Flipkart's plan for next 100M users
What's the news?
Flipkart is revamping its app to get the next 100-200 million Indians to transact on its platform. Among the new changes include a regional language interface, video streaming, and feeds to make itself more social.
Why does this matter?
Flipkart's rejig indicates a strategy shift to expand to a larger local and social engagement-led platform from a pure e-commerce destination. It also comes at a time when consumer social commerce startups like Trell, WMall, SimSim, DealShare, and BulBul.tv among others, have attracted investor interest and are experimenting with different business models as they target consumers beyond the bigger cities.
Targeting the next 100 million users is largely pegged as the next phase of growth for e-commerce companies, given that only 50 million of the Indian Internet economy’s half a billion users have ever transacted online. Read more
BlackRock's co-working betWhat's the news?
BlackRock has led a $53 million debt financing round in Gurugram-based co-working startup GoWork, marking its return to the Indian startup ecosystem after more than five years.
Why is this significant?
This is a rare investment from BlackRock in the country’s startup ecosystem. Till date, it is known to have backed only one venture, having led a $100 million equity financing round in online marketplace Snapdeal in 2014.
This was also the first external capital raised by GoWork which competes with WeWork, Oyo-backed Innov8 and Sequoia-backed Awfis Space Solutions. CEO Sudeep Singh said they will use the proceeds towards expansion, marketing and scouting for potential acquisitions. Read more
E-comm consumer protection rulesWhat's the news?
The government is seeking feedback on draft guidelines that seek to protect consumers who shop online. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs introduced the draft e-commerce guidelines for consumer protection in a notification on Friday, aimed at curbing the sale of counterfeit goods, streamlining returns and refunds, and delineating the liabilities of sellers and online marketplaces.
Why does this matter?
The key takeaway in the draft guidelines is the distinction between sellers and marketplace entities in terms of their liabilities, according to industry experts.
This is expected to bring in clarity in cases where consumers and brands have taken marketplaces to court over discrepancies, instead of targeting sellers. The guidelines also put the onus on marketplaces to do their own due diligence when customers complain about receiving counterfeit products. In case the products they certify as authentic turn out to be counterfeit, they could be held guilty for contributory or secondary liability. Read more
Mobile wallets & eKYCWhat's the news?
The mobile wallets industry is looking to the Reserve Bank of India for some digital Know Your Customer processes to enable them to capture the full details of their customers, even as the August 31 deadline for full KYC looms.
Nasscom has also written to the central bank, government, and UIDAI seeking a relook into the mandatory full KYC guidelines.
What is the key issue?
RBI mandated full KYC for mobile wallets back in 2017, after giving two extensions, however, ET understands that the share of full KYC wallets is still less than 15%. While a Supreme Court judgment has prohibited access to Aadhaar for private companies, even consumers have not submitted paper documents to these companies.
Nasscom urged the RBI to allow video KYC as an alternative to biometric-based authentication since the failure rates of XML-based KYC are as high as 57%.
Further, the three-tier process suggested by the finance ministry has created bottlenecks where the regulators are not keen on giving separate clearances, said a top executive at a mobile wallet company. Read more
Cognizant's new variable pay planWhat's the news?
Cognizant may increase the variable pay component in the compensation structure of its employees, sources with knowledge of the matter told ET, as the IT services company moves to lower costs and possibly shore up margins.
Why is this happening?
Cognizant is restructuring itself under new CEO Brian Humphries, which includes reducing management layers and rethinking its sales and business strategy. Reworking compensation structure is another measure in a roadmap that is aimed at making it 'fit-for-growth'.
Variable pay is increasingly becoming part of margin management at IT services companies and the move to hike variable pay percentage will help Cognizant calibrate expenditure when growth slows down, currently a key focus area for the IT firm. Read more