With more than 680 million internet users, more than 500 million smartphone users, cheap data and a young aspiring population, India is providing a very healthy environment for the E-commerce market to grow.
Although, future growth of E-commerce in India shall be truly Indian as growth will depend on tapping the tier 2 and 3 cities. Consumers in these tier 2 and 3 cities are very different from English speaking metro-dwellers - they prefer vernacular languages, access the internet using smartphones and have very local preferences. Let us talk about this industry.
Indian payment company Paytm, backed by Softbank, launched barcode-based smartphone payment service PayPay in Japan back in 2018. In early March 2021, Softbank and LINE Corporation (Part of South Korean NAVER Corporation) agreed to merge PayPay and LINE Pay, the payment art of LINE Corp.
LINE is primarily a messaging service along with various other offerings such as Games, News, and Healthcare, etc. LINE has around 167 million monthly active users across Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia.
LINE Pay is an eWallet service with around 39 million registered users as of February 2021. Apart from eWallet, LINE Pay offers prepaid cards and credit cards.
e-commerce industry in India is going through an aggressive transformation and while it can be the sunshine sector for growth, it is imperative to understand the limitations and risks in the sector, and handle these risks effectively. Addressing these risks should be our top most priority to avoid this boom turn into a bubble. It is possible only when euphoria over virtual cash flows, imaginary cash rich P&L statements and outrageous valuations makes way for a structured growth plan across the business parks and government corridors, backed by more realistic aspirations, but of course, with the same enthusiasm
With 20% of the Indians connected over internet and Smartphones, there has not been a more exciting and challenging time in the history of Indian retail.
Consumer is moving ahead of time and with multiple avenues of shopping - be it online, social or mobile - customers have been spoilt for choice.
With millions of Indian buying online and billions of $ of investment pumped in, pure play online retail companies are changing the retail game! An industry which was not even existing 5 years back will clock $4 Billion revenues by end of 2014!
Indian payment company Paytm, backed by Softbank, launched barcode-based smartphone payment service PayPay in Japan back in 2018. In early March 2021, Softbank and LINE Corporation (Part of South Korean NAVER Corporation) agreed to merge PayPay and LINE Pay, the payment art of LINE Corp.
LINE is primarily a messaging service along with various other offerings such as Games, News, and Healthcare, etc. LINE has around 167 million monthly active users across Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia.
LINE Pay is an eWallet service with around 39 million registered users as of February 2021. Apart from eWallet, LINE Pay offers prepaid cards and credit cards.
e-commerce industry in India is going through an aggressive transformation and while it can be the sunshine sector for growth, it is imperative to understand the limitations and risks in the sector, and handle these risks effectively. Addressing these risks should be our top most priority to avoid this boom turn into a bubble. It is possible only when euphoria over virtual cash flows, imaginary cash rich P&L statements and outrageous valuations makes way for a structured growth plan across the business parks and government corridors, backed by more realistic aspirations, but of course, with the same enthusiasm
With 20% of the Indians connected over internet and Smartphones, there has not been a more exciting and challenging time in the history of Indian retail.
Consumer is moving ahead of time and with multiple avenues of shopping - be it online, social or mobile - customers have been spoilt for choice.
With millions of Indian buying online and billions of $ of investment pumped in, pure play online retail companies are changing the retail game! An industry which was not even existing 5 years back will clock $4 Billion revenues by end of 2014!
There has been a sudden switch in the buying and selling pattern of the customers in all over India, which created the growth of e-commerce industry. This switch can also be noticed in the automobile industry. The online penetration of auto sector in the world market is approx. 0.7% in 2019. It was challenging for automobile ecommerce industry to make it successful in India, but eminent players of India have made it possible. To learn the possibilities and success of auto ecommerce industry go through this document.
Ground Zero 4.0 | Scaling Up - Event ReportRedSeer
Executive Summary
The report is compiled of all the topics that were discussed at Ground Zero 4.0 and has been
segregated based on RedSeer’s research and panel inputs.
Key Findings:
1. Digital India
2. Retail
3. D2C
4. Education
5. Healthcare
6. Grocery
7. Etailing
Broadly, e-commerce means doing business over the internet. This implies that either goods can be delivered offline or products can be “digitalized” and delivered online. E-commerce however is marred by serious drawbacks. India only has 100 million active internet users. This implies that the internet usage in India is pretty poor. The problem is further aggravated by the fact that there is low credit card penetration coupled with slow internet speeds and fulfillment issues. As of today e-commerce is merely a 10 billion dollar market in India which is 1/6th of the US market. Despite this gloomy scenario, there are some important trends in e-commerce to look out for. This includes the fact that offline retailers are trying to go online, media biggies are getting into e-commerce, e-commerce platforms are gaining traction and mobile commerce is just beginning to take off, examples being banks and Indian Railways.
Indian grocery traditionally has been a primarily unorganized market, wherein more than 90% of the market is driven by traditional ‘kirana stores. However, in the past decade or so, organized brick & mortar and online channels have gained prominence. Online grocery has been boosted by covid-19 related tailwinds, with the GMV run-rates of major players growing by 70%+ during the period. This has led to an increased focus on the sector by large conglomerates as well as mature online players.
During Covid, while there were some challenges in the initial days of the lockdown, the segment has grown significantly. Most notably, fresh vegetables and fruits have seen 144% growth, while FMCG products grew 150%. While a lot of this growth will normalize to some extent as the COVID situation subsides, a significant portion of new users will persist and drive growth.
With the increasing demand and competition, it becomes imperative for brands to stay ahead by making data-driven decisions. In order to equip the brands to win in the online space, BigBasket Brand Intelligence and RedSeer have partnered to author this report. The idea here is to combine high-quality RedSeer IP on broader trends in the sector and BigBasket’s grocery expertise to create a ready-reckoner for brands, as they make strategic, product or channel-related decisions.
This report is an abridged version of the larger report which can be subscribed as per need. Besides the key trends of the sector, customer insights etc., this report deep dives on key categories such as Snacks & Packaged Foods, Beverages, Personal Care and Home Utilities, we present the quarterly growth in sales in the past 5 quarters with various sub-category splits.
eCommerce platforms shipped ~2.5 billion shipments in
FY2020 growing at ~50%+ CAGR in the last 3 years. However,
we expect shipment volume to grow at ~30-35% CAGR for next
5 years.
Some of the key drivers of growth for eCommerce are the
latent demand in Tier-2+ cities, enablement of logistics
networks, infrastructure built by eCommerce platforms (large
horizontals), and new age third-party logistics players in
the last 3-4 years. The investment in logistics networks and
infrastructure has enabled eCommerce platforms to reach
online shoppers beyond metro and tier-1 cities to hinterland in
the country
Are still not aware of growing number of internet users in India? Check this infogarphic for facts about mobile eCommerce & key drivers of India eCommerce. #IndiaeCommerce #eZdiaContentCreationPlatform #ContentCreation
There has been a sudden switch in the buying and selling pattern of the customers in all over India, which created the growth of e-commerce industry. This switch can also be noticed in the automobile industry. The online penetration of auto sector in the world market is approx. 0.7% in 2019. It was challenging for automobile ecommerce industry to make it successful in India, but eminent players of India have made it possible. To learn the possibilities and success of auto ecommerce industry go through this document.
Ground Zero 4.0 | Scaling Up - Event ReportRedSeer
Executive Summary
The report is compiled of all the topics that were discussed at Ground Zero 4.0 and has been
segregated based on RedSeer’s research and panel inputs.
Key Findings:
1. Digital India
2. Retail
3. D2C
4. Education
5. Healthcare
6. Grocery
7. Etailing
Broadly, e-commerce means doing business over the internet. This implies that either goods can be delivered offline or products can be “digitalized” and delivered online. E-commerce however is marred by serious drawbacks. India only has 100 million active internet users. This implies that the internet usage in India is pretty poor. The problem is further aggravated by the fact that there is low credit card penetration coupled with slow internet speeds and fulfillment issues. As of today e-commerce is merely a 10 billion dollar market in India which is 1/6th of the US market. Despite this gloomy scenario, there are some important trends in e-commerce to look out for. This includes the fact that offline retailers are trying to go online, media biggies are getting into e-commerce, e-commerce platforms are gaining traction and mobile commerce is just beginning to take off, examples being banks and Indian Railways.
Indian grocery traditionally has been a primarily unorganized market, wherein more than 90% of the market is driven by traditional ‘kirana stores. However, in the past decade or so, organized brick & mortar and online channels have gained prominence. Online grocery has been boosted by covid-19 related tailwinds, with the GMV run-rates of major players growing by 70%+ during the period. This has led to an increased focus on the sector by large conglomerates as well as mature online players.
During Covid, while there were some challenges in the initial days of the lockdown, the segment has grown significantly. Most notably, fresh vegetables and fruits have seen 144% growth, while FMCG products grew 150%. While a lot of this growth will normalize to some extent as the COVID situation subsides, a significant portion of new users will persist and drive growth.
With the increasing demand and competition, it becomes imperative for brands to stay ahead by making data-driven decisions. In order to equip the brands to win in the online space, BigBasket Brand Intelligence and RedSeer have partnered to author this report. The idea here is to combine high-quality RedSeer IP on broader trends in the sector and BigBasket’s grocery expertise to create a ready-reckoner for brands, as they make strategic, product or channel-related decisions.
This report is an abridged version of the larger report which can be subscribed as per need. Besides the key trends of the sector, customer insights etc., this report deep dives on key categories such as Snacks & Packaged Foods, Beverages, Personal Care and Home Utilities, we present the quarterly growth in sales in the past 5 quarters with various sub-category splits.
eCommerce platforms shipped ~2.5 billion shipments in
FY2020 growing at ~50%+ CAGR in the last 3 years. However,
we expect shipment volume to grow at ~30-35% CAGR for next
5 years.
Some of the key drivers of growth for eCommerce are the
latent demand in Tier-2+ cities, enablement of logistics
networks, infrastructure built by eCommerce platforms (large
horizontals), and new age third-party logistics players in
the last 3-4 years. The investment in logistics networks and
infrastructure has enabled eCommerce platforms to reach
online shoppers beyond metro and tier-1 cities to hinterland in
the country
Are still not aware of growing number of internet users in India? Check this infogarphic for facts about mobile eCommerce & key drivers of India eCommerce. #IndiaeCommerce #eZdiaContentCreationPlatform #ContentCreation
The global e-commerce business generated revenue worth USD 1,042.98 in 2012 and is anticipated to clock a turnover of USD 2,148 billion by 2017, with year-on-year growth rate of 17 percent.
E commerce is the word ruling the business since the last few decades. Thousands of businesses have moved online to utilize the potential of the Internet for reaching a wider audience. Further, this translates into an additional revenue stream that gets you an increased ROI Return On Investment with less investment cost and time. Today, e commerce has enveloped our lives in such a way that it has become a necessity rather than a passion. From the business perspective, it comes ahead as a massive opportunity and even established brick and mortar brands are exploring this territory today. The rural e commerce market in India has the potential to be at $10 billion to $12 billion in the next four years on the back of increasing internet penetration, rising household income and the government's push on digital in rural areas, said a report from market research firm EY India. "Effective use of vernacular languages and assisted commerce will help drive the large rural online opportunity for e commerce firms looking to accelerate growth beyond the favorable industry metrics Dr. Vijayant Kumar "Revolution of E-Commerce in Rural Market" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-3 | Issue-5 , August 2019, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd26782.pdfPaper URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/management/marketing/26782/revolution-of-e-commerce-in-rural-market/dr-vijayant-kumar
Research on Ecommerce opportunities in India. A report on,
1. Ecommerce market in India.
2. Organises and unorganised businesses
3. Existing players and their market share
4. Opportunities in India to start the Ecommerce business
5. Key parameters
6. Suggestions - Action plan
Narendra modi’s independence day speech with viewpoint on e commerceeTailing India
On the occasion of our 70th Independence Day, honorable Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi gave us a speech with a focus on ‘good governance’. Let’s see the highlight of the speech with respect to its implications on e-commerce industry.
Business of Decentralized Finance: Economics, Finance, and Business aspects o...Sam Ghosh
Decentralized Finance or DeFi is a prominent use case of blockchain and crypto technologies. It is a rapidly growing sector and new business models are coming up every day. The dynamism of the sector makes understanding and tracking the sector challenging. Apart from that, most discussion around the sector is very technical in nature and can be hard to decipher. There is a need for learning materials that cover the fundamentals of DeFi in simple language without becoming esoteric.
This book is trying to create a general framework for DeFi platforms by presenting complex concepts around DeFi in simple language with case-studies from various DeFi Platforms - How does the Instadapp platform work? How does the Maker platform work? How does Uniswap mine liquidity? How does the Matic token create value for Polygon? How does governance work in Curve Finance? Tokenomics of Shushiswap? Cash-flows in Convex Finance? …..Apart from giving a taste of real DeFi platforms, these case studies will help you compare different technologies and business models.
This book is for techies who want to get into DeFi but are struggling to understand the business models and for business folks who want to understand DeFi but are struggling with the technical vocabulary.
This book does not assume any prior knowledge of blockchain and crypto technologies and contains a primer on these topics.
Get the book on Amazon Kindle
USA : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09T2ND42B
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09T2ND42B
Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B09T2ND42B
France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B09T2ND42B
Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B09T2ND42B
Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B09T2ND42B
Netherlands: https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B09T2ND42B
Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B09T2ND42B
Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B09T2ND42B
Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B09T2ND42B
Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B09T2ND42B
Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B09T2ND42B
India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B09T2ND42B
This book is a derivation of the popular Udemy course with the same name.
https://www.udemy.com/course/business-of-decentralized-finance-defi/?referralCode=A642642AEFE52E7BAB6E
Current was founded in 2015 by Stuart Sopp. Stuart Sopp was a Wall Steet trader and worked many major banks including Morgan Stanley, Citi, and Deutsche.
Currently Current offers three types of accounts - A free account, a premium account, and a teen account. The premium account costs US$4.99 a month and the teen account costs US$36 per year per teen.
No minimum balance and no-fee model is targeted at Millenials and Gen Z customers who face liquidity issues in managing their finances. Current primarily uses influencers to reach potential customers.
Current currently has more than 3 million customers and is valued at US$2.2 billion.
Monobank - First Mobile Only Bank in UkraineSam Ghosh
When Ukrainian Bank PrivatBank was nationalized in 2016, three senior executives of the bank Olekxandr Dubilet, Dmytro Dubilet, Mykhailo Rogalskyi, and Oleg Gorokhovskyi formed the Fintech Band. The goal of the Band was to develop fintech solutions. The Band took up a mobile bank project as their first project which eventually with the partnership of Universal Bank became the Monobank.
Currently, Monobank has more than 3.5 million customers in a country with a population of around 44 million. Monobank has processed more than 1.4 billion transactions worth around US$24 billion.
After their success in their home country, the Fintech Band team is expanding to the UK market with Koto Card which is a fixed fee credit service.
Kakao Bank - Trailblazing Neobank from South KoreaSam Ghosh
Kakao Bank was launched in the year 2017 as part of the Kakao Corp. Within 24 hours, Kakao Bank enrolled 300K subscribers, 2 million in 15 days. As of the end of 2020, this South Korean Bank had more than 13 million users, around a quarter of the South Korean population. The bank has reached a loan book size of 20.3 trillion KRW (US$17.94 billion). The operating income for the bank stood at 804 billion KRW (~US$708 million) with 113.6 billion KRW (~US$100 million) net profit in FY2020.
Just after 3 years of its launched Kakao Bank is already planning IPO and is valued at around 10 trillion won (US$9.15 billion).
Let us learn about Kakao Bank.
With more than 12 million customers and more than US$2 billion annual revenue, Russian Tinkoff Neobank is a force to reckon with. Tinkoff products range from banking, wealth management, insurance, SAS based products to telecom for retail customers, SMEs, and large businesses.
Tinkoff products are highly adapted to the Russian lifestyle and socio-economic conditions proven by the rapid adoption of their products. The company was listed on the London stock exchange in 2013 and currently has a market cap of around ~US$10 billion.
Nubank: Neobank from Brazil to the whole Latin AmericaSam Ghosh
Brazil is the largest economy in Latin America with the largest population. Banking in Brazil seems well developed on paper - banking penetration little higher than the global average and extensive branch network.
But, Brazillian (and other Latin American countries) banks charge considerably higher interest margin when compared with the USA and China. Banks could get away with maintaining a high return on equity despite having high overhead costs because of the oligopolistic market structure in the Brazillian banking industry. As of 2018, the five largest banks in Brazil controlled more than 80% of the household credit market.
David Vélez, who was a partner at the Sequoia Capital, saw this opportunity. He founded EO2 Solucoes de Pagamento (EO2 Payment Solutions) along with Cristina Junqueira and Edward Wible in 2013. Soon the company was named Nubank.
Today Nubank has more than 26 million customers across Latin America and is valued at US$25 billion as of January 2021. The company offers digital accounts for individuals and businesses along with credit cards and life insurance.
Let us learn about their great journey.
Update Feb18 2021: The latest public user number for Nubank is 34 million as of January 2021.
https://blog.nubank.com.br/nubank-400-milhoes-rodada-investimento-2021/
Klarna - Swedish born 'Buy Now, Pay Later' GiantSam Ghosh
Update March 1st 2021: Klarna's valuation soared to US$31 billion after a huge USD1 billion fundraising. https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/37576/klarna-confirms-mammoth-1-billion-fund-raise
Klarna is a Sweden based fintech unicorn that offers Consumer Credit, Merchant Solutions, and Banking services. Founded in 2005 by three students of Stockholm School of Economics, Klarna went from a rejected idea to a US$31 billion giant with a presence in 17 countries.
Klarna has been a pleasant outlier as a profitable fintech company from the beginning. In 2019 Klarna recorded a GMV of US$35 billion with net operating revenue of US$ 753 million.
Recently, Klarna is experiencing some growing pains especially in its quest to expand out of Europe. In 2019, Klarna reported a loss for the first time. In 2020 although their revenue is growing rapidly, losses also seem to expand.
Klarna spearheaded the 'Buy Now, Pay Later' industry and offer many innovative products. They have also created a unique playful brand.
Let us learn more about Klarna.
Impact of COVID-19 on Global Consumers and Emerging OpportunitiesSam Ghosh
COVID-19 is a humanitarian crisis as such the world has not seen for generations. For the consumers, it is a shock of unprecedented proportions. Consumer behavior in many sectors is going to change in the post-COVID era. Evidence shows that consumers have become more home-bound, digitally adopted, health-conscious, and community-driven.
While it is true that many industries suffered great losses and likely to struggle for years, opportunities are also emerging especially for emerging tech.
The pandemic has accelerated the shift to eCommerce and delivery services. Not only existing categories and consumer segments experienced a boost - new products and consumer segments found their way to eCommerce and delivery. As people are likely to continue spending more time at home, these sectors likely to see long-term growth. The retail subscription business also got a boost from the pandemic. The growth is driven by daily essentials. Hyper-local commerce, Social Commerce and Group-Buying are getting a stronghold as consumers are becoming more and more community-oriented.
Subscription Video on Demand (SVoD) services saw accelerated growth in both the number of subscribers and viewing time-span. The idea of entertainment is evolving supporting the SVoD sector for the long term.
The messaging apps saw significant growth due to the pandemic. Techcrunch reports that “WhatsApp has seen a 40% increase in usage that grew from an initial 27% bump in the earlier days of the pandemic to 41% in the mid-phase. For countries already in the later phase of the pandemic, WhatsApp usage has jumped by 51%”. As people were forced to stay at home - entertainment also shifted indoors. COVID worked as a boon to the Video Gaming and Esports industry.
COVID-19 has accelerated digital adoption in healthcare. Indian health platform Practo saw a 600% increase in online consultation between March and August 2020.
As COVID-19 forced the Gyms and similar facilities to remain closed, people quickly adopted to use fitness apps, streaming services, wearables, and connected devices. As making time for visits to the gym was inconvenient even before the pandemic, this change of behavior i.e. fitness at home likely to stay in the long term.
Social distancing forced people to buy pharmaceuticals online boosting the growth of online pharma. At the same time, sales of supplements increased significantly as people focused on boosting their immunity.
It is expected that small towns and rural areas are likely to lead the recovery creating opportunities for Agritech and Vernacular Tech.
SME Fintech Opportunity in the Developing CountriesSam Ghosh
There were around 30 million Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) in the developing countries before the pandemic. 2/3rd of global SMEs were located in developing countries. Developing countries with top SME populations are China, Thailand, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Tanzania, India, and Brazil, etc.
Most of these SMEs in the developing countries are in the informal sector lacking formal financing options and proper business processes. The pandemic has tested these SMEs to the extreme damaging their existing sales channels, supply chain, and financing sources. Governments in the developing countries (ex. China) pushing the SMEs for digital adoption to deal with revenue losses amid social distancing. This policy support can be very beneficial for startups in the sector.
COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital adoption in developing countries as consumers are forced to adopt digital channels for services such as education, healthcare, and grocery, etc. At the same time, small businesses are adopting digital channels for survival. This creates a unique opportunity for tech startups serving small businesses in developing countries.
The major problems that the small businesses are facing are revenue losses, operating challenges due to social distancing, lack of credit access, supply-side issues such as labour shortages, raw material access, etc. Tech startups can tap into the market by providing solutions to these pain points - sales platforms to deal with revenue losses, process automation to deal with operating challenges, alternative lending to deal with lack of credit access, HR management technologies to deal with the labour shortages, etc.
Small businesses often do not have defined operating processes. Changing customer preferences for digital modes require that small businesses also define their internal processes. The tech companies in this sector need to hand-hold small businesses by helping them design internal processes. Process automation companies are likely to benefit from this.
Often small businesses are dependent on one or few key people. As the pandemic brought drastic changes to our daily lives, the human aspect of the pandemic cannot be ignored. For example, many female entrepreneurs experienced the increased daily burden of homeschooling their children as the schools were closed. This kind of aspect brings unique opportunities for tech companies to design products for the sector.
As per the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report 2020, global wealth stood at US$ 399 trillion as of the end of 2019. Most of the global wealth is primarily controlled by older men in North America and Europe.
As per BCG, the Asset Under Management (AuM) for the global asset management industry stood at US$88.7 trillion as of the end of 2019.
The pandemic found the wealth management industry dealing with margin pressure amid the popularity of passive products, on the verge of a great wealth transfer from the Baby Boomers to the younger generations, a rising share of women’s wealth, and increasing regulatory pressure. Revenue from beta is quickly diminishing due to the popularity of passive products. The focus is shifting from margin to increasing AUM.
As per Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report 2020, global wealth decreased by US$ 17 trillion between January and March of 2020. Recovery in the capital markets Q2 onwards led to the recovery of household wealth in Q2 to the levels of the end of 2019. Though the loss of growth represents a more than US$7 trillion loss from expected wealth levels by the end of the first half of 2020. Lower economic activity, lower consumption, and lower investments by both households and corporates likely to restrain household wealth growth for many coming years. The growth rate may not recover to pre-pandemic levels before the end of 2021. Global wealth per adult decreased by 0.4% in the first half of 2020. China is the biggest gainer and Latin America along with Africa are the greatest losers.
Though low-interest-rate environment, making time deposits less attractive, likely to boost funds flows to capital markets and demand for wealth management services.
At the same time, social distancing is forcing digital adoption in wealth management. Apart from that, the great wealth transfer will mean that the wealth management sector needs a paradigm shift in their client engagements. The expectations of tech-savvy millennials are very much different from the older generations. Instant gratification, higher involvement in the process, and constant monitoring are some of the features Millennials expect.
Micro-Investment platforms and Online Brokers are expected to be immensely beneficial as tech-savvy Millennials control more and more wealth. Self-service platforms that specialize in passive products (MF, ETF) are especially lucrative.
Hybrid services that combine human touch with tech efficiency will likely to become mainstream as wealth management firms push for cost-cutting and younger generations control more and more wealth.
As many traditional wealth management firms will look to increase their digital capabilities, WealthTech firms with proven business models are expected to be seen as attractive acquisition targets.
Before the pandemic, themes that were driving technology demand in the capital markets were regulatory compliance and cost-cutting.
Technologies in demand in the capital markets in recent years were Big Data, AI/ML, Blockchain, and Cloud Computing.
Even amid the global economic gloom, the capital markets were not uneventful. As per S&P Global, the global bond issuance is expected to be 16% higher in 2020 compared to 2019 amid record-low interest rates and markets flooded with liquidity. As per data from the World Federation of Exchanges, the value of share trading globally registered a 49.74% increase in H1 of 2020 compared with H2 of 2019. Exchange-traded derivatives volumes were up 23.4% when compared with H2 2019, reaching a record 21.72 billion contracts traded.
Cost pressures, exacerbated by COVID-19, likely to accelerate automation initiatives as banks cut headcounts rapidly.
Technology implementations due to compliance requirements such as the Second Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID2) and the Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB) likely to be sources of demand for companies providing technology to the capital market sector. The companies providing automation of compliance processes are already attracting a higher amount of venture funds. Technology providers focusing on Data Analytics, AI/ML, IaaS and Biometrics, etc. are expected to gain from the trends.
Another important factor is the rapid adoption of work-from-home culture. A significant portion of the firms may opt for a permanent work-from-home or a hybrid work culture. This shift is likely to increase demand for cloud transformation services.
Even though many financial services firms may cut IT spending for a few quarters, compliance automation, cost-cutting initiatives, and cloud transformations will continue to create demand for capital market technology providers.
The Emergence of Open Banking and COVID-19Sam Ghosh
Think about Google if it were only collecting a lot of data but never used or shared that data with anyone. That is how the traditional financial service companies are - they have enormous amounts of data but rarely use that data for any tangible purpose. Dormant data with the financial service providers can be used to not only create new applications but revolutionize credit markets, personal finance, business finance, wealth management, etc. in ways we cannot even totally envisage now.
Open Banking is a practice where banks provide access to consumer data to non-affiliated third parties generally through Application Programming Interfaces or APIs. Open Banking in the coming years is expected to lead a paradigm shift in Banking and Finance.
During the pandemic, the demand side of the equation for Open Banking is rapidly developing with growth in fintech markets and the adoption of digital channels by the consumers.
Both banks and tech companies have immense incentives to grab this opportunity and quickly tap the growth in digital markets and channels.
Concerns about data security, compliance with privacy laws, and regulatory uncertainties are acting as impediments to the growth of Open Banking.
Banks need to act quickly to leverage data to increase their reach and role. Traditional banking is rapidly getting commoditized and banks need to add data-driven value-added services in their portfolio to remain relevant. Value-added services such as personal financial planning, the alternative credit assessment, and real-time payments can not only create new revenue sources for the banks but provide strategic moats in the competitive landscape. Banks can achieve this through strategic partnerships and acquisitions. In-house development is difficult given the cultural shift needed in the banking sector may take time. Apart from that, the IT in the banking sector is generally focussed on regulatory requirements and not data-driven, customer-focused as required for Open Banking initiatives.
Policy uncertainty can severely hamper the growth of Open Banking. Policymakers need to balance caution on security-privacy matters but at the same time clear policy confusion to allow the sector to grow.
As per the Akamai report, “2020 State of the Internet / Security: Financial Services – Hostile Takeover Attempts”, cyber attackers are increasingly targeting API endpoints of financial services.
As per a Gartner report, by 2021, APIs will account for 90% of the attack surface. By 2022, according to Gartner, API abuses will become the most-frequent attack vector.
This is a cause of concern for the Banks contemplating opening up data access using APIs.
Global Alternative Lending Industry amid COVID-19Sam Ghosh
Alternative Lending emerged to provide credit access to individuals and businesses who lack credit history or in other words - the ‘thin file’ borrowers.
The primary segments of Alternative Lending are Consumer Finance and Small and Medium-Sized Business Finance.
The COVID-19 pandemic is causing most economies to shrink in 2020 causing enormous job losses, revenue losses for businesses, and in some cases business closures.
Consumer spending took a significant hit due to the pandemic. As per data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China, Retail Sales of Consumer Goods contracted by 20.5% in January-February 2020 compared to January-February 2019. The growth remained in the negative territory for the first two quarters of 2020.
Data from VISA and Mastercard show a drastic drop in credit-card debt use. Demand for household short-term credit is still subdued. As unemployment rates improve and retail sales pick up the pace, demand for consumer finance is expected to improve in the coming quarters.
Many SMBs are going through severe financial distress primarily due to lower demand and lack of access to credit. Many may not recover and close their businesses.
Lack of demand may hinder the SMBs from accessing and/or getting approval of business loans.
On the supply side, the alternative lending companies may struggle to access low-cost capital due to deteriorating balance sheets of the banks and NBFCs who likely to increase risk-premium and even avoid exposure to the high-yield segments.
Increasing bad loans may push policymakers to put safeguards in place which may lower profitability and limit access to capital for the alternative lenders. For example, China's Supreme Court slashed the legally protected ceiling of informal lending rate in August 2020. This is expected to unfavorably impact the profitability of alternative lenders.
Established fintech (Square, PayPal, etc.) are entering the lending business, and as credit demand improves we may see more of this trend.
Many large retailers such as Amazon, Macy’s, etc. partnered with financial services companies to extend consumer credit to their customers. We may expect to see acquisitions of fintech lenders by the retailers.
Stressed balance sheet likely to increase M&A activities in the sector.
Impact of COVID-19 on Indian Economy: 28th November 2020Sam Ghosh
Indian economy entered a technical recession with two consecutive quarters of GDP contraction in Q2 of FY 2020-21. Results released by the National Statistical Office shows that the GDP of India during the H1 of FY 2020-21 contracted by 15.7% at Constant (2011-12) Prices and 13.3% at Current Prices. While quarterly GDP in Q2 FY 2020-21 in rupee terms improved from Q1 FY 2020-21 by 23% at Constant Prices and 24% at Current Prices, it is still 7.5% and 4% lower than Q2 of FY 2019-20 at Constant and Current Prices respectively. The contraction was caused by a drastic drop in private consumption (which contributes around 60% of Indian GDP) and a drop in gross fixed capital formation.
The policy repo rate has been reduced by 115 basis points from the beginning of 2020 to record low levels. Apart from that, RBI is injecting liquidity through various Open Market Operations and Long Term Repo Operations. Currency with the public increased by ~20% from the end of 2019 to the end of October 2020. We can safely say that the Indian economy is flushed with liquidity.
Consumer inflation remains above the policy range of 4%+2%, and with a GDP contraction, the Indian economy is dealing with stagflation.
On the fiscal front, total monthly receipts remained lower than the same period last year for the whole Q1 and Q2 (April - September) FY 2020-21. October receipts show signs of improvement. Fiscal expenditure on the other hand was maintained at the same levels of FY 2019-20 in FY 2020-21 till October. The fiscal deficit stood at 119.7% of the Budget Estimates as of October 2020 due to lower receipts.
Credit growth remains sluggish especially due to lower credit uptake by the industry. Credit demand for smaller companies was low from the beginning of fiscal 2020-21 which improved after August. Credit uptake by the large corporates dropped after July 2020.
Household savings increased dramatically from Rs.5.32 lakh crores in Q4 of FY 2019-20 to Rs. 8.16 lakh crores in Q1 of FY 2020-21 - a more than 50% increase. Most of the increase in household savings resulted from an aversion to liabilities. It signifies that the households turned conservative about their finances to deal with impending financial distress.
The unemployment rate shot-up in April and May 2020 above 20% and moderated to below 10% levels after June 2020. Employees' Provident Fund records show healthy job creation in September 2020.......
Global Digital Payment Industry amid COVID-19Sam Ghosh
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a drastic decline in economic activity worldwide. This decline of economic activity affected the digital payment industry as well.
Data from VISA and Mastercard show that payment volume decreased by ~20% in the April-June 2020 quarter from the Oct-Dec 2019 quarter. The July-September 2020 quarter saw a slight recovery but the volumes were still lower than the Oct-Dec 2019 quarter. Debit payments seem to recover quicker than credit payments, especially in the US.
Cross-border transactions were severely affected due to lower trade volumes and international travel restrictions. This resulted in a drastic drop in cross-border transaction revenue for both VISA and Mastercard.
Though the payment companies are facing revenue pain in the short term, long-term prospects are brighter. The pandemic has quickened the adoption of digital payments across age groups. Adoption of digital payments by the elderly population is especially encouraging and can open up new business opportunities.
Big-Tech companies are also rapidly increasing their foothold in the payments industry through acquisitions, patents, and partnerships.
New technologies such as contactless payment and real-time payment also got a boost due to the pandemic.
Governments around the world encouraged residents to use digital payment systems as the pandemic emerged. In some cases, restrictions were placed on cash withdrawals and cash transactions.
Fee waivers, compliance relaxations, consumer protection, etc, measures were taken to boost digital payments.
In India, the Reserve Bank of India has introduced a framework for the recognition of a Self-Regulatory Organisation for Payment System Operators.
Emerging Cyber Security Opportunity in IndiaSam Ghosh
$1.5 Trillion - that was the size of the Global cybercrime market in 2018. In comparison, the Indian GDP in the same year was US$2.7 trillion. The Dark web activity has spiked over 300% since 2017. As per NortonLifeLock Cyber Safety Insights Report, 2019, globally 350 million consumers became the victim of cybercrime only in one year.
Back in India, the rapid growth of data-driven tech companies prompted the lawmakers to enact a legal framework for cybersecurity, especially around financial services. These legal requirements have driven the Indian Cybersecurity industry.
Just when the COVID-19 lockdowns started, cyber-attacks also surged. Between March and April 2020, India has witnessed a staggering 86% increase in cyber-attacks.
Due to social distancing, many industries are rapidly getting digitised almost in a haphazard manner, bringing more and more critical data online. This is creating a fertile ground for cybercrime.
The pandemic is bringing unique challenges for both enterprises and individuals in terms of protecting their sensitive data from cyber-attacks.
People who never shopped online are now shopping online, people who shopped online before are shopping for things online which they never shopped online. The rapid growth of e-payments is bringing unique challenges not only in terms of payment security but also privacy and fake/illegal eCommerce sites.
The IT spending is expected to be lower this year but companies are prioritising security spending with spending on cloud and collaboration.
The medium to long-term prospects for the cyber-security industry looks promising given the rapid digitisation of digitally naive industries, increasing access to enterprise systems from mobile devices, migration of critical processes to the cloud systems, and increasing online transactions, etc.
Apart from that, as many small and medium-sized businesses are forced to adapt to the increasingly digital world, demand for cyber-security products/platforms is expected to increase as many smaller businesses may not have the resources to avail security consulting services.
The SaaS Opportunity and Indian SaaS IndustrySam Ghosh
As per a recent NASSCOM report, India is the birthplace of more than one thousand pure-play SaaS vendors with 150+ companies generating more than US$1 million Annual Recurring Revenue. There are already at least 6 SaaS unicorns. These companies generated ~US$3.5 billion in revenue in FY20.
As per the same report by NASSCOM, the addressable SaaS market by 2025 is expected to be US$400 billion. Indian players are well positions to tap this opportunity with their lower cost structure, competency in online & inside-sales, large workforce proficient in SaaS and mobile application development, and role models such as Zoho, Freshworks, Icertis, Druva, and Postman.
With the growth of work-from-home culture and rapid digitisation, the future of the SaaS sector looks bright especially for companies offering collaboration and security services.
Prospect of rapid digitisation of the Indian MSME sector likely to help Indian SaaS companies grow their domestic revenue base along with the export market on which the SaaS sector is traditionally dependent.
Although many SaaS companies may face short-term challenges due to lower IT spending by corporates. As per a Gartner report, Global IT spending in the year 2020 is expected to be 8% lesser than in 2019. Vertical SaaS companies focused on sectors such as Travel, Hospitality, Restaurants, etc. may face considerable challenges due to the pandemic.
As investor focus changes from “growth at all cost” to sustainability and profitability, SaaS offers business models with a clear path to profitability.
As Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu suggests, the pandemic may cause the SaaS industry consolidation as SaaS businesses driven by venture capital money may face challenges in raising further funds and their customers tighten their wallets.
Impact of COVID-19 on Indian Venture Capital IndustrySam Ghosh
Given considerable ambiguity around changing economic and industrial landscapes, most VCs may refrain from investment in companies other than their own portfolio companies. As many sectors are being disrupted significantly by the pandemic, many portfolio companies may need funding just to keep afloat. Given India focused VCs ended 2019 with a record amount of dry powder, they are positioned well to increase their stake in existing portfolio companies through additional equity infusion at attractive valuations.
Early-stage companies will have a hard time raising funds in the coming few quarters as VCs likely to prioritise strengthening their own portfolio companies and companies with proven product-market-fit and revenue models. At the same time, late-stage startups may reap the benefits of their user base and move to develop revenue sources.
Investment instruments and terms may become more and more conservative both in terms of economics and control. We can expect stricter liquidity preferences, stricter vesting schedules, and protective provisions.
Venture debt is becoming popular as startups try to avoid dilution at unfavourable prices and terms.
The current situation creates unfavourable circumstances for VC exits. Venture Funds may like to delay exits if possible to avoid selling at deeply discounted valuations. This may result in a longer holding period and thus lower IRR. Funds at the tail end of their lives may be forced to offer exits to their limited partners (LPs). This may lead to underperformance and/or increased sales by the LPs to secondary funds. The pandemic has caused rapid digitisation of various sectors. Established offline players may look for acquisition to grow their digital capabilities. This may bring strategic deal opportunities for digital startups and exit opportunities for VC firms.
Fundraising activity is expected to be slow in the coming quarters given fund managers may want to limit their exposure to risky investments in the current economic scenario. The pandemic has caused and going to cause a correction in various asset prices from public equity, real estate, and commodities. Restructuring of portfolios likely to further discourage fund managers from investing in venture funds.
In this tough fundraising scenario, tried and tested fund managers will have a significant advantage over new fund managers.
Impact of COVID-19 on Indian IT and BPM SectorSam Ghosh
India is the world leader in IT and BPM services accounting for ~55% of the global services sourcing business.
As per a Gartner report, the global IT spending in 2020 is expected to be 8% less than in 2019. Not only that, the technology demand mix is going to be very different in the post-pandemic world than in the pre-pandemic era.
The industry which is primarily dependent on export markets is being tested by travel and VISA restrictions. This brings a lot of operational challenges for the IT Service companies.
The IT service majors are adopting cloud-based operating models that require the lesser physical presence of IT professionals, enhances the security of the cloud, and enable collaboration online.
As the recovery timeline for different countries and industries are likely to vary significantly, the IT service companies need to dynamically organise infrastructure and human resources to defend and acquire revenue opportunities.
In general, demand for Security, Collaboration, Mobility, and Cloud applications is going to drive the demand in the coming quarters.
Need for a low-touch operating model, need for hiring local talents, dynamic restructuring of human capital, etc. favour the large diversified IT Service companies over smaller players in the post-pandemic world.
FMCG or Fast Moving Consumer Goods are products that have a short shelf life and sold quickly at a relatively low cost. These are the products which are used by consumers in their daily life, for example, bread, meat, dairy products, soft drinks, etc.
FMCG sector is the fourth largest sector in the Indian economy. Another importance of this sector is that the health of the sector works as a quick indication of consumer sentiment and changing consumer preferences.
The impact of the pandemic on the sector varied by product categories. For example, Healthcare and Homecare sectors performed well while Grooming and Beverage were negatively impacted.
As the effects of the lockdowns subside, most categories show signs of recovery but the pandemic is leaving some systemic changes.
Similar to many sectors, the pandemic has quickened the speed of online sales. At the same time, opened up some novel distribution channels - food delivery apps and ride-sharing apps are being used for FMCG distribution.
If we talk about consumer sentiment, the consumers have become extremely value-oriented as evidenced by picking value packs over bulk packages.
As the consumers may be looking for ways to cut costs while maintaining quality of living, previously impulsive purchases may convert to discretionary. Packaging these impulsive purchase products with essential products may help in preserving the product categories.
At Techbox Square, in Singapore, we're not just creative web designers and developers, we're the driving force behind your brand identity. Contact us today.
Recruiting in the Digital Age: A Social Media MasterclassLuanWise
In this masterclass, presented at the Global HR Summit on 5th June 2024, Luan Wise explored the essential features of social media platforms that support talent acquisition, including LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok.
Understanding User Needs and Satisfying ThemAggregage
https://www.productmanagementtoday.com/frs/26903918/understanding-user-needs-and-satisfying-them
We know we want to create products which our customers find to be valuable. Whether we label it as customer-centric or product-led depends on how long we've been doing product management. There are three challenges we face when doing this. The obvious challenge is figuring out what our users need; the non-obvious challenges are in creating a shared understanding of those needs and in sensing if what we're doing is meeting those needs.
In this webinar, we won't focus on the research methods for discovering user-needs. We will focus on synthesis of the needs we discover, communication and alignment tools, and how we operationalize addressing those needs.
Industry expert Scott Sehlhorst will:
• Introduce a taxonomy for user goals with real world examples
• Present the Onion Diagram, a tool for contextualizing task-level goals
• Illustrate how customer journey maps capture activity-level and task-level goals
• Demonstrate the best approach to selection and prioritization of user-goals to address
• Highlight the crucial benchmarks, observable changes, in ensuring fulfillment of customer needs
Navigating the world of forex trading can be challenging, especially for beginners. To help you make an informed decision, we have comprehensively compared the best forex brokers in India for 2024. This article, reviewed by Top Forex Brokers Review, will cover featured award winners, the best forex brokers, featured offers, the best copy trading platforms, the best forex brokers for beginners, the best MetaTrader brokers, and recently updated reviews. We will focus on FP Markets, Black Bull, EightCap, IC Markets, and Octa.
At Techbox Square, in Singapore, we're not just creative web designers and developers, we're the driving force behind your brand identity. Contact us today.
Building Your Employer Brand with Social MediaLuanWise
Presented at The Global HR Summit, 6th June 2024
In this keynote, Luan Wise will provide invaluable insights to elevate your employer brand on social media platforms including LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok. You'll learn how compelling content can authentically showcase your company culture, values, and employee experiences to support your talent acquisition and retention objectives. Additionally, you'll understand the power of employee advocacy to amplify reach and engagement – helping to position your organization as an employer of choice in today's competitive talent landscape.
Premium MEAN Stack Development Solutions for Modern BusinessesSynapseIndia
Stay ahead of the curve with our premium MEAN Stack Development Solutions. Our expert developers utilize MongoDB, Express.js, AngularJS, and Node.js to create modern and responsive web applications. Trust us for cutting-edge solutions that drive your business growth and success.
Know more: https://www.synapseindia.com/technology/mean-stack-development-company.html
Event Report - SAP Sapphire 2024 Orlando - lots of innovation and old challengesHolger Mueller
Holger Mueller of Constellation Research shares his key takeaways from SAP's Sapphire confernece, held in Orlando, June 3rd till 5th 2024, in the Orange Convention Center.
Top mailing list providers in the USA.pptxJeremyPeirce1
Discover the top mailing list providers in the USA, offering targeted lists, segmentation, and analytics to optimize your marketing campaigns and drive engagement.
LA HUG - Video Testimonials with Chynna Morgan - June 2024Lital Barkan
Have you ever heard that user-generated content or video testimonials can take your brand to the next level? We will explore how you can effectively use video testimonials to leverage and boost your sales, content strategy, and increase your CRM data.🤯
We will dig deeper into:
1. How to capture video testimonials that convert from your audience 🎥
2. How to leverage your testimonials to boost your sales 💲
3. How you can capture more CRM data to understand your audience better through video testimonials. 📊
Tata Group Dials Taiwan for Its Chipmaking Ambition in Gujarat’s DholeraAvirahi City Dholera
The Tata Group, a titan of Indian industry, is making waves with its advanced talks with Taiwanese chipmakers Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC) and UMC Group. The goal? Establishing a cutting-edge semiconductor fabrication unit (fab) in Dholera, Gujarat. This isn’t just any project; it’s a potential game changer for India’s chipmaking aspirations and a boon for investors seeking promising residential projects in dholera sir.
Visit : https://www.avirahi.com/blog/tata-group-dials-taiwan-for-its-chipmaking-ambition-in-gujarats-dholera/
2. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about Ecommerce in India?
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
3. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
● The Indian E-commerce market is expected to reach USD $150 billion by 2022, USD $200 billion by
2026 from USD $38.5 billion in 2017.
● Expected to be the second largest E-commerce market by 2034.
Why talk about this?
Data: IBEF
CAGR 31% CAGR 7.5%
4. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
● The Indian consumer market is a USD $6 trillion opportunity by 2030 as per the World Economic
Forum’s report
● The overall retail market in India was $672 billion USD in 2017 and expected to be $1,200 billion USD
by 2021 as per IBEF.
○ I.e. E-commerce at $38.5 billion USD was only 5.73% of the overall Indian retail industry.
○ Consumer spending was $1,824 billion USD - Ecommerce was only 2.11% of consumer
spending.
● 687.62 million internet subscribers as of September 2019 as per TRAI.
● Rural internet penetration is 27.57% compared to 104.25% in Urban - overall 52.08%.
Why talk about this?
5. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Demand Side
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
6. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Projection: IBEF
Ecommerce Market Retail Market Potential
CAGR 31% CAGR 7.5%
7. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Data: IBEF
Ecommerce Market Retail Market Potential
CAGR 11%
8. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Data: Bain and Company
Ecommerce Market Retail Market Potential
9. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Total Internet users as of September 2019 as per TRAI - 687.62 million.
Data: RedSeer
Ecommerce Market Retail Market Potential
10. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Data: TRAI as of September 2019
● techARC - India had 502.2 million smartphone users by the end of 2019.
Ecommerce Market Retail Market Potential
11. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Source: IAMAI
Profile of Internet Users - IAMAI
NCCS or New Consumer Classification System is the new tool used to classify consumers in India. The classification
is based on education of the chief earner and number of consumer durables in the household. The classification
ranges from A1 to E3 where A1 is the most households with most purchasing power and E3 is the least. More about
NCCS here.
Ecommerce Market Retail Market Potential
12. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Supply Side
13. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
First mile
logistics
Fulfilment
Processing/
sorting
Line haul
Last mile
delivery
Marketplace Model Inventory-led model Fulfilled by e-retailer
● Inventory is not stored by
e-retailers.
● Packaging and quality
checks are carried out by
the sellers - delivery by
e-retailers.
● Rising issues in product
quality, higher returns,
pilferages and wrong
products.
● Easily scalable.
● Inventory is purchased
by e-retailer.
● E-retailer carries out
end-to-end process.
● Better quality control and
service levels.
● Capital intensive process
with high overheads and
substantial inventory risk.
● Difficult to scale
● Inventory purchased by
sellers.
● Stored in the fulfilment
centres of e-retailers.
● Quality checks,
packaging and labelling
are carried out by the
e-retailer.
● Scalable yet better
quality and less capital
intensive.
Operating Models Offerings Players
14. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Horizontal E-commerce Vertical E-commerce
● One-stop shop - covers various
categories.
● Generalists - offers some offerings of a
wide range of categories but not all
offerings.
● No specific consumer class.
● Difficulty to create the best possible
shopping experience due to lack of focus.
● Suitable for low-involvement products.
● Covers one or few related categories
based on a theme such as home decor or
child care.
● Specialists - offer as much as possible
offerings of one or few related categories.
● Can focus on a specific consumer class.
● Can create the best possible shopping
experience with specialised tools and
experience - ex. Lenskart.
● Suitable for high-involvement products.
Operating Models Offerings Players
15. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Data: IBEF
Operating Models Offerings Players
16. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Data: S&P Global
E-commerce Players in India
Operating Models Offerings Players
17. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Policy
18. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Data and Privacy
Infrastructure
E-commerce Marketplaces
● E-commerce platforms create a huge amount of data of immense strategic value.
● Data can be used to understand consumer behaviour and detect market trends.
● Data raises various privacy concerns.
● A legal and technological framework to be created that can provide the basis for imposing restrictions on
cross-border data flow.
● A suitable framework to be developed for sharing of community data that serve larger public interest
(subject to addressing privacy-related issues) with start-ups and firms.
Draft National E-commerce Policy
Regulatory Issues
Stimulating domestic digital economy
Export promotion through E-commerce
National Ecommerce Policy Personal Data Protection Bill
19. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Data and Privacy
Infrastructure
Ecommerce Marketplaces
● Developing data storage capacity in India.
○ 2020-21 Budget Speech - policy to enable the private sector to build Data Centre parks throughout
the country is coming.
● “Domestic alternatives to foreign-based clouds and email facilities will be promoted”.
Draft National E-commerce Policy
Regulatory Issues
Stimulating domestic digital economy
Export promotion through E-commerce
National Ecommerce Policy Personal Data Protection Bill
20. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Data and Privacy
Infrastructure
Ecommerce Marketplaces
● Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) - 100% FDI is allowed in marketplace model under automatic route but no
FDI is allowed in Inventory-led model.
● Anti-Counterfeiting Measures.
● Anti-Piracy measures
● Authentic ratings and reviews.
● Consumer-Oriented Customer Service.
● Prevention of Sale of Prohibited Items.
Draft National E-commerce Policy
Regulatory Issues
Stimulating domestic digital economy
Export promotion through E-commerce
National Ecommerce Policy Personal Data Protection Bill
21. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Data and Privacy
Infrastructure
Ecommerce Marketplaces
● Given the Interdisciplinary nature of Ecommerce, policies need to be aware of changing ways of doing
business and changing business models.
● Access to data can distort the market and regulations need to be seen from a ‘data-lense’.
● “Small firms and start-ups attempting to enter the digital sector can be given ‘infant-industry’ status” - they
can be given access to data.
● Tax - ‘significant economic presence’ as the basis for determining ‘permanent establishment’ for the
purpose of allocating profits of multinational enterprises between ‘resident’ and ‘source’ countries and
expanding the scope of ‘income deemed to accrue or arise in India’ under Section 9(1)(i) of the Income-tax
Act, 1961.
● The necessity of a Consumer Protection Framework specific to this sector.
● Payment related issues, use of data for policy making etc.
Draft National E-commerce Policy
Regulatory Issues
Stimulating domestic digital economy
Export promotion through E-commerce
National Ecommerce Policy Personal Data Protection Bill
22. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Data and Privacy
Infrastructure
Ecommerce Marketplaces
● Domestic industrial standards for smart devices and IoT devices to be formulated and facilitated.
● Automation of the logistics sector.
● Online Customs clearance to be facilitated by adopting the Customs Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
platform, integrating all the departments.
● Customs validation to be enabled where required to benefit from schemes like duty drawbacks etc.
● E-commerce to be included in the National Integrated Logistics Plan being prepared by the Department of
Commerce.
Draft National E-commerce Policy
Regulatory Issues
Stimulating domestic digital economy
Export promotion through E-commerce
National Ecommerce Policy Personal Data Protection Bill
23. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Data and Privacy
Infrastructure
Ecommerce Marketplaces
● National Integrated Logistics Policy must take into account the special needs of the sector. E-commerce
should be dealt with separately under the Logistics Policy.
● As E-Commerce shipments are generally sent through courier mode - the existing limit of INR 25,000 to be
increased to make Indian E-commerce exports attractive even for high-value shipments through courier
mode.
● Implementation of EDI mode at courier terminals can be fast-tracked to facilitate quicker and easy dispatch
of export consignments.
● Collecting fee on applications submitted to claim export benefits should be done away with to reduce the
transaction costs for MSMEs and start-ups.
● Setting up of Air Freight Stations (AFS) off the airports can be encouraged, where all necessary cargo
preparation and documentation can be done.
● Lowering the international logistics cost for the shipments of ecommerce companies through India Post.
Draft National E-commerce Policy
Regulatory Issues
Stimulating domestic digital economy
Export promotion through E-commerce
National Ecommerce Policy Personal Data Protection Bill
24. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Guiding Principal
Applicability
Obligations of data fiduciary
The Personal Data Protection Bill
Rights of the individual
Grounds for processing personal data
Social media intermediaries
Data Protection Authority
National Ecommerce Policy Personal Data Protection Bill
“to provide for protection of the privacy of individuals relating to their personal data, specify the
flow and usage of personal data, create a relationship of trust between persons and entities
processing the personal data, protect the rights of individuals whose personal data are
processed, to create a framework for organisational and technical measures in processing of
data, laying down norms for social media intermediary, cross-border transfer, accountability of
entities processing personal data, remedies for unauthorised and harmful processing, and to
establish a Data Protection Authority of India for the said purposes and for matters connected
therewith or incidental thereto.”
Transfer of data outside India
25. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Guiding Principal
Applicability
Obligations of data fiduciary
The Personal Data Protection Bill
Rights of the individual
Grounds for processing personal data
Social media intermediaries
Data Protection Authority
National Ecommerce Policy Personal Data Protection Bill
Transfer of data outside India
● The processing of personal data where such data has been collected, disclosed, shared or otherwise
processed within the territory of India.
● The processing of personal data by the State, any Indian company, any citizen of India or any person or
body of persons incorporated or created under Indian law.
● The processing of personal data by data fiduciaries or data processors not present within the territory of
India, if such processing is in connection with any business carried on in India, or any systematic activity of
offering goods or services to data principals within the territory of India, or in connection with any activity
which involves profiling of data principals within the territory of India.
● Shall not apply to the processing of anonymised data.
26. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Guiding Principal
Applicability
Obligations of data fiduciary
The Personal Data Protection Bill
Rights of the individual
Grounds for processing personal data
Social media intermediaries
Data Protection Authority
National Ecommerce Policy Personal Data Protection Bill
Transfer of data outside India
● "data fiduciary" means any person, including the State, a company, any juristic entity or any individual who
alone or in conjunction with others determines the purpose and means of the processing of personal data.
● Such processing will be subject to a certain purpose, collection and storage limitations.
○ Personal data can be processed only for specific, clear and lawful purpose.
○ All data fiduciaries must undertake certain transparency and accountability measures such as:
■ implementing security safeguards (such as data encryption and preventing misuse of data),
and
■ instituting grievance redressal mechanisms to address complaints of individuals. They must
also institute mechanisms for age verification and parental consent when processing
sensitive personal data of children.
27. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Guiding Principal
Applicability
Obligations of data fiduciary
The Personal Data Protection Bill
Rights of the individual
Grounds for processing personal data
Social media intermediaries
Data Protection Authority
National Ecommerce Policy Personal Data Protection Bill
Transfer of data outside India
● The Bill sets out certain rights of the individual (or data principal).
● These include the right to:
○ obtain confirmation from the fiduciary on whether their personal data has been processed.
○ seek correction of inaccurate, incomplete, or out-of-date personal data.
○ have personal data transferred to any other data fiduciary in certain circumstances, and
○ restrict continuing disclosure of their personal data by a fiduciary, if it is no longer necessary or
consent is withdrawn.
28. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Guiding Principal
Applicability
Obligations of data fiduciary
The Personal Data Protection Bill
Rights of the individual
Grounds for processing personal data
Social media intermediaries
Data Protection Authority
National Ecommerce Policy Personal Data Protection Bill
Transfer of data outside India
● The Bill allows the processing of data by fiduciaries only if consent is provided by the individual.
● However, in certain circumstances, personal data can be processed without consent.
● These include:
○ if required by the State for providing benefits to the individual.
○ legal proceedings.
○ to respond to a medical emergency.
29. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Guiding Principal
Applicability
Obligations of data fiduciary
The Personal Data Protection Bill
Rights of the individual
Grounds for processing personal data
Social media intermediaries
Data Protection Authority
National Ecommerce Policy Personal Data Protection Bill
Transfer of data outside India
● The Bill defines these to include intermediaries which enable online interaction between users and allow
for sharing of information.
● All such intermediaries which have users above a notified threshold, and whose actions can impact
electoral democracy or public order, have certain obligations, which include providing a voluntary user
verification mechanism for users in India.
30. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Guiding Principal
Applicability
Obligations of data fiduciary
The Personal Data Protection Bill
Rights of the individual
Grounds for processing personal data
Social media intermediaries
Data Protection Authority
National Ecommerce Policy Personal Data Protection Bill
Transfer of data outside India
● The Bill sets up a Data Protection Authority which may:
○ take steps to protect the interests of individuals.
○ prevent misuse of personal data, and
○ ensure compliance with the Bill. It will consist of a chairperson and six members, with at least 10
years’ expertise in the field of data protection and information technology. Orders of the Authority
can be appealed to an Appellate Tribunal. Appeals from the Tribunal will go to the Supreme Court.
31. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Guiding Principal
Applicability
Obligations of data fiduciary
The Personal Data Protection Bill
Rights of the individual
Grounds for processing personal data
Social media intermediaries
Data Protection Authority
National Ecommerce Policy Personal Data Protection Bill
Transfer of data outside India
● Sensitive personal data may be transferred outside India for processing if explicitly consented to by the
individual, and subject to certain additional conditions.
● However, such sensitive personal data should continue to be stored in India.
● Certain personal data notified as critical personal data by the government can only be processed in India.
32. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Trends
33. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Non-Metro
Mobile Commerce
Vernacular
Assisted
Social Commerce
● Tier - 2 & 3 cities are fueling the E-commerce growth
○ Amazon festive sales - “ 91% of new customers coming from tier 2 & 3 towns”
● Fortune India - “There is a growing demand for international brands such as H&M, Under Armour, and
Mango, from tier 2 and tier 3 markets; e-tailers report 50% growth in sales from non-metros.”
34. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Non-Metro
Mobile Commerce
Vernacular
Assisted
Social Commerce
● techARC - India had 502.2 million smartphone users by the end of 2019.
● ~97% broadband connections are mobile wireless as per TRAI.
● Online retailers growing reach in town and cities beyond metros is driven by an increase in usage of
mobile internet in the country. Increased ownership of smartphones is helping more Indians access
shopping websites easily.
35. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Non-Metro
Mobile Commerce
Vernacular
Assisted
Social Commerce
● IBEF - Indian language users on the internet are expected to reach 540 million by 2021.
● In August 2018, Flipkart acquired an artificial intelligence company Liv.ai, which converts
speech to text in 10 Indian languages.
● INC42 - Hindi queries related to laptops and PCs have doubled.
● There has been a 2.3X increase in Hindi queries about smartphones and mobile phones
36. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Non-Metro
Mobile Commerce
Vernacular
Assisted
Social Commerce
● Dealing with low internet penetration, less technologically exposed buyers and high
involvement products and services.
● Under this, the consumers do not place online orders on their own. Instead, the order is
placed on the merchant shops with their help and the product is either delivered to the shop
or customer’s address.
37. E-commerce in India by Sam Ghosh 16th March 2020
Why talk about this? Demand Side Supply Side TrendsPolicy
Non-Metro
Mobile Commerce
Vernacular
Assisted
Social Commerce
● Distribution through WhatsApp, Facebook
etc.social media.
● Easier to overcome the trust barrier as people
are buying from people they already know.
● Meesho - enables small business owners to
run digital shops of social platforms.
● Shop101, BulBul, DealShare and Mall91 are
some other examples.