, CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said that it evidently shows that e-commerce platforms are not only engaged in malpractices but also promote counterfeit and pirated goods and even in their home country US.

CAIT will also ask the Government of India to bring such policies for Indian e-commerce market.

"Taking this issue, a delegation of the CAIT will soon meet Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal...," he said.

According to Global Brand Counterfeiting Report, global sales of counterfeits are growing at 15 per cent per year and is estimate to touch USD 1.82 trillion in 2020 and the share of e-commerce is stated to be 25 per cent share of this figure. PTI KRH