Failed deliveries ring warning bells for Amazon, Flipkart, D2C brands

Around 60% of all e-commerce orders in India are still cash on delivery (COD). And that’s bad news for e-commerce giants, D2C brands and social commerce sellers, as the number of items returning undelivered is rising. This is not just a logistics challenge. Chirag Taneja, co-founder and CEO of GoKwik neatly summed up a big problem Internet commerce is facing in India — failed deliveries. Known in e-commerce jargon as RTO (return to origin), this is increasingly becoming a big headache for the industry. The reasons behind RTOs can be many. Non-availability of the customer to receive the shipment, customer cannot be contacted at the time of delivery, incorrect address, order being cancelled because the customer changed his mind while the shipment was in transit. Many times, the shipment reaches the address, but the customer refuses to accept the delivery as he doesn’t want the product anymore. To be sure, RTO is not a new problem for e-commerce in India, but as the market has expanded multifold beyond established online marketplaces to vertical commerce, D2C (direct-to-consumer) and social commerce brands, it has become a much bigger problem. “It is a necessary evil to be tackled if you have to do e-commerce in India,” Taneja adds. GoKwik, like other tech startups such as Pragma and LimeChat, is in the business of providing RTO-reduction tools to D2C brands. Reverse pick-up (RPU) is when the customer receives the delivery and then places a request for return. In the e-commerce industry, RPU is estimated at up to 5% of overall shipments, while RTOs are much higher at 40% to 50%. In India, close to 60%-65% of e-commerce orders are COD. Of this, about 25% to 30% turn RTOs. In contrast, unsuccessful deliveries in the pre-paid order category range from 2% to 3%. That’s because the customer’s intent to actually buy the product may be fickle when placing the order under COD, leading to higher rate of order cancellations. COD dominates e-commerce even with the big push for digital payments like UPI. Even though e-COD or payment via digital means at the customer’s doorstep has become very prevalent, it still classifies as COD. Besides India, some other markets do have cash on delivery like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Indonesia, and Philippines. In countries like the UAE and Indonesia, RTOs are 15%-20% of COD orders. RTOs are a much more complicated problem in India with COD still being the biggest payment method for e-commerce.

Once hyped up as Twitter’s Indian rival, Koo is struggling to stay afloat

Three years ago, the Indian microblogging platform Koo was having its moment in the sun. In February 2021, the Indian government and Twitter were entangled in a face-off over blocking users’ accounts related to the farmer protest. As tensions escalated, first the ruling-party ministers, and then their followers, moved to Koo. Koo was at the right place at the right time, and it seized the opportunity. Its downloads spiked and reached 10 MN by August 2021. In an interview the company’s founder Aprameya Radhakrishna said the platform has the potential to reach 1 BN users. Its key investors included Accel, Tiger Global, Mirae Asset, Kalaari Capital, and 3one4 Capital. In August 2021, Koo had 1 crore users. Between January – June 2022 it raised about US$285 MN in a Series B fund raising. In April 2023, Koo laid back 30% of its workforce. Many thought that Twitter had finally found its rival in the country, one backed by the government. All it took was three years for the tables to turn. As of 2024, Koo is cash-strapped and reportedly in talks with DailyHunt for a potential partnership. In two LinkedIn posts, Koo co-founder Mayank Bidawatka spoke about what led to the firm’s sudden predicament. In the post dated September 15, 2023, Bidwatka shared the company was looking for strategic partnerships and about its struggle to raise funds. Koo had reached out to ShareChat and Inshorts Group. On April 25, he said the company will not be able to pay its employees from April till the partnership talks go through. The lack of financing was one of the key challenges for Koo, given that startups need bigger cheques to invest and monetise. 

70% firms use conversational platforms to engage with customers

Some 450 MN Indians are not digitally savvy and many find apps and websites complex to use. They and even ‘digitally savvy’ Indians could use conversation platforms, an artificial intelligence technology that allows people to interact with computers in a way that mimics human conversation. As many as 70% of companies in India already use conversational platforms to engage with customers, says a survey by Bain & Company and Meta. The survey was done among 7,800 consumers and 25 senior executives of 150 companies.  650 MN Indian users  use social media, messaging apps. 200 MN shop online. 350-650 MN are monthly actively messaging and social media users. 70% of firms use conversational tools to engage with customers. 60% of firms plan to increase spending on conversational tools. 95% of BFSI firms use such tools for conversational marketing. But there is an APP saturations. 65% users find downloading app to use services frustrating.

India to see conversational commerce push

India’s business growth is all set to witness conversational commerce as the next big thing, a new report by Meta in association with the management consulting firm Bain & Company has revealed. Conversational commerce is the AI-driven process that uses automated interaction and technologies to set up an engaging and uncomplicated experience for the consumer during online shopping. The Bain & Company-Meta report, titled Win With Conversations, talks of how a marked transformation is in the anvil as far as conversational commerce is concerned. The change will be powered by generative AI, or GenAI, over the next one or two years, 4and the aim will be to personalise customer experience by automating tasks and creating a more engaging interaction process. Based on research data, the report deduced that as many as 90% of consumers, who could be categorised as digitally non-savvy, prefer using conversational platforms to interact with local service providers, restaurants, shops or delivery services. More than 50% customers were comfortable being guided by GenAI tools while carrying out the simplest of online tasks that include accessing bank account, booking hotel or travel tickets and paying bills. As many as 70% of large enterprises already communicate with clients using apps that allow hassle-free communication such as WhatsApp, the report said. More than 80% businesses want to invest in GenAI over the next couple of years and, among big businesses, almost 60% have a plan in place to increase their budget on conversational platforms within three to four years. In other words, while big business is at the forefront of heralding this shift in consumer interaction culture, the positive reaction of customers has been encouraging an increasing number of Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) to make use of conversational commerce, too, the report noted.

Amazon plans to give Alexa an AI overhaul

Amazon  is upgrading its decade-old Alexa voice assistant with generative artificial intelligence and plans to charge a monthly subscription fee to offset the cost of the technology, according to people with knowledge of Amazon’s plans.  It will launch a more conversational version of Alexa later this year, potentially positioning it to better compete with new generative AI-powered chatbots from companies including Google and OpenAI, according to two sources familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the discussions were private. Amazon’s subscription for Alexa will not be included in the $139-per-year Prime offering, and Amazon has not yet nailed down the price point, one source said. While Amazon wowed consumers with Alexa’s voice-driven tasks in 2014, its capabilities could seem old-fashioned amid recent leaps in artificial intelligence. Last week, OpenAI announced GPT-4o, with the capability for two-way conversations that can go significantly deeper than Alexa. For example, it can translate conversations into different languages in real time. Google launched a similar generative-AI-powered voice feature for Gemini.

X to make Likes private, says public info leading to unusual behaviour from users

X (formerly Twitter) has confirmed that it will stop showing public likes on users’ pages. Since, the Tesla CEO Elon Musk has taken over this platform, he has been majorly in the news for altering it. This change was confirmed by Haofei Wang, Director of Engineering at X. Removal of likes will mean that users will no longer be able to see what posts other users have liked. Wang said that the reason for this change is that the users’ likes are encouraging wrong and unusual behaviour. He added that the change will let the user like whatever they actually like without worrying who might see it. He stated that this will not affect the likes on one’s post. The users will still be able to see who likes their posts and also the count of posts, replies and other features. The main aim of this change is to hide the profiles who liked someone else’s post. Majorly, the Liked tab on the profile will be gone.

Google Introduces AI-Generated Creative Assets For Ads

On May 21, 2024, search giant Google launched new AI tools at its Google Marketing Live event to deepen the connections between shoppers and merchants through compelling content. The company has unveiled a new visual brand profile right on Search, giving richer results for common shopping queries. The new brand profile will highlight information brands have provided through Google Merchant Center – as well as Google’s Shopping Graph – to showcase its ethos and offering. In 2023, Google introduced Product Studio, a merchant’s one-stop shop for AI-powered content creation. 80% of merchants who use Product Studio share that they have been more efficient – or expect to be more efficient – from using it. The New Product Studio features continue to put the power of Google AI in the hands of merchants. For generated images to be useful, it needs to be cohesive with brands’ existing campaigns and content. Now, brands can generate new product images that match their unique styles. One can upload an image that represents their aesthetic, add a prompt describing the scene and within moments Product Studio will generate campaign-ready content.

Indian apps rule fantasy sports world

Sports betting apps continue to make inroads in the country with 19.4 Lakh  new downloads in 2023, as per a report ‘State of mobile 2024’ by data.ai. Of this, nearly 2.6 Lakh  downloads were reported in the last quarter of 2023 alone. This is a telling comment on the Government of India’s rules on banning betting and gambling in many regions of India. Worldwide, sports betting apps saw 4.2 crore downloads in Q4 2023, compared to 3.7 crore in Q4 2022. Consumer spend on sports betting in India increased to $121,000 on 2023 as compared to $105,000 in 2022.

The future of cricket broadcasting: IPL’s unmatched digital engagement

In the ever-evolving landscape of sports entertainment, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has once again proven its unmatched prowess by setting unprecedented records in digital viewership. The 2024 IPL season has captivated traditional audiences and surged ahead in digital viewership, smashing previous records by a significant margin. This remarkable feat underscores the shifting dynamics in consumer behaviour and the growing preference for digital platforms over conventional television. However, when it comes to digital and the number of eyeballs it garners, cricket isn’t just about the game anymore. With 32 cameras covering every angle of the game, audiences have eyes and ears everywhere, implying that the storytelling behind the game has evolved from sight to insight. Digital platforms have evolved into mediums that help us tell behind-the-scenes stories. Fans can now express their opinions, celebrate victories, and discuss strategies on social media platforms, creating a virtual community that complements the physical one. Moreover, digital platforms use advanced algorithms to tailor content to individual preferences. Fans receive personalised highlights, player statistics, and match summaries catering to their interests. The surge in IPL’s digital viewership marks a significant shift in the sports broadcasting paradigm. To capture the growing online audience, broadcasters and advertisers must rethink their strategies and focus more on digital platforms. This shift will likely lead to more innovative content delivery methods, including augmented reality (AR) experiences and virtual reality (VR) broadcasts, which can offer immersive experiences to fans. Digital platforms have enabled brands to engage with audiences through in-game contests, interactive advertisements, and tech innovations, all of which stem from the desire to improve the game viewing experience while rewarding audiences in the process. These platforms not only offer digital viewers the best seats in the house, but they also ensure that brands can connect with audiences in meaningful ways that don’t simply have to have their logo slapped onto a VIP box. With ongoing hardware innovations, immersive home stadium views will soon be a reality. Fans will be able to experience the match as if they were in the stadium, all from the comfort of their homes. digital platforms are the future of how we consume sports as a whole, not just the IPL