Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

<ul><li><keyword id="1640900" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Online-grocery">Online grocery</keyword> segment will grow by 55% to reach 1.2% of the market by 2023, said a report by RedSeer and <keyword id="964794" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="BigBasket">BigBasket</keyword>. </li><li>Today online grocery startups account for 40% of total e-commerce funding in India. </li><li>Startups in the online grocery sector have raised $665.70 million in funding in 2019 so far.</li></ul>The Indian online grocery segment is growing fast and how. Currently the online food and grocery retail holds a miniscule part of online retail with only 0.2% penetration. But it is predicted to grow by 55% to reach 1.2% of the market by 2023, said a report by RedSeer and BigBasket. The market size of this segment will also expand to $10.5 billion, the report predicts. The customers’ trust on online shopping along with the growing presence of e-grocery players will drive this growth in the sector, added the report. “The online grocery segment has been one of the fastest-growing e-commerce verticals in India and will continue to flourish in both metro and non-metro cities in the years to come,” said Hari Menon, Co-Founder and CEO, bigbasket. Online grocery vs E-commerce in India As Indians are used to visiting the kirana store in the next lane, online grocery has been growing slowly since onset in 2010. In the past few years however it picked up speed. As the number of e-commerce users grew it had a slow but steady effect on online grocery purchases. From a barely any presence in 2010, today online grocery startups account for 40% of total e-commerce funding in India. 
 
 
 <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[
<div class="flourish-embed" data-src="visualisation/848622"></div>
]]></cdata></div>







 So, what led to this growth? “The online grocery space in India has accelerated due to the increasing penetration of internet in millions of households across the country, rise in smartphone usage, enhanced customer comfort and trust in e-tailing and a better value for money for customers in online vs offline stores. Besides, availability of value for money products, better savings vs offline stores and cashback led by subscription-based programmes further ensure affordable pricing and scheduled delivery to make this space exciting,” said Albinder Dhindsa, Co-founder, <keyword id="2466939" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Grofers">Grofers</keyword>. Startups in the online grocery sector have raised $665.7 million in funding in 2019 so far, with Bigbasket turning a unicorn. Grofers, a soonicorn (soon to turn unicorn) made a comeback with a $200 million funding led by Softbank. Here are the top 20 funded startups in the e-grocery segment. 
 
 
 <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[
<div class="flourish-embed" data-src="visualisation/849110"></div>
]]></cdata></div>







 Tier 2 &amp; 3 cities to lead the next phase of e-grocery Online grocery’s dream to reach $10.5 billion by 2023 will not be fuelled solely by urban growth. A big share of this will come from Tier 2 and 3 cities. Grofers co-founder Dhindsa believes that the next big thing in e-grocery is increasing penetration of e-commerce in tier-2 markets and amongst lower SECs (socio-economic classification) in metros. “E-grocery will bring more shoppers into e-commerce as a whole and already 15% of our new users every month are first time online shoppers. Growing disposable income of the consumers in Tier II markets and the adoption of 4G has already laid a strong foundation for the next wave of growth for e-commerce,” he said.

Online grocery may become a $10 billion industry by 2023 but even then only one in 100 Indians will be buying

<keyword id="2085190" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Online-grocery-stores">Online grocery stores</keyword> are gaining popularity in India due to sheer convenience, ease of shopping and a fast-growing market. Globally, <keyword id="2085193" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Online-grocery-retail">online grocery retail</keyword> is growing nearly 7 times faster than on-ground formats and the <keyword id="47445" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indian-market">Indian market</keyword> may soon catch up. For one, the <keyword id="156795" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="indian-retail-industry">Indian retail industry</keyword> is estimated to be worth over $500 billion (one of the world’s top 5 markets) and 30-40% of the businesses will be in the online retail space over the next 7 years., This presents a great opportunity for any form of e-tailing, especially the <keyword id="2085203" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="E-grocery-space">e-grocery space</keyword>. 
 As of now, <keyword id="2085207" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Grocery-e-tailing-in-India">grocery e-tailing in India</keyword> is a largely unorganised space and poses a big challenge in terms of stiff <keyword id="2085206" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Entry-barriers">entry barriers</keyword>. The traditional methods of inventory and <keyword id="2085212" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Logistics-management">logistics management</keyword> call for intense cash-burning – a business condition most of the bootstrapped Indian start-ups fail to meet. Moreover, a <keyword id="2085209" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Series-A-funding-crunch">Series A funding crunch</keyword> also compelled companies like Mumbai-based <keyword id="2048780" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="ShopVeg">ShopVeg</keyword> to shut down operations. Therefore, when another Mumbai-based start-up decided to start grocery e-tailing in the same year, things were not looking too exciting for the newcomer. But 22 months later, <keyword id="2009014" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="LocalBanya-com">LocalBanya.com</keyword> has managed to set up Mumbai’s first online supermarket and also raised <keyword id="6793689" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Series-A-funding">Series A funding</keyword> for the next level of expansion. 
 Although there were predecessors that attempted various models of grocery retail in the digital space and failed, <keyword id="2047523" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="LocalBanya">LocalBanya</keyword> has adapted a <keyword id="2085214" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Lean-business-model">lean business model</keyword> that relies on a convenient mix of <keyword id="96173" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="warehousing">warehousing</keyword> and <keyword id="512818" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="cash-and-carry">cash-and-carry</keyword>. This has reduced the start-up’s dependence on capital-intensive operations and enabled it to put in place a thoroughly efficient <keyword id="118965" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Supply-chain">supply chain</keyword>. In addition, the company has adopted some unique measures to take <keyword id="2085217" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Customer-convenience">customer convenience</keyword> to the next level. Want to know more about LocalBanya and how it works? Here is a snapshot that captures the start-up’s vision and viability. 
 
Who runs LocalBanya (www.localbanya.com): A team of three co-founders – <keyword id="2085179" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Karan-Mehrotra">Karan Mehrotra</keyword> (<keyword id="5645" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="CEO">CEO</keyword>), <keyword id="2085180" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Rashi-Choudhary">Rashi Choudhary</keyword> (COO) and <keyword id="1251820" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amit-Naik">Amit Naik</keyword> (<keyword id="238078" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="CTO">CTO</keyword>). Karan is the brain behind LocalBanya and set up the entire infrastructure with just 14 employees. He is a <keyword id="163598" type="POSITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="computer-engineer">computer engineer</keyword> and prior to starting up, worked for his family business as a distributor for <keyword id="123278" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="FMCG-firms">FMCG firms</keyword>. He has 11 years of work experience in varied fields – from turning around a chain of restaurants to setting up metal fabrication plants to building a food distribution network. 
 Amit holds an MBA from IIM-Lucknow and he is also a Six Sigma Black Belt from the American Society for Quality. He had six years of top tier experience in ad-tech and earlier worked for <keyword id="1076906" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Directi">Directi</keyword> and <keyword id="45475" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Larsen-Toubro">Larsen &amp; Toubro</keyword>. Rashi holds a Global MBA from <keyword id="1433263" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="SP-Jain-School-of-Global-Management">SP Jain School of Global Management</keyword> and brings four years of experience in <keyword id="6553136" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="retailing">retailing</keyword>, consulting and <keyword id="169305" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="customer-service">customer service</keyword>. Prior to joining LocalBanya, she worked with the <keyword id="244481" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Raymond-Group">Raymond Group</keyword>. 
 The trio had been working on the concept for some time and the site went live in May 2012. LocalBanya is now in beta and the e-grocer has over 130 employees operating across Mumbai, Thane and <keyword id="57321" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Navi-Mumbai">Navi Mumbai</keyword>. 
 
What inspired the venture: The desire to go one step ahead of your <keyword id="2085220" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Local-grocer">local grocer</keyword> who accepts orders on phone. “Apparently, it was convenient but there was something lacking. You can’t browse the inventory when ordering on phone; the choices are not many (after all, a kirana or <keyword id="2085221" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mom-and-pop-store">mom-and-pop store</keyword> won’t keep exotic or imported items as those are a bit expensive) and finally, there’s no organised system (accountable, responsible and prompt),” says Karan. So up came LocalBanya, an online supermarket selling around 12,000 products across 17 categories and adding more every day. 
 
What’s the pitch: LocalBanya.com is an <keyword id="2085223" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Online-convenience-store">online convenience store</keyword> dedicated to YOU (customers). The e-grocer offers high quality products and hassle-free delivery that save time, energy and money. “If you are <keyword id="62452" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="grocery-shopping">grocery shopping</keyword> 4-5 times a month or looking for something special, imagine the kind of supermarket trips you have to make and how you have to run from shop to shop,” points out Karan. “But having the entire bulk procured for you and delivered to your place, at the time you want it, would make things extremely convenient and lure the customers,” he adds. Karan, however, feels that the industry is huge enough to allow kirana stores, large-format retailers and e-retailers to survive and grow in the same marketplace. 
 
How it works: As of now, LocalBanya is targeting the <keyword id="6756404" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="urban-population">urban population</keyword> and the customer base varies from <keyword id="2085227" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Single-professionals">single professionals</keyword>, <keyword id="632195" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="working-couples">working couples</keyword>, <keyword id="168112" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Nuclear-families">nuclear families</keyword> and <keyword id="3216" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="students">students</keyword> fending for themselves to <keyword id="1400200" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="new-mothers">new mothers</keyword>, <keyword id="20566" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="senior-citizens">senior citizens</keyword> and even <keyword id="2085229" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Large-families">large families</keyword>. 
 “People come to us for a wide selection of goods (otherwise, they will have to visit 2-3 stores to make a purchase), convenience and great pricing. We deliver that convenience with exceptional levels of customer service, <keyword id="2085230" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Preferred-delivery-times">preferred delivery times</keyword>, same-day deliveries, fresh produce and efficient &amp; reliable suppliers. We also take product suggestions from our customers and ensure that the products are online in a fortnight,” details the LocalBanya team. The <keyword id="2085232" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Procurement-model">procurement model</keyword> includes a convenient mix of warehousing and just-in-time (<keyword id="377986" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="JIT">JIT</keyword>) deliveries from a host of suppliers including <keyword id="34523" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="fmcg">FMCG</keyword> companies, cash-and-carry outlets and other distributors. 
 Shopping for groceries on the LocalBanya platform is also kept simple. You just have to register or connect through Facebook before browsing the categories and the products. Once you make the purchase, the order is processed and ready for delivery within 6 hours. Delivery is done as per your time slot selection. The company offers 6 slots (of 2 hours each), from 7 in the morning until midnight, and one can choose any of those. Customers also enjoy <keyword id="2085234" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Banya-Points-rewards-programme">Banya Points rewards programme</keyword> and these points are redeemed for cash discounts on every purchase. 
 
Claim to fame: <keyword id="900658" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="traction">Traction</keyword> and <keyword id="232730" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="business-model">business model</keyword>. The start-up claims that it currently reaches over 10,000 homes a month and delivers 500-plus orders a day. Interestingly, nearly one-third of its orders are from <keyword id="1189616" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="institutional-clients">institutional clients</keyword> while senior citizens and <keyword id="58225" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="NRIs">NRIs</keyword> constitute over 16% of the customer base. But what matters most is the <keyword id="2085235" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Lean-infrastructure">lean infrastructure</keyword> set-up for reducing asset liabilities. 
 
Show me the money: Since its <keyword id="85080" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Inception">inception</keyword> in May 2012, LocalBanya has done around Rs 15 crore in gross revenues. The start-up is projected to grow 40% month on month over the next 15-18 months and eyes <keyword id="486782" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="break-even">break-even</keyword> in the existing markets (Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai) by June this year. 
 LocalBanya was initially bootstrapped, but has already raised two rounds of <keyword id="6357455" type="EVENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Funding">funding</keyword>. It is now in talks with investors to raise a Series B round by March 2014. In January this year, the start-up secured an undisclosed amount in Series A funding from <keyword id="2009015" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Karmvir-Avant-Group">Karmvir Avant Group</keyword>, a real estate developer in Mumbai. Earlier, it had raised funding from <keyword id="2085241" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Times-Groups-Brand-Capital-Springboard">Times Group’s Brand Capital Springboard</keyword> platform. “The Series A round will last us for a year and help fuel our growth at a faster rate as we scale up operations, hiring and marketing. We are also looking to start operations in a new city within a quarter,” says Karan. 
 
Biggest challenge: Competition abounds in online grocery retail space but containing cash-burning is most crucial when it comes to inventory, supply chain and logistics. Streamlining the supply chain and <keyword id="2085210" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Inventory-management">inventory management</keyword> is an uphill task but a lean procurement set-up, use of <keyword id="2085238" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Leased-delivery-vehicles">leased delivery vehicles</keyword>, <keyword id="2085242" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="In-house-delivery-personnel">in-house delivery personnel</keyword> (for ease of management) and a well-structured <keyword id="2085243" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Region-mapping">region mapping</keyword> that enables effective coverage of the city have helped the start-up cut down on costs. 
 
Five takeaways: In nearly 2 years of operation, LocalBanya has seen some interesting trends in <keyword id="2085200" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Online-grocery-shopping">online grocery shopping</keyword> behaviour and Karan &amp; his team want to share it with the budding wannapreneurs and all our readers. So here we go: 
 
59% of the transactions on the site are done by women. 
 
Senior citizens are a sizeable 14% of the customer base due to the convenience of online retail. 
 
A sizeable 2.1% of transactions are done by NRIs to have groceries delivered to their relatives in Mumbai. 
 
Institutional clients including restaurants, corporate houses, co-operative societies and any other organisation requiring groceries in bulk have seen the advantage of e-grocery and 29% of the business comes from these channels. 
 
Around 11% of LocalBanya’s deliveries are done during the 10 pm-12 midnight slot. And the last trend brings us back to the convenience factor. How many e-grocers or physical retail stores in India would be doing that in a bid to break out of the pack?

This E-grocery Start-up Uses A Lean Model For Its Online Supermarket; In Talks To Raise Series B
Funding

The recent Reliance AGM saw Mr. Ambani announce that the new Fresh Direct website would be ‘scaled up’, and that the company’s retail sector has seen a whopping 30-50% growth. 
 Reliance Fresh and <keyword id="2900459" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="reliance-fresh-direct-website">Reliance Fresh Direct website</keyword> has been plagued with problems like sourcing and storage issues. With it comes the added burden of logistics and freshness issues. That however hasn’t stopped many a brave e-commerce retailer to enter grocery retail. 
 
“Food and grocery is the single biggest opportunity in Indian e-commerce today. It’s just a question of tactical execution”, Arvind Singhal, Chairman at Technopak says. 
 
Should other players like BigBasket and LocalBanya be worried about Reliance’s grand plans? 
 
“There is a $370 billion market out there and a lot of headroom for everybody to grow at this moment”, Singhal says. 
 
With the focus increasingly shifting from brick and mortar to grocery retail, many believe it’s high time for the Birla and Future Group to join the party as well. After all, why should they not get a slice of the pie? 
 
(Image credit: Indiatimes)

Does
Reliance Fresh Direct spell disaster for other grocery e-tail?

As the competition for the top spot in India’s <keyword id="35621" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="e-commerce">e-commerce</keyword> market heats up, <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword> India is throwing caution to the wind and slashing <keyword id="52650" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="commissions">commissions</keyword> in order to increase sales in certain categories. As of 15 July, Amazon will cut the fees it charges from <keyword id="303254" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sellers">sellers</keyword> across 22 product segments such as furniture - a potential growth driver - as well as watches, luggage, eyeglasses and undergarments. The fees charged to sellers include a referral fee, which is a fixed percentage of the total price of the item, as well as shipping and handling fees. Amazon has come under fire in recent years, not only in India but in the US as well, for the high discounts it offers on products, thereby resulting in lower returns for sellers. The move to reduce selling costs will result in improved margins for suppliers and help attract more of them to Amazon’s platform. Second reduction this year This is the second time that Amazon has modified its referral fee structure this year. In April, it reduced fees for around 32 categories of products - including the popular apparel and grocery categories - but increased fees for 24 other segments like footwear. The fee structure for electronic devices remained the same. <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> countered the move soon after with a reduction in fixed fees on all products that were less than ₹500. Amazon’s latest move follows Walmart’s decision to acquire a 77% stake in Indian e-commerce leader Flipkart. As competition between the two entities heats up, they will try and lure more customers with heavier discounts and suppliers with lower seller charges. According to <a href="http://browntape.com/ecommerce-seller-fees-calculator/">Browntape</a>, an online sales service, on an average, sellers actually receive the highest value for their products on Amazon, earning 81% of the selling price of a product compared to 72% for both Flipkart and Paytm Mall. This is mainly due to the fact that Amazon charges one the lowest marketplace commission rates. The latest round of reductions will be effective at the tail end of Amazon’s upcoming Prime Day Sale, which will take place between 7 and 15 July across all countries that it operates in. Over the course of the Prime Day Sale, Amazon offers lavish discounts to all its Prime subscribers.

Amazon India takes the fight to Flipkart by cutting seller fees

The IAMAI-IMRB report has stated the <keyword id="1664180" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Digital-commerce">digital commerce</keyword> in India will touch Rs 2.1 lakh crore by December 2016, riding on e-commerce growth. 
 
As per the study, the digital commerce will grow by 68 per cent from December 2015. 
 
The digital commerce market has grown at a CAGR of 30 per cent between December 2011 and December 2015. It was valued at Rs 125,732 crore by the end of December last year, the report stated. 
 
Online travel continued to account for 61 per cent share of the market at Rs 76,396 crore. This is further expected to grow at a CAGR of around 40 per cent to reach Rs 1,22,815 crore by end of 2016. 
 
Online non-travel, comprising segments like e-tailing, financial service and matrimony and classifieds accounted of Rs 49,336 crore at the end of December, 2015. 
 
The report said online hotel bookings have seen a substantial movement growing 165 per cent year-on-year to Rs 5,200 crore in December last year from Rs 1,965 crore in the year-ago period. 
 
"The market reached close to Rs 5,231 crore in terms of transactions as of December 2015. The demand for online utility payment is expected to reach Rs 6,068 crore by December 2016," it added. 
 
Other online services market that include booking movie tickets and tickets for other events, online commuting or cab hire, online grocery and food deliver, stood at Rs 3,823 crore in December 2015, up from Rs 2,025 crore in the previous year. 
 
Also, demand for other online service is expected to grow at a CAGR of 36 per cent to reach Rs 5,207 crore by December 2016, the report said. 
 
(Image: Thinkstock)

Digital commerce is going to be huge in India, to touch Rs 2 lakh crore by the end of 2016

DMart and JioMart are offering deep discounts to catch up with BigBasket

While analysts tout the Flipkart-Myntra deal as a watershed moment in the online retailing sector, called e-tailing in popular jargon, intricacies of the deal portray it as an act of moving to a higher ground in order to avoid drowning in a flood – an Amazonian flood. 
 
Behind the scene, owners remain the same More than 80% ownership of both <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> and <keyword id="319719" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Myntra">Myntra</keyword> is no more in the hands of their respective co-founders, but with venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) firms. The VC firm, <keyword id="733500" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Accel">Accel</keyword> Partners, and New York-based hedge fund, Tiger Global, are the two largest investors in both Flipkart and Myntra. In fact, Flipkart’s two earlier takeover victims – Chakpak and LetsBuy – were funded by Accel Partners as well. LetsBuy was also funded by Tiger Global. Similarly, Myntra acquired fashion brand Sher Singh, funded by Accel Partners. 
 
In all earlier acquisitions by both Flipkart and Myntra, the acquired firms were either shut down or amalgamated with the bigger brand. Is there a conspiracy angle here? Not at all. 
 
India’s retail sector economics and infrastructure play a key role here. India’s current $2.3 billion online retail market is not even 1% of China’s, which clocked $294 billion in online retailing sales last year. India currently has 25-30 million online buyers, which is no match to nearly 300 million buyers in China. So what is ailing India’s online retailing? 
 
Challenges for online retailers in India 
First of all, states like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand have little online retail penetration, owing to poor infrastructure facilities such as logistics and storage. Intertwined with the poor infrastructure is the Pin code problem. In localities marked by narrow and unpaved roads in densely populated areas, delivery firms often don’t find the right addresses and at times, even potential customers are not sure of the code. 
 
Secondly, the current model of online shopping in India is based on huge discounts and multiple offers. This is because PE and VC investors heavily subsidise the purchases. Thus, bottom lines continue to bleed, so that top lines can grow. Flipkart had suffered a loss of Rs 281 crore ($47 million) on revenues of Rs 1,180 crore while Myntra’s loss stood at Rs134 crore ($22 million) on sales of Rs 212 crore. Flipkart, on an average, has been losing Rs 70 crore per month over the past one year. 
 
Since smaller e-tailers do not possess requisite funds to expand their physical operations in smaller towns and cities, mergers and acquisitions are the only way to create larger entities which can go for big-time capital expenditure. 
 The third challenge is that the underlying policy platform continues to be slippery for the overall retail industry. The <keyword id="44749" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Foreign-Direct-Investment">foreign direct investment</keyword> (FDI) in multi-brand retail has been a contentious issue in India and has not been allowed on grounds of taking away the business from smaller stores. Therefore, even in online space, FDI is allowed only in B2B (business to business) segment which includes ‘marketplace business,’ where an online retailer can provide its own platform to sell products of other brands and companies. And this is where Amazon comes into the picture. 
 
Whose model will win? 
Amazon had an offer to take over Flipkart two years ago but withdrew it later. Within a couple of years, Amazon has launched a mobile retailing app and now covers 20,000 Pin codes, which is more than any online retailer does in India. As per analysts, these major steps are aimed at a long-term model where Amazon can maintain its own inventory of products belonging to different sellers without actually relying on last-minute delivery by sellers through logistics companies. 
 
Talking about inventory, SnapDeal, the third major player in the online retail space in India, wants to stay away from it. SnapDeal has a zero-inventory model as it completely relies on third-party sellers to deliver the products to its supply chain network. It has its online logistics platform Safeship which lets third-party sellers select the best courier service from a list of about 20. 
 
Flipkart, which maintains its own inventory and supply chain network, is also relying on procuring directly from sellers on the basis of demand. In the long term, however, it is the optimum permutation and combination of both, a marketplace and an inventory-based model, which could be working for each player, depending on its product mix and future policy environment. 
 
Consumer is the real winner 
But the real winner in this battle is the Indian consumer. Indian e-tail market is touted to clock 100 million buyers, with sales nearing $40 billion by 2018. The Flipkart-Myntra combined entity already holds 50% of the Indian market share and is likely to capture 70% in the next two years. With the same set of investors putting decision-making on a single table, technology and logistics infrastructure will be shared and there will be more scope for technology innovation. 
 
The new BJP government may allow FDI in multi-brand retail and it is likely to roll out economic reforms in numerous other sectors that may witness a considerable rise in middle-class income. Thus, more choices, continuing discounts and increasing penetration of high-speed Internet all indicate that the consumer will remain the king in online retailing.

You Searched For "Grocery e tailing in India" and got 7 results

Online grocery may become a $10 billion industry by 2023 but even then only one in 100 Indians will be buying

Sanchita Dash

This E-grocery Start-up Uses A Lean Model For Its Online Supermarket; In Talks To Raise Series B Funding

Sanghamitra Mandal

Does Reliance Fresh Direct spell disaster for other grocery e-tail?

BI India Bureau

Amazon India takes the fight to Flipkart by cutting seller fees

Dilsher Dhillon

Digital commerce is going to be huge in India, to touch Rs 2 lakh crore by the end of 2016

BI India Bureau

DMart and JioMart are offering deep discounts to catch up with BigBasket

BI India Bureau

What The Flipkart-Myntra Deal Means For E-tailing In India

Pallavi Srivastava

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides