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Category: e-commerce

  • Flipkart adds a pink touch with majority stake in content hub Pinkvilla

    Flipkart adds a pink touch with majority stake in content hub Pinkvilla

    MUMBAI: Shopping just got a splash of pink. Walmart-owned Flipkart has picked up more than 75 per cent in entertainment and lifestyle platform Pinkvilla, valuing it at around 15 million dollars, as part of a bold push to court Gen Z with content-driven commerce.

    Founded in 2007, Pinkvilla has grown into a cultural staple with 60 million monthly users and 7.2 million Instagram followers. Its celebrity-fuelled stories, lifestyle updates and digital IPs have built a fiercely loyal base. “Pinkvilla’s robust content IPs and strong connection with its loyal audience are assets that will accelerate our efforts to leverage content as a key driver of growth,” said Flipkart senior vice president for corporate Ravi Iyer.

    For Flipkart, the deal is more than an investment, it’s a strategy to blur the lines between entertainment and shopping. One in three Flipkart customers is Gen Z, with video commerce already a major draw. “Our acquisition of Pinkvilla is a critical step in deepening our engagement with Gen Z,” Iyer added. Pinkvilla’s founder and CEO, Nandini Shenoy, called the move a “validation” of the platform’s reach, noting that Flipkart’s backing would help scale operations and deliver even more of the content fans love.

    The Bengaluru-based ecommerce giant has been flexing its investment muscle through Flipkart Ventures, with bets on over 20 startups, including logistics enabler Xportel, Factors.ai, and AI-powered recruitment venture Expertia.ai. With Pinkvilla now in its basket, Flipkart is hoping star power and storytelling will spark its next wave of growth.
     

  • Rs 20000 plus shoppers steal the spotlight in MiQ festive trends 2025

    Rs 20000 plus shoppers steal the spotlight in MiQ festive trends 2025

    MUMBAI: When it comes to India’s great shopping season, wallets aren’t just opening, they’re positively bursting. Global programmatic media partner Miq’s Festive Shopper Insights 2025 Report finds that nearly half of consumers are gearing up to spend over Rs 20,000 this Diwali, reshaping how brands plan campaigns in the country’s most competitive retail quarter.

    Based on a survey of 4,800 festive enthusiasts, the report spotlights four key shifts. First up: the rise of the Rs 20,000 plus confident spender. About 43 per cent of shoppers, largely 25–34 year olds from Tier I and II cities, are ready to splurge on everything from electronics to limited-edition launches fuelled by discounts, cashback, and influencer-led Fomo. They’re digitally fluent, research six weeks in advance, and make Youtube and social platforms their hunting grounds for deals.

    The second shift is a brand discovery boom. With 45 per cent of consumers open to trying new names, this Diwali levels the playing field between D2C challengers and established giants. Expect AR try-ons, influencer reviews, and viral campaigns to drive choice. Third, advertisers themselves are going early launching campaigns 30 plus days ahead of the festival. Programmatic video, shoppable social, and OTT dominate, though CPMs continue to climb. Finally, regional aspirations are shaping purchase lists: North and Central India eye cars and appliances, South and East want tractors and jewellery despite gold prices, and urban buyers keep gold in vogue as an investment.

    “Festive season is no longer just about shopping, it is about cultural moments amplified by media,” said MiQ chief commercial officer India Varun Mohan. “The new Indian shopper is confident, experimental and digitally led. For brands, the mandate is clear launch earlier, speak authentically across regions, and embrace a full-funnel approach.”

    With CPM inflation and fiercer competition for eyeballs, marketers will need more than deep pockets to win. As MiQ’s report shows, this Diwali isn’t just about lights and laddoos, it’s about who shines brightest in the brand bazaar.

  • Smart Bazaar, gives retail therapy a makeover with Mccann’s new campaign

    Smart Bazaar, gives retail therapy a makeover with Mccann’s new campaign

    MUMBAI: When life upgrades from jugaad to joy, retail must follow suit. Smart Bazaar has roped in Mccann Worldgroup India for its latest campaign, a creative push that mirrors the country’s shift from “making do” to “living well”. Based on insights into evolving Indian households, the campaign spotlights how homes today are being redesigned with purpose organised kitchens, thoughtful bathrooms, and living spaces that blend function with flair. The message? Families no longer just seek affordability; they aspire to elevate everyday living with quality and comfort at the core.

    “Smart Bazaar isn’t just another retail chain; we are emerging as the value-first catalyst for everyday aspiration,” said Reliance Retail CMO Surabhi Sen noting how the brand aims to bridge necessity with desire. Mccann Worldgroup India CEO & CCO Prasoon Joshi added, “India is at a cultural inflection point. Families are realising that living well isn’t about luxury, it’s about dignity, joy, and shared values. With Smart Bazaar, we tapped into that truth and gave it an authentic yet aspirational voice.”

    With this collaboration, Smart Bazaar positions itself as more than just a marketplace, it’s pitching itself as a partner in everyday upgrades, making better living accessible to households across India.

     

  • Flipkart strikes the right chord with 10-minute Ganesh Chaturthi delivery

    Flipkart strikes the right chord with 10-minute Ganesh Chaturthi delivery

    MUMBAI: When devotion meets delivery, even an Aarti can arrive in ten minutes. Flipkart Minutes, the quick commerce arm of Flipkart, struck a festive note this Ganesh Chaturthi with a digital-first campaign that blended tradition, rhythm, and rapid service. The centrepiece was a film created with FCB Kinnect, where the Ganesh Aarti was reimagined without lyrics replaced instead by the everyday symphony of claps, utensil taps, and beats. The creative twist showed how simple, familiar sounds can evoke connection and devotion, even outside a temple setting.

    But Flipkart didn’t just stop at the screen. Between 27 August and 6 September, the platform offered 10-minute prasad delivery from Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai and Shrimant Dagdusheth temple in Pune, available at a nominal cost alongside regular orders. Devotees also found rapid mobile charging stations set up in high-footfall areas to keep the celebrations powered through long processions and pandal visits.

    Adding a playful touch, complimentary manjiras traditional percussion instruments were tucked into select orders in Mumbai on the festival’s first day, echoing the campaign’s musical theme. By weaving together prasad, percussion, and practical convenience, Flipkart Minutes positioned itself as more than just a service, it became a seamless part of the celebration.
     

  • Fintech upstart Pay10 recruits GoKwik marketing chief

    Fintech upstart Pay10 recruits GoKwik marketing chief

    MUMBAI: Pay10 India has roped in Joyeeta Ghosal from e-commerce enabler GoKwik to lead its marketing charge as the fintech outfit seeks to muscle into India’s crowded payments landscape. Ghosal, who spent over three years as head of marketing at GoKwik, has been appointed senior vice-president and head of marketing and communications at the alternative payments specialist.

    The hire marks a homecoming of sorts for Ghosal, who previously cut her teeth in financial services during a near four-year stint at Home Credit India, where she rose from senior manager to head of marketing communications. Her track record spans traditional media, telecommunications, and consumer finance—experience that could prove crucial as Pay10 attempts to differentiate itself in a market dominated by heavyweight rivals.

    Before her GoKwik tenure, Ghosal honed her brand-building credentials across diverse sectors. She managed marketing communications for Czech lender Home Credit during its aggressive Indian expansion, crafted customer insights at telecom giant Vodafone, and helped launch Bengali daily Ebela at media house ABP Group—a project later showcased at the World Newspaper Congress in Bangkok.

    Her appointment comes as India’s payments sector faces increasing fragmentation, with niche players attempting to carve out specialised niches amid the dominance of established giants. Pay10’s focus on “open finance solutions and alternate payment methods” suggests an attempt to exploit gaps left by mainstream providers.

    The move also highlights the ongoing talent shuffle in India’s fintech ecosystem, where experienced marketing professionals command premium valuations as companies vie for consumer mindshare. For Pay10, landing a veteran who has navigated both traditional financial services and cutting-edge e-commerce represents a strategic coup.

    Whether Ghosal can translate her diverse experience into market traction for Pay10 remains the acid test. In a sector where regulatory headwinds and competitive pressures have claimed numerous casualties, her cross-industry expertise may prove the difference between breakthrough and bust.

  • Instamart expands the Home & Lifestyle category with the debut launch of Home Stop by Shoppers Stop

    Instamart expands the Home & Lifestyle category with the debut launch of Home Stop by Shoppers Stop

    MUMBAI: Strengthening its growing household and lifestyle portfolio, Instamart, India’s pioneering quick commerce platform, has partnered with Home Stop by Shoppers Stop, offering premium crockery, serveware, home décor, and furnishings. With this collaboration, Instamart becomes the first quick commerce platform to offer over 100 curated Home Stop products for discerning online shoppers. The platform will enable 10-minute delivery of a wide range of products across stores in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Gurgaon.

    The launch features a curated range of products spanning linen and furnishings, home décor, dinnerware, serveware, and kitchen storage. Offerings include artisanal candle holders, modern serveware, Buddha figurines, jharokha t-light holders, and other items designed to enhance everyday living.

    Sharing insights on quick commerce’s expanding role beyond groceries and essentials, Instamart  AVP & category head, Manender Kaushik shared, “Since the launch of the Home & Lifestyle category on Instamart, we’ve witnessed robust growth in the segment. This signals that quick commerce has evolved from a simple grocery delivery service into a more sophisticated marketplace encompassing larger and diverse categories. Traditionally, home and furnishings were planned purchases; however, today, the needs of Indian online shoppers are rapidly evolving. By closely understanding consumer preferences, we have prioritized expanding our assortment of lifestyle products. Our partnership with Home Stop marks a significant step towards making curated home décor and furnishings accessible to shoppers within minutes.”

    Speaking on the collaboration, Shoppers Stop MD & CEO Kavindra Mishra said, “Home Stop offers a curated selection of contemporary, classic, and innovative home solutions that blend quality, style, and value. It’s a one-stop destination for everything from bed and bath to living, dining, and kitchen, thoughtfully curated to help our customers build homes that truly reflect their personality. This partnership with Instamart marks a significant step in making the Home Stop experience instantly accessible through the power of quick commerce, allowing us to meet our customers at their doorstep, quickly and effortlessly. Together, we’re reimagining how modern India discovers and shops for premium home living.”

  • Flipkart’s influencer army hits it out of the e-park in sale season

    Flipkart’s influencer army hits it out of the e-park in sale season

    MUMBAI: This Independence Day, the real fireworks aren’t just in the skies, they’re lighting up Instagram, Youtube, and your Reels tab. In a head-turning report released by influencer marketing SaaS platform Klugklug, Flipkart and Amazon’s contrasting influencer strategies for their big sales reveal two vastly different playbooks and one clear early leader.

    On Day One of the festive e-commerce face-off, Flipkart appears to be “batting bigger”, deploying influencers at three times the scale of Amazon. Flipkart commanded 75.89 per cent of the influencers and 71.01 per cent of total posts, while Amazon trailed with 24.11 per cent of influencers and 28.99 per cent of posts.

    But while Flipkart is flooding the field with content, Amazon is playing the precision game.

    “The Independence Day sales are a battleground for e-commerce and brands,” said Klugklug co-founder & CEO Kalyan Kumar. “Flipkart’s aggressive, high-volume influencer deployment strategy is clearly leading in terms of reach and overall engagement at this stage.”

    Indeed, Flipkart’s influencer army is delivering big on reach and engagement. The platform’s creators garnered a whopping 136.91 million views, 1.56 million likes, 423.19K comments, and 31.4K shares adding up to a massive 2.02 million in total engagement.

    Amazon’s numbers, while more modest, point to a different kind of victory. The platform clocked 11.73 million total views, with 806.07K likes, 226.5K comments, and 16.89K shares, totalling 1.05 million engagements. However, its overall engagement rate was a notable 3.02 per cent, more than double Flipkart’s 1.32 per cent.

    “Amazon is demonstrating a more surgical approach,” explained Klugklug co-founder & CPO Vaibhav Gupta. “While their influencer deployment is smaller, their engagement rates are higher driven by mega-influencers. Flipkart, meanwhile, is casting a wider net, creating a splashy buzz with a mass rollout.”

    Flipkart’s biggest win seems to lie with its nano to macro influencers, who are showing solid engagement. The platform’s nano creators saw an impressive 4.70 per cent engagement rate, while Amazon’s mega influencers delivered a strong 3.50 per cent.

    However, when it comes to mega influencers, Flipkart is steamrolling the competition. These top-tier content creators alone generated 121.64 million views for Flipkart, dwarfing Amazon’s combined 10.77 million views from mega influencers and 11.98 million views from macro influencers.

    The numbers reflect the sheer difference in scale: Flipkart has gone all in, while Amazon is strategically picking its bets.

    “Both strategies have merit,” said Gupta. “It will be fascinating to see which proves more effective as the sale progresses big splash or deep connect?”

    As the sale rolls on, the scoreboard is far from final. But if the first day is anything to go by, Flipkart is swinging for the fences while Amazon is quietly building innings. Either way, the real winner is your feed, which is now a cricket field of commerce.

  • Flipkart launches ‘InvoiSIS’

    Flipkart launches ‘InvoiSIS’

    MUMBAI: Rakshabandhan has always been a high-activity moment in Indian e-commerce, but over the years, the space has become crowded and undifferentiated. Most brands compete on price, speed, and generic gifting assortments. Flipkart wanted to shift the focus from discounts to what really matters – the bond between siblings.

    The idea was rooted in a simple truth that sisters do a lot for their brothers; things that often go unnoticed or unacknowledged. So this year, Flipkart launched InvoiSIS, the world’s first Rakhi invoice generator. A light-hearted, yet functional tool that lets sisters raise itemised invoices for all the favours they’ve done, from sharing their fancy skincare to saving their brothers from family drama.

    Each favour came with a certified value, calculated in collaboration with finance educator and sister CA Rachana Ranade. Sisters could then attach a Flipkart wishlist that matched their invoice total, turning emotional dues into a real-time, shoppable bill.

    At the centre of the campaign was a microsite, www.invoisis4rakhi.com, designed like an old-school Indian invoice pad in pastel colours. The flow was kept simple and inclusive. To launch it, a fun digital film featuring CA Rachana walked audiences through the idea in her signature lecture style, complete with charts, data, and a direct call to action.

    The campaign conceptualised by the DDB Mudra Group was extended through culturally relevant content, including fictional invoices for iconic sibling duos like Monica & Ross and Aisha & Kabir, meme formats, and influencer engagement, all built for sharing, not scrolling. With minimal media spend and maximum relatability, InvoiSIS encouraged more thoughtful, higher-value gifting across tech, fashion, grooming, and wearables.

    Flipkart VP – growth and marketing, Pratik Shetty said, “Rakhi is an emotionally rich moment, and we saw an opportunity to move beyond transactional gifting. With InvoiSIS, we wanted to create something sisters could truly relate to, something fun and rooted in their everyday reality. It’s not just about the product value, it’s about making that bond feel seen and celebrated.”

    DDB Mudra group creative directors, Gagandeep Bindra and Rahul Arcot added, “How much should you really spend on a Rakhi gift? We figured it should at least match the value of everything sisters do for us. So we teamed up with financial expert Rachana Ranade and put a price on all sisterly favors, letting sisters raise an invoice for what she is owed, and demand a fair gift in return.”

  • Instamart’s new ad proves it delivers everything, even a laugh riot

    Instamart’s new ad proves it delivers everything, even a laugh riot

    MUMBAI: When burglars double up as domestic help, you know an ad has gone deliciously rogue. Instamart, Swiggy’s quick-commerce arm, has dropped a side-splitting new campaign, “Big or Small, We Deliver It All”, spotlighting its jaw-dropping 35,000+ product range and how it all lands at your door in just 10 minutes.

    Conceptualised by Moonshot Films, the ad kicks off with a man catching robbers mid-heist, only to calmly ask them to wait for a few more essentials he’s ordered. What follows is a madcap montage: thieves helping the family cook, study, and stream movies with stolen (but oddly useful) gadgets like mixers, projectors, and plates.

    The film wraps with a deadpan delivery executive showing up just in time, while the robbers stand hilariously frozen, tools in hand.

    With this campaign, it’s flexing its expanded inventory muscle across categories like home & kitchen, electronics, Korean beauty, baby care, and more. Whether it’s a vacuum cleaner or a vial of serum, Instamart’s message is clear: if it fits in a bag, it’s at your door before you blink.

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  • Global gadgets go desi as Gripit brings top tech to Prime Day shoppers

    Global gadgets go desi as Gripit brings top tech to Prime Day shoppers

    MUMBAI: This Amazon Prime Day, the world’s coolest gadgets are getting a Gripit-powered passport to Indian homes. Gripit, the homegrown trailblazer bringing global tech to Indian doorsteps, is shaking up Amazon Prime Day with a showcase of international innovations available at home-friendly prices and with desi-style service to match.

    From robotic vacuums and portable projectors to off-grid power banks and smart locks, Gripit’s curated collection reads like a wishlist for the future-forward Indian shopper. And now, for a limited time, they’re up for grabs at never-before-seen deals.

    Leading the charge is the Narwal Xplus Robotic Cleaner at Rs 22,990, a sleek domestic droid designed to mop, vacuum and moonwalk its way through Indian dust. Pair that with the Yale 100NXT Smart Lock at Rs 8,999 and you’ve got a home that’s as secure as it is spotless. Fancy power on the go? The Ecoflow River 2 Power Station at Rs 19,999 is ready for your next camping trip or power cut.

    Other Prime Day standouts include:

    ●    BISSELL Little Green carpet cleaner – Rs 4,999

    ●    CHUWI GemiBook Xpro Laptop – Rs 16,990

    ●    LOOP Quiet 2 Earplugs – Rs 1,499

    ●    OBSBOT Meet 2 AI Camera – Rs 12,490

    But this is more than just a flash sale Gripit is redefining global-to-local shopping. With a 330 plus strong service network, free installations across metro cities, and even virtual support for remote regions, the company is setting new standards in customer experience. They’ve also promised service turnaround in under seven working days, a feat in the fragmented Indian tech retail space.

    And there’s more coming soon. Gripit will soon launch a dedicated mobile app, where users can book live product demos, schedule free doorstep trials, and explore international tech innovations, all with a few taps.

    “Amazon Prime Day is the perfect platform for us to connect global tech with Indian aspirations,” said Gripit co-founder & CEO Sagar Mehta. “We’re not just offering deals, we’re democratising access to world-class experiences.”

    In a world where e-commerce often stops at shipping, Gripit is delivering something rare cutting-edge tech with a local soul. So if your shopping cart’s ready for a glow-up, now’s the time to Gripit and go.

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