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Flipkart To Buy LetsBuy.com: A Marriage Of Convenience?

by Paul Joseph February 9, 2012 Featured

The Indian Digital Review reports that Flipkart is going to buy LetsBuy.com . The actual announcement will be made in a few days. This is exciting news for the e-commerce space in India.   LetsBuy.com launched in July 2009 and had a venture capital inflow from firms like Helion Venture Partners, Accel Partners and Tiger Global. Flipkart has been on an acquiring spree for quite a while now. Just recently, they acquired Mime360 and the Bollywood content assets from Chakpak.com. We are hearing that some sort of music service is also in the works. Flipkart are expecting a massive sales surge this year and Founder and CEO, Sachin Bansal is confident about increasing their revenue ten-fold . This deal is seemingly a marriage of convenience for both parties as LetsBuy.com is currently looking at raising more money and Flipkart has cash reserves of $150 million . LetsBuy.com is considered to be the second biggest player in the e-commerce industry whereas Flipkart takes the first spot. Interestingly, Flipkart is valued at $850 million and LetsBuy.com is valued at $20-25 million . The entry of Amazon in India via Junglee.com might have just spurred this development. Although Sachin Bansal said that Flipkart was not really threatened by Amazon, this may represent them fortifying their defenses against the advances of the online retail giant. The e-commerce space is growing rapidly in India but there is a nagging problem of customer loyalty which all e-commerce firms will have to work on. What are your thoughts on this acquisition? Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency

Tagged as: acquisition, acquisitions, amazon, ecommerce, Featured, features, flipkart, letsbuy.com, news, online-retail, startups, web

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Flipkart Not Threatened By Amazon’s Junglee

by Paul Joseph February 8, 2012 Featured

Amazon has finally entered India by introducing their online marketplace called Junglee.com . This is not a direct competition to e-commerce players in India but Amazon is the big daddy of e-commerce around the world and its easy to understand why their entry into the Indian market would make Indian players nervous. This does not seem to be the case however for Flipkart CEO, Sachin Bansal. Flipkart was founded by Sachin and Binny Bansal (not related) after quitting their jobs at Amazon. Their departure from Amazon led to an e-commerce revolution in India. According to Amazon, Junglee.com is a service which strives to help people discover the best products from online and offline retailers in the country. Sachin Bansal said of Junglee.com, “ Junglee.com, being an aggregator site that does only price comparison, the value proposition for the customer is limited. There are already several price comparison sites doing the same thing”. Speaking about the comparison of Junglee with Flipkart, he said, “ Junglee, in its current form, is incapable of meeting these expectations and we do not see this (Amazon-Junglee development) impacting Flipkart’s plans to a great extent. ” There has been massive speculation on whether Amazon would buy Flipkart over but Bansal refused to comment on this. They are currently valued at  $850 million and have received $150 million from Accel Partners and Tiger Global. Flipkart has also commissioned massive ad spends on advertising and marketing its product in mainstream media. Junglee.com on the other hand has managed to attract many people who are staying on the website for an average of 7 mins. This are brilliant statistics for a website/service which has not spent anything on marketing, advertising or website traffic building. Which one is better Amazon’ Junglee  or Flipkart? Let us know Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency

Tagged as: amazon, ecommerce, flipkart, junglee, junglee.com, news, online shopping, online-retail, sachin bansal, web

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Indian Shoppers Go Crazy Over Junglee.com: But Will The High Last?

by Paul Joseph February 6, 2012 Featured

It is interesting to note that  Junglee.com which marked the entry of Amazon in India, has been pulling in flocks on Indian shoppers. In fact it has accumulated one sixth of Flipkart users. The footprints of Indian shopper on  Junglee.com  is growing healthily and Alexa information analytics shows that there are nine pages per visit and users are staying on the site for approximately seven minutes. This is incredibly good as users on Ebay have a record of spending ten minutes or more. Mahesh Murthy, CEO and founder of Pinstorm says, “ It’s very interesting to note how Amazon’s Junglee.com has been able to draw visitors to its site within a few days of launch and without spending any rupee on marketing or traffic building .” The best part of the story is that Junglee.com has users from  Amazon  and this has boosted the traffic figures by nearly 70%. Junglee.com plays a fair game and has molded itself into a marketplace for all e-commerce needs. It has alliances with online and offline retailers naming HomeShop18, Dabur, Hidesign and also has partnered with deal sites such as  Snapdeal  and others like Univercell and more. Online sales are a hit and the Managing Director of Gitanjanli Group also submits to this fact that Amazon plays a huge role in growing their hits per day. “ We are excited to give customers in India a single online starting point where they can shop a wide selection of products sold by local and global retailers, ” says Amit Agarwal, vice president of Amazon.com However there are mixed views on this. Some Indian players feel that for Amazon Junglee.com is just a entry point and to understand the sentiments and buying patterns of Indian shoppers on the web. Sandeep Komaravelly, Head, Marketing and Alliances,  Snapdeal , feels that the sudden rise in the traffic of Junglee.com is just a hype created by the announcement of Amazon to enter India. This has given a spark of curiosity to Indian Internet users and will not last for long. He says, “ It is too early to quantify the increase of hits or users that we have seen in the last four days because of our partnership with Amazon. We already get over one million visitors on Snapdeal .” To wind up, the inference is that the India has 60 million Internet users and 10 million are online shoppers. India’s retail sector has a $US550 billion ($A515.2 billion) valuation as reported by the India Brand Equity Foundation. So the industry is growing with many more players to join the league. Have you checked out Junglee.com yet? Share your thoughts with us.  Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency

Tagged as: alexa information, amazon, amazon in india, brindes, international, junglee, plugins, shopping, technology, web, wordpress-plugins

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Google Wallets Are Filled By Advertising: Surprised?

by Paul Joseph January 30, 2012 Featured

Google has an astonishing   96 per cent  of its annual revenue  coming  from Advertising! Google made  US$ 37.9 Billion  last year, out of which  36.4 Billion  came  via  the advertising route. According to the latest revelations, Advertisers are literally  flocking  to the Google’s tavern to showcase their products or simply put the word out. Google has  risen in the ranks  to become Industry’s leading search providers. But, that’s just a foundation on which Google really carries out its Business. Based on the success of their search, Google leveraged  the trust laid on it by people to profitable use by making advertisers pay, sometime heavily, to out their advertisements within the search results. So, who has been filling Google’s coffers ? In 2011 the Finance & Insurance industry was the biggest contributor. It added almost US$ 4 Billion to Google’s kitty. Out of this Industry, leading Insurance & financial service provider StateFarm lead the way with US$ 47.3 Million . The most heavily hit-upon keyword? “ Self-employed Health Insurance ” (While some say Facebook .. but we are not the one to judge). As thought, the Retail & General Merchandise industry followed the Insurance Industry with Amazon leading the way with US$ 55.2 Million . Did people search  / wish for Kindle fire? Unfortunately for Amazon, the most searched for product was “ Zumba dance DVD ”. The rest of the pack that added to Google’s wealth were Travel and tourism (US$ 2.4 Billion), Jobs, Education & finally Home and Garden. Is Google evil in ripping us gullible people who rely on it for search? Well, yes & no. While Google has sometimes  wrongfully inserted ads  within our search result, it has given jobs or opportunities to software developers or programming experts. There are now consultants paid for their  knowledge  about Google’s Adwords & Adsense & how to correctly leverage it to advertise within budgets. While we wish, Google’s keeps the search devoid of these thinly veiled advertisements, it has got to earn money. Our only request, do not destroy the sanctity of the search in the process. Have you had a brush with   cleverly inserted   advertisement, while searching for something? Do share your experience Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency Related Posts iPad Sales Plunge As Kindle Fire Tops Holiday Wish-List: Time For iPad 3? Your Favorite Marathi Books Now On A Digital Platform: Will It Increase The Popularity Of The Local Language? Amazon’s Kindle Fire Is Losing Its Spark According To Early Reviewers Amazon Rakes Into Ad Sales Google Targets Plans To Take On Amazon: In Talks With Major Retailers

Tagged as: advertising, amazon, finance, insurance, kindle, news, statefarm, web

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Apple To Offer Digital Textbooks: Death Of Physical Copies?

by Paul Joseph January 24, 2012 Featured

The Education sphere just got interesting with Apple’s iBooks 2 ventures. Apple has already laid its hands on about  90%  of all textbooks in US controlled by the trio of publishers Pearson PLC, McGraw-Hill Cos Inc and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.  Learning  should be beyond classroom feels, Terry McGraw, CEO McGraw-Hill, “ Having textbooks on iPads will open up the market beyond high school and university students to everyday consumers. I think without a doubt this will open up a   learning agency   for anybody and   anywhere .” Its all about Economics isn’t it? Well, Yes & No. Physical Copies of textbooks are a market worth an estimated US$ 8 Billion . Apple, with its iPad, could really shake the market as these devices can go way beyond text & some still images. With presentations, slides, video & audio built right into the books, students & just about everyone can gain access to a wealth of knowledge that just can’t be delivered through a bulky textbook. McGraw Hill has confirmed that it will make about 30% of each book sold in iBooks 2. With 25% of the price of the book going in the printing & distribution, one can imagine how much the publishers plan to save when a single digital copy can be distributed to millions, without cutting down a single tree. Let’s face it, textbooks are “cumbersome”. Though the pricing appears a bit steep at 14.99 per book, the prices can sure show fluctuation based on demand & popularity. Our readers might remember Amazon, the chief competitor to Apple here too , had started a book lending program . Well, its all speculation for now. We wonder, with the likes of Aakash & Classpad , will textbooks through iPad make a breakthrough in India, even if  forced ? Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency Related Posts iPad Sales Plunge As Kindle Fire Tops Holiday Wish-List: Time For iPad 3? Your Favorite Marathi Books Now On A Digital Platform: Will It Increase The Popularity Of The Local Language? Facebook To Add Music Services Amazon To Join The Tablet Wars? Apple, Google, Amazon Locked In Digital Content War

Tagged as: amazon, apple, e books, features, international, mcgraw hill, news, terry mcgraw, web

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Amazon Might Finally Make An Entry In India Via Their Marketplace

by Paul Joseph January 23, 2012 Featured

We have been wondering for some time now about Amazon’s plan for India. Seeing how two former Amazon executives have managed to build up Flipkart by doing what Amazon does best and adapting it to the Indian market, we were sure that Amazon would not keep quiet. For many months Amazon was very tight lipped about its entry into the country but now it seems they might actually start operations in the country very soon. For those excited about the fact that they will bring their flagship online store to the country, then you will be a bit disappointed. They are just setting up the Amazon Marketplace where 3rd party retailers can sell their stuff through Amazon’s channel.     Amazon Marketplace is thus getting into deals with many online retailers so that they only sell their wares through the ‘Community’ Marketplace. Amazon will reportedly not charge the retailers a commission on the stuff sold. Apparently, they have been studying the Indian business landscape and do not want to run afoul of any Indian Government regulations. We all remember the FDI issue which happened some months back. This is also the reason Amazon is being very tight-lipped about the whole thing. Their plan is sound. With this Amazon will be the go to place for all online retailers and hugely benefit from the volumes of visitors coming over. They have been looking for top level e-commerce executives from Indian firms for its retail operations and logistics departments. They have also been delayed because they still have not found a suitable senior executive for Retail yet. Amazon is a major player and has branched out admirably into the tech domain by getting into e-readers, tablets , cloud music and their very own Android app store besides online retail. They started out just being a bookstore, not very different from the beginnings from our very own Flipkart. Will this be any threat to Flipkart? Well, it is difficult to say at the moment but they cannot attack Flipkart directly as Flipkart has managed to dig deep into the Indian Market. They are currently expecting a 10 fold growth in revenue and I don’t think they will shaken  Amazon’s tactics very soon. Will Amazon be a success in the burgeoning Indian e-commerce segment? Tell us. Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency Related Posts Amazon’s Kindle Fire Is Losing Its Spark According To Early Reviewers Flipkart Raises $20 Million From Tiger Global iPad Sales Plunge As Kindle Fire Tops Holiday Wish-List: Time For iPad 3? Amazon’s Kindles Fire Up The E-Reader And Tablet Markets Shops Now Open At A Mobile Screen Near You: Exciting Enough To Purchase More?

Tagged as: amazon, amazon in india, flipkart.com, international, marketplace, news, technology, web

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Your Favorite Marathi Books Now On A Digital Platform: Will It Increase The Popularity Of The Local Language?

by Paul Joseph December 29, 2011 Featured

Major Marathi publication houses will jointly launch MarathiReader.com . Eight publishers, including big names like Popular Prakashan, Mauj Prakashan, and Continental Prakashan which collectively hold the largest treasure trove of Marathi literature, have finally realized & decided to adopt the digital route for distribution of rare & popular books. Many want to read, but few can afford the time to go to a library & choose. It is this audience that they wish to cater. As far as books go, Harsha Bhatkal of Popular Prakashan says, “ We will offer at least 5,000 titles in Marathi and keep increasing it. As far as e-books go, we’ll offer 2,000 titles to start with ” The idea of a online book-store occurred to Milind Paranjpe of Jyotsna Prakashan after witnessing the success of Amazon’s Kindle , which ironically is facing some issues getting the books! However, mere Indians are not the target, “ The site will reach out to readers outside Maharashtra or India and those in remote areas, where supply chains are weak ” he says. As far as numbers go, over 3000 books in Marathi are published every year. However, owing to lack of proper marketing tie-ups, some good literature goes unnoticed says Rohan Champanerkar of Rohan Prakashan, “ Although the number of books in Marathi is increasing, the store space and marketing links have not kept up. Even if a book is good it is not displayed at stores ”. Presently, the site faces a tough competition from BookGanga.com which caters to Marathi aficionados across the gulf US, UK, Singapore etc. BookGanga started a mere year ago & realized the market is huge . We visited the site & were greeted with a non-impressive “This Domain name is Parked” Message. Guess, the site has still to materialize from the conceptualization stage. Further, we ask will the site merely sell the books or try some advert-inserted tricks ? We wonder why not approach Flipkart ? They seem to know what has to be done ! Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency Related Posts Kindle 2 Finally Unveiled by Jeff Bezos Amazon’s Kindle Fire Is Losing Its Spark According To Early Reviewers Steve Jobs Biography Available On Kindle & iBooks E-book Adoption And The Indian Public Survey Says eReaders Helping In Driving Book Buying Growth

Tagged as: amazon, continental prakashan, ecommerce, features, harsha bhatkal, jyotsna prakashan, kindle, milind paranjpe, publication, rohan champanerkar, tie ups

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10 Times Growth A Firm Possibility Reveals Flipkart CEO: Whats Their Secret?

by Paul Joseph December 27, 2011 Featured

Sachin Bansal, CEO Flipkart, is confident at achieving 10 fold growth in revenue this year. Mr. Bansal recently confirmed in a statement, “ In terms of revenue, we are looking at Rs. 500 Crores to Rs. 600 Crores in thecurrent financial year ”. In retrospection, the company had managed a revenue of 50 Crores last year. The confident , IIT & ex-Amazon Duo Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal is targeting USD 1 Billion (Rs. 5000 Crores) in the next 2 to 3 years! He further added, “ Our target is not just those who shop online. We want to highlight the convenience of e-commerce to traditional offline shoppers and, thus, help grow the market .” Flipkart is already into multiple categories & started with the aim of being the largest online retailer of books & recently added, computer peripherals, kitchen appliances, televisions, home theatre systems etc. to its product range. All in all, Flipkart is into 12 Major categories. but, the CEO has confirmed that they will stay away from Groceries & Automobiles, “ Everything, except for groceries and automobiles, is fair game for Flipkart ” he quips. Some things that were pioneered by Flipkart to drive sales & customer support were, cash/card on delivery, 30-day replacement policy, equated monthly installment and 24X7 customer support & this is what has helped them garner a support of over 1500 suppliers across the country. On the acquisition front we had recently reported it had acquired digital platform Mime360 & the digital catalogue of Chakpak . How it intends to use them, are still a mystery. But have Flipkart forgotten about its primary love…. Books ? No, in fact, Flipkart has already begun thinking about the next iteration, e-books, “ We are keeping a close eye on the market trends and will make our foray into the e-books space at the right time ” added by Mr. Bansal. With many firms already backing the duo, we are confident that the venture is headed, nowhere but up . While some brick-n-mortar companies are going online , Will Flipkart open up a offline store? Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency Related Posts AIIMS Starts E-Book Facility For Doctors And Students Is Amazon Entering India? Flipkart Raises $20 Million From Tiger Global Online Shopping Surges In India, Reveals ComScore Amazon Considered A RIM Acquisition This Past Summer

Tagged as: amazon, bansal, binny, flipkart, news, sachin, web

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Amazon Considered A RIM Acquisition This Past Summer

by Paul Joseph December 21, 2011 Featured

Research in Motion (RIM) is in a lot of trouble and they know it. The maker of of the Blackberry smartphones has not made much headway in the product category this year. The only thing that people are actually expecting from RIM is the new QNX based OS they are going to launch. But unfortunately, these devices will not see the light of day till late next year, which really is a big downer! As other platforms continue to grow and advance, their platform is currently languishing because of these problems. Their venture into the tablet market with ‘ Playbook ’ has also not been very successful. All in all, a very dismal year for these guys.Now imagine what would this year be like for them had Amazon bought them over. Yes, it would definitely be very interesting. Amazon had briefly considered buying out the troubled company to further their own advances into the mobile segment. Both the companies are tight-lipped about anything any suggestions of a buyout but Reuters is reporting that there were some informal talks between the two companies during this past summer. Besides Amazon, bankers were also trying to convince RIM’s competitors HTC and Samsung to buy out the ailing company but they chose not to. Let us try to understand why this buyout would make sense to Amazon. Amazon is a huge online retail company but besides their Kindle reader they had made much headway into the mobile computing segment earlier. With RIM’s devices and the substantial patents that it has, it would have made perfect sense for Amazon to acquire RIM. But since the talks didn’t go down well, Amazon focused on Android. They have just released their Kindle Fire and also invested in their own app store . RIM has thus chosen to face the future alone but it is very risky business for the Canadian technology company. The company’s board has rejected the notion of selling off parts of RIM’s business. The company seems to have undertaken a campaign to be hopeful about their future. The two CEOs from RIM have also proactively reduced their pay to $1 per year. Whether or not such tactics will work for RIM to steer clear of troubled waters, only time will tell. What is your opinion about RIM’s future in India? Let us know. Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency Related Posts Are Smartphones The Future of Mobile? RIM Quarterly Results Paint A Dismal Picture Android Captures 40% Of US Smartphone Market If Mobile Apps Shape Who We Are..Indians Mean Business Android, iOS Race Heats Up: Nielsen

Tagged as: amazon, blackberry, financial results, international, mobile, mobile-technology, news, qnx, rim, technology, tie ups

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Amazon’s Kindle Fire Is Losing Its Spark According To Early Reviewers

by Paul Joseph December 13, 2011 Featured

Amazon jumped onto the Android Bandwagon recently with their e-reader/tablet hybrid called the Kindle Fire . The Fire runs Android 2.3 and has its own browser (Silk), App store and full blown Kindle functionality. And to make the deal sweeter it costs $199 . There must be a catch somewhere, right? We earlier blogged about how early versions of the Kindle Fire were having WIFI issues. Amazon had countered this by saying that they will be releasing an update that counters this. Now more discontentment about this device have been unearthed. Many Kindle Fire users are very displeased with the product and are sending it back to the retailer. More device problems have come to our notice which include the power button getting accidentally pressed due to poor positioning, no external volume controls, poor website load times and lack of privacy, parental controls and poor touchscreen response to name a few . These are are glaring holes in the product line . According to Usability expert, Jacob Nielsen of Nielson Norman Group, a Silicon Valley Consulting Firm, “ I feel the Fire is going to be a failure. I can’t recommend buying it .” These are pretty strong statements and represent the anger the users are feeling about this device being not up to the mark. Amazon’s Kindle forums have been flooded with complaints since the device started shipping. Amazon has reassured the users that all these complaints will be fixed ASAP with an OTA (Over The Air) update. So let us consider what the Kindle Fire means to Amazon. Amazon has seen booming business in its retail sector and then they ventured into electronics by developing and selling the Kindle readers which were very popular. With the advent of tablets like iPad and other Android tablets, Amazon was forced to release Kindle apps for these platforms so that they would not lose out on the prospective customers on these platforms. So their entire Kindle platform became redundant. To counte r this threat they have come up with the Kindle Fire which both a Tablet and a Kindle reader. They have been supporting this product of theirs by introducing new services like Cloud Music Player and their own version of the Android App store . Amazon is actually producing Kindle Fire at a loss so that they can ensure that they get a slice of the tablet pie. Hence the cheap pricing. This is all good and very competitive but that does not mean that the device has to be substandard. Amazon should take care of the kinks in the device and get a more polished device rolling soon. Considering the issues the Kindle Fire has, would you go ahead and buy it considering its price point? Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency Related Posts Survey Says eReaders Helping In Driving Book Buying Growth Steve Jobs Biography Available On Kindle & iBooks Amazon’s Android App Store Hushes Up Within A Day, Unexpectedly E-book Adoption And The Indian Public Hindustan Times On Kindle – A Look At The Future Of E-Readers

Tagged as: amazon, features, international, kindle, kindle fire, mobile, news, technology, web

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