Amazon goes hyperlocal, to rope in 10L kiranas by 2025
As part of its plans to go hyperlocal, it will be tapping a huge number of kirana stores — around 9.3 lakh by 2025 — in metros, small cities and villages to make its last-mile delivery faster and seamless. Amazon is also adopting more vernacular languages, expanding ‘voice buy’ options in its app to break the technology barrier and continue its outreach expansion across uncharted geographies. The e-commerce giant is adopting more vernacular languages, expanding ‘voice buy’ options in its app to break the technology barrier and continue its outreach expansion across uncharted geographies. “From the current 75,000 kirana stores across 450 cities, we are going to increase it to around 10 lakh by 2025. We are raising speed and last-mile delivery by giving more options to buyers and sellers,” said Manish Tiwary, VP, Amazon India, after announcing The Great Indian Festival (GIF) 2021, which starts from October 4.
MeitY has a 1,000-day plan for a $1-trillion digital economy
The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has chalked out a 1,000-day agenda, aiming to make India a $1 trillion digital economy over the next few years.Key to the initiative will be making India the largest connected nation in the world, bringing coherence into digital governance, simplifying rules and legislations for technology and social media companies, and focusing on building India’s high-tech prowess. All government departments and ministries have apps and websites, but making them coherent to empower Indians is important.The plan focuses on how to expand the digital economy piece. The government wants to make sure that the internet in India is open, trusted, safe and accountable, and with minimal government interface. High-tech areas and developing skills are other focus areas. The areas identified include AI, Cyber Security, Super Computing, Semiconductors, Blockchain and Quantum Computing.
YouTube testing offline video download feature for these users
YouTube is testing a feature that allows users to download videos using desktop browsers. The new download feature test is only available till October 19. You can also check what the company is testing next at YouTube’s experimental features page. The new download feature test is only available till October 19. You can also check what the company is testing next at YouTube’s experimental features page. Users with YouTube Premium membership can access the new feature on the latest versions of Chrome, Edge or Opera browsers. To download any video, users can have to click on the ‘download’ button while watching a video or click on the 3-dot menu while browsing.Along with the new download feature, YouTube is also testing picture-in-picture (PiP) for iOS app. This allows iPhone users to watch the video in a mini player when the user swipes up or presses the home button while watching a video.
WhatsApp goes the Snapchat way through ‘View Once’ feature
WhatsApp has introduced ‘View Once’ feature through an advertisement where, photos and videos from the chat disappear once they have been opened and viewed.Launched in August, it’s very introduction gives users more control over their privacy which is a rising concern.Titled ‘Moving On’, it shows the protagonist trying to move on from his partner, Mira after a breakup. Throughout the advertisement, through a series of photos and videos that are circulated on the platform, their viewing capacity immediately disables after the receiver views the image or video.
Online festive sales to clock GMV of $4.8 billion in 2021, with 30% growth
This year’s festive sales (gross merchandise volume or GMV) is expected to grow 30 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to $4.8 billion during the first week of the festive season. It will potentially clock over $9 billion GMV during the whole festive month, according to leading homegrown consulting firm RedSeer’s latest eCommerce Festive Season report. This is a 23 per cent increase from last year, wherein the players clocked in a GMV of $7.4 billion.The growth will be mostly driven by the accelerated online adoption, which is a result of COVID. Tier-II-plus towns will continue to drive growth, as they are 55-60 per cent of the total shopper base this year, similar or higher than 57 per cent (2020 festive days).
India’s plan for tighter e-commerce rules faces internal government dissent
India’s plan to tighten rules on its fast-growing e-commerce market has run into internal government dissent, memos reviewed by Reuters show, with the Ministry of Finance describing some proposals as “excessive” and “without economic rationale”. The finance ministry, the ministry of corporate affairs and the federal think-tank NITI Aayog have all raised objections in memos, saying the proposals go far beyond their stated aim of protecting consumers and also lack regulatory clarity. An Aug. 31 memo from the Finance Ministry’s Department of Economic Affairs said the rules appeared “excessive” and would hit a sector that could boost job creation as well as tax revenue.It’s not clear how the objections from the finance ministry – a dozen in total – will ultimately be reflected in the proposed rule changes, first floated in June. But watchers of the influential government arm say its complaints won’t fall on deaf ears in the upper echelons of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration.
