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Tag: Flipkart

  • Flipkart to take app route; says 70-75 % of its total traffic comes from mobile app

    Flipkart to take app route; says 70-75 % of its total traffic comes from mobile app

    MUMBAI: After taking the only app route with e-tailing platform Myntra, the Bansals are now gearing to make even Flipkart an only app platform by September, 2015.  

     

    Online shopaholics will now have to squeeze in the Flipkart app somewhere in their congested phone memory if they want to use attractive discounts and shop from the rapidly growing venture. Customers will only be able to shop from the app as is the case now with Myntra. It must be noted that post going only app way Myntra has witnessed a 10 per cent drop in sales.

     

    In a statement Flipkart spokesperson asserted, “India is gradually transitioning from a mobile first to a mobile only country. At Flipkart, we have been following a mobile first approach and 70-75 per cent of our total traffic is already coming from our mobile app. We are constantly experimenting with various aspects of our service to create the best shopping experience for our users on our app. Meanwhile, we continue to offer both desktop as well as mobile option for our customers.”

     

    Mobile is driving the internet penetration in India and till December 2014, India had 173 million mobile phone internet users. The figure witnessed a growth of 33 per cent if compared to the 2013 analysis and is expected to grow by CAGR 21 per cent from 2014 to 2019. 

     

    The key factors that will drive the growth of mobile are:

     

    .  Increasing investments by telecom operators in data infrastructure.

    .  Push for favourable regulations from industry bodies.

    .  Falling handset prices.

    .  Economic growth of the country and financial stability of middleclass.

    .  Increase in mobile screen sizes and quality of display.

    .  Improving quality of curated online content.

     

    As per Google play store analysis, Indians keep social media in the top spot in their priority list followed by shopping platforms, when it comes to downloading of apps. With over one billion downloads, Whatsapp leads the tally of most downloaded free apps followed by Facebook messenger. Flipkart is currently placed on the fifth slot, with over 10 million downloads on Android. Its US based competitor Amazon India holds the 13th spot.

     

    In terms of web search google.co.in tops the list of most visited websites in India followed by facebook.com. Flipkart which is speculated to take its website off holds the fifth place over Amazon.in which is placed seventh. They are the only two shopping websites to have a presence in the list of top 10 website searches in India.

     

    At this point of time, India approximately has over 300 million internet users out of which 66 per cent come from Desktop PCs and Laptops, 55 per cent comes from mobile phones (it is estimated to grow by CAGR 21 per cent), and 11 per cent from Tablets.

     

    Android dominates the mobile platform with mammoth 91 per cent market share, iOS holds 2 per cent share where as Windows occupies 6 per cent of the marketplace.

     

    An e-commerce expert said, “The number of smartphones is already higher than number of computers, moreover people spend more time on mobile phone compared to PCs and laptops. Besides that, from an app, wide variety of consumer insights can be acquired which can emerge as an effective factor when it comes to marketing. So there are a lot of factors which signifies the positives of apps and why players are taking the only app route.”

     

    According to the expert, it could be to subtly force consumers to download the app. “It could be that once they reach their target they might have both: the app and the website. They have already experienced it with Myntra. They certainly have a plan which might result in a temporary drop of their sales but in the long run will be efficiently effective.”

     

    India is the fastest growing smartphone market. It currently has over 200 million online shoppers dominated by travel category. The number is expected to witness huge growth as various players are starting different interactive initiatives to popularise the medium in rural India.

     

    Key challenges for Flipkart if they go only app way:

     

    .   Making consumers download the app.

    .   Not letting customers shift to competitors.

    .   Having adequate backend facilities to ensure smooth running of the app.

    .   Making proper use of the acquired consumer insights.

     

    The only app route can also open up opportunities for joint marketing and monetization avenues between the venture and telcos. What remains to be seen is if the only app formula will bring in another source of revenue for the venture. 

  • News In Short raises Rs 127 crore in Series B funding

    News In Short raises Rs 127 crore in Series B funding

     

    MUMBAI: News In Shorts, a startup that launched the India based mobile news app has raised Rs 127 crore from its existing venture capital investor Tiger Global in Series B funding. With this, the company, according to the Economic Times, is now valued at about Rs 570-Rs 635 crore.  

     

    Founded by IIT dropouts Azhar Iqubal, Deepit Purkayastha and Anunay Arunav, News In Shorts is a news publishing app that curates the top 60 news story of the day and crunches them into 60 word shorts for the readers. Its launch was actively backed by funding from Times Internet, mentors Ankush Nijhawan, Gaurav Bhatnagar and Manish Dhingra.

     

    The app had crossed over 100,000 downloads for iOS and Android by February. “It is these increases, which directly led to this new funding round from Tiger Global,” News In Shorts co-founder Purkayastha informed techcrunch.com.

     

    The co-founder further stated that this round of Series B capital will be primarily used to enhance their Android app, since the Google-owned platform accounts for around 80 per cent of mobile devices in India.

     

    The report also highlights the editorial team’s plans on working on a number of new additions, including a personalization engine that predicts user’s interests, and a feature to allow users to express and share opinions on news via the service.

     

    “The only focus that we have right now is to make sure that the app runs smoothly on lower-end smartphones as well,” News In Shorts co-founder and CEO Azhar Iqubal told The Economic Times.

     

    The startup hit the headlines earlier this year after it received Series A funding of Rs 25 crore from Tiger Global, with participation from Japan’s Rebright Partners and Flipkart’s Bansals.

  • PKL 2: Star ropes in 5 associate sponsors for India; title sponsor for UK telecast

    PKL 2: Star ropes in 5 associate sponsors for India; title sponsor for UK telecast

    MUMBAI: The second season of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) is all set to go on air from 18 July and Star Network is busy amassing sponsors for the same.

     

    While the network has roped in five associate sponsors for the India telecast, it is expecting to pocket a few more before the series goes on air.

     

    Moreover, Star has sealed a deal with Clearwater Solicitors, which has associated as the title sponsor for the UK telecast of PKL Season 2.

     

    As a part of its distribution strategy in the United Kingdom, Star will also air the second season of PKL on Life OK. After out-bidding competitors, Clearwater Solicitors bagged the title sponsor rights to ensure increased exposure to the UK’s South Asian community.

     

    Speaking exclusively to Indiantelevision.com, Clearwater Solicitors co-owner Yaqub Mohammed said, “Kabaddi is a popular game for the UK South Asian Community and the partners are huge Kabaddi fans. We believe the sponsorship deal will be a fantastic way to increase our exposure to the south Asian audiences in the UK.”

     

    The sponsorship deal is only for the 2015 edition and is exclusively for the UK broadcast. However, Mohammed states that there are high possibilities of an extension. “This deal is only for this season but we will look to continue our sponsorship in the future too. Star Network is the number one network and we can get increased exposure amongst the South Asian community via them,” he said.

     

    Meanwhile for the India telecast, the broadcaster has already got in five associate sponsors namely cola brand Thums Up, e-commerce giant Flipkart, innerwear apparel VIP Frenzy, automobile ventures TVS Motors and Bajaj Electrical. What’s more, apart from these, a few more brands are expected to join in before the tournament kick starts.

     

    According to a media expert, the decision to not have an external title sponsor for the India telecast is a strategic move from the broadcaster. “A title sponsor comes with a lot of other deliverables, which includes ad space too but in sport like Kabaddi there is not much room for advertisement and hence instead of getting a title sponsor and giving it a major chunk of ad space, they decided to rope in a number of associate sponsors, which is a smart move.”

     

    As per the buzz in the market, Star India is said to be quoting Rs 10 crore for the associate sponsor tag. What’s more, as per experts, given the viewership the tourney garnered in its maiden season, Star will manage to get the desired amount for sponsorship.

     

    As was previously reported by Indiantelevision.com, ad rates during the tournament for a 10 second slot will be in the range of Rs 80,000 to 90,000.

     

    The first season of PKL was telecast in 39 countries and this time the network plans to extend it further. In the first edition it garnered cumulative reach of 435 million, which bagged it the second berth in terms of most viewed sporting event in India right after Indian Premier League (IPL), which managed a reach of 560 million. Both Star and Mashal Sports expect to create viewership records in the second edition of the tournament.

     

    It now remains to be seen the number of brands Star India manages to rope in for PKL Season 2 before the games commence.

  • You’ve got trolled: Brands wars unleash on Twitter

    You’ve got trolled: Brands wars unleash on Twitter

    MUMBAI: With the social media explosion, everyone has access to everyone today and freedom of speech has taken on a completely different meaning. Not so long ago, there was no way you and I could tell an Amitabh Bachchan or a Shah Rukh Khan what we thought of their performance in a particular movie. Today, each one of us is a self-proclaimed critic thanks to social media.

    While we’ve witnessed squabbles galore on social media… some big, some small… between celebrities or politicians, now even brands have taken to this medium to poke fun at rivals.

    Surely gone are the days when brand wars happened on television. Twitter has now become the new battlefield for interesting and hilarious episodes of mudslinging between brands.

    Trolling amongst brands is unique and hadn’t been witnessed much in India until recently. Such banter is open in markets like the US and the UK where TV ads show competition brands and demean them or for that matter verbal war on Twitter or on social media. However, the Indian market is slowly warming up to Twitter wars.

    Here’s a look at how some giants picked on and trolled their competitors on Twitter:

    Amazon vs. Zomato

    In April this year Amazon sarcastically picked on Zomato saying, “Zomato loved all the logos you used in the last 6 months. Was #AurDikhao the brief to your designer? :)”

    To which Zomato wittily replied “@amazonIN you should’ve seen the ones that didn’t make the cut ;)” Attached with the tweet was a mock Zomato logo with an arrow pointing from Z to A, clearly mimicking the arrow from A to Z that features in the Amazon logo.

    What’s more other brands like Flatchat and Urban Ladder too joined in it banter, which made for some witty and cheeky reading.

    The repartee between Amazon and Zomato also led to a lot of Twitter interactions among fans and followers of both the brands.

    Snapdeal vs. Flipkart

    India’s e-commerce giants, Snapdeal and Flipkart have also entered into a war of words on Twitter. Following Snapdeal founder Rohit Bansal’s interview with a US publication, the war broke open on Twitter about the talent India has and doesn’t.

    It all began with Rohit, who said that India didn’t have the programmers it needed. To this, Flipkart’s Sachin Bansal reacted by tweeting, “Don’t blame India for your failure to hire great engineers. They join for culture and challenge.”

    The statement was indeed misunderstood by Flipkart. Rohit clarified the attack in a blog post last week where he said that he had been quoted out of context. He clarified that while India has “some of the smartest engineers on the planet,” building large technology product firms is a more recent phenomenon.

    He said Snapdeal would continue to hire technology talent locally and bring on board “some select folks from around the world who have had the experience of building technology at scale.”

    He signed off saying, “An Indian engineer who’s trying to make the country a better place with a rock star team.”

    Asus vs. Apple

    In case you thought that only BlackBerry picked on Apple, think again! This time it’s Asus and how? In an attempt to mock Apple (which is really lame), Asus has picked on Apple’s Mac Book by sticking two pen drives in a real apple.

    Apple’s recently launched new Mac Book has only one USB port, which has restricted users. Asus is trying to strike at the Mac Book’s armour by giving consumer a host of ports ranging from a microphone-in jack to three USB 3.0 ports to card readers in its recently launched Zen book UX305.

    Kotak vs. ICICI Bank

    Not all brands appreciate that competition is healthy. In February this year, Kotak and ICICI Bank picked on each other on Twitter. Kotak Mahindra Bank started the Kotak Jifi saver campaign #hashtagbanking in February. Soon after the launch of the social media banking service, ICICI Bank came up with their #icicibankpay on Twitter.

    Gone are the days when brands used to pick on each other with their television commercials. In modern times like today, Twitter seems to be the platform for brands that are open about criticizing and also appreciating sarcasm. In the end, it all boils down to being a sport and taking bouquets and brickbats from competitors with a pinch of salt and dollops of humour.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com about brand wars on Twitter, Ogilvy and Mather executive creative officer Sumanto Chattopadhyay says, “It’s interesting how brands engage in the war of words with each other on social media. In the US it is a common thing as brands openly criticize other brands in their TVCs and otherwise. India is slowly going that way. As a consumer, it is interesting as we enjoy how brands have silly wars. Not only that, Twitter is a medium that is more public and hence gets noticed a lot more than any other media, so it might be to grab more eyeballs as well.”

    An industry veteran tells us on condition of anonymity that it depends on the aggression of the brand as to where to take the war. “Yes, probably Twitter is the new war place,” she adds.

    Opining on the same, Leo Burnett chief creative officer Rajdeepak Das says, “It’s fun to see brands pick on each other in a very healthy manner on Twitter. Earlier it used to happen on television and due to restrictions of the medium, it is now happening on social media.”

    Das further says that because Twitter is a public platform, a large number of engagements happen. Additionally, the medium doesn’t have restrictions. Hence it is fun to see brands pick on each other. Another point is that both brands understand the sarcasm and take it sportingly.

    Shop CJ marketing head Donald Kwag said that with “Twitter wars” breaking out left, right and centre, it’s hard to ignore the growing trend – and lately, more and more brands are joining in on the fun. “Given the time and effort dedicated to defining a brand’s social tone of voice, it makes sense for marketers to use that voice effectively – and one way to do this is to make the most of opportunities to engage other brands across social communities. By capitalizing on borrowed equity – when appropriate – brands will be able to showcase an authentic, playful side and, by doing so, reach entirely new audiences online,” Kwag says.

    There’s a thin line between healthy banter and below the belt slugging. When it comes to brands, reputation, values and perception matters more than anything especially when battle lines are drawn publicly on a free-to-all platform.

    In the end, there’s no love lost as long as they can get away by simply saying, “No hard feelings bro.”

  • Myntra locks up Pocketman as a part of Roadster’s BTL campaign

    Myntra locks up Pocketman as a part of Roadster’s BTL campaign

    BENGALURU: As part of a unique below-the-line (BTL) marketing activity, ‘Pocketman’ Eric Monjon entered a makeshift man-cave – an air-conditioned metal enclosure with an attached toilet, a table, a bed at Bengaluru’s Orion Mall, for 48 hours.

    This was a part of the campaign to mark the unveiling of Italian design studio Parabellum’s creation for Myntra’s private brand Roadster’s limited edition Pocketman Jeans in India.

     

    The jeans has 13 pockets and Monjon loaded as much food and victuals and other odds and ends that he could carry in them to sustain himself over the next two days.

    Monjon’s activities will be monitored on close circuit monitors and will be live-streamed on www.PocketmanLive.com and interaction with him will be possible on Twitter and Facebook, with highlights being shared on Roadster’s YouTube channel.

    Over the two days, Monjon will be digging deep into his pockets to pull off acts such as starting a fire, cooking his food, making music and art and other life hacks, that one can use to brave challenging situations when out on a road trip. The pockets are built to handle rough use and come in useful sizes to accommodate cans, tools, gadgets and plenty more informs the company

    Myntra fashion brands VP – marketing Manish Aggarwal said, “This was a fun collection to create! We wanted to make a point that all a man needs is the right pair of jeans. You have that pair, you are set for anything. Roadster is here to create new, lasting experiences for customer and this experiment is a live demonstration of our commitment.”

    Monjon added, “These jeans are incredible – they are virtually a rucksack for me. As it is, I love going outdoors over the weekend and from now on I will be sure to take these along with me on my fishing trips. I love the functionality of these pockets because it reminds me of where the phrase ‘Baker’s Dozen’ came from. It is almost as if the designer was wary that 12 pockets might not be enough, so he put an extra one! My list of things to carry will be just one from now on – my Pocketman jeans.”

    The limited edition Pocketman Jeans are versatile says Myntra, only two thousand of them have been made. Priced at Rs 3999, they come in four different shades, but Aggarwal told Indiantelevison.com that depending upon consumer response, Myntra could make more available. At present, the company’s promotion activities are limited to online and the event in Bengaluru, but, if required, Aggarwal said he would look at taking the act to other cities also.

    Launched in December 2012, Roadster has been endorsed by Bollywood actors Kunal Kapoor and Ranveer Singh, and is retailed exclusively on the Myntra and Flipkart platforms.

  • IPL 8 witnesses significant growth in viewership, advertisements

    IPL 8 witnesses significant growth in viewership, advertisements

    MUMBAI: The recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) saw a constant growth in each and every segment. As was earlier reported by Indiantelevision.com, this IPL, the ad revenues, at more than Rs 1000 crore, saw a significant fillip as compared to the previous edition. What’s more, IPL 8 also witnessed a significant growth in terms of viewership and advertising.

     

    Television rating auditor, TAM analytics shows that IPL 8 was sampled by 190 million unique viewers, and the time spent by the viewers fetched a nine per cent growth from 45 minutes and 43 seconds in 2015 as compared to 40 minutes and 55 seconds in 2014. 

    The average TVTs saw a growth of 25 per cent, while the TVRs saw 23 per cent growth as the tourney fetched 3.6 TVR this year as compared to 2.9 TVRs last year. Close to 70 per cent of the All India Universe tuned in to watch IPL 8 matches, which is quite identical if compared to the seventh edition.

     

    Apart for viewership, advertising volume also saw a significant growth. While there was only one biscuit brand endorsing last year, this year the number went up to six. The paint section also saw a significant growth as it jumped up from one to five. On the other hand, internet service (B2C and online shopping) category also witnessed an ascent as the number of brands went up to seven this year from four last year. The growth also reflected in the car and jeep category as the figure went up from two to six.

     

    Vodafone continued to be the most prominent brand on the basis of ad volumes purchased during the live telecast. It should be noted that Vodafone was the most prominent brand in the last IPL edition too. Amazon also successfully retained its berth at second position while e- commerce ventures PayTM and Snapdeal replaced Flipkart.com and Airtel at third and fourth place respectively. Vimal Pan Masala grabbed the fifth slot, which was occupied by Big Bazar in 2014.

     

    Click here to see match viewership pattern 

  • Airtel launches 4G trials in Mumbai; partners Flipkart, Samsung

    Airtel launches 4G trials in Mumbai; partners Flipkart, Samsung

    MUMBAI: The 4G wave is picking up pace in the country with telcos scrambling to roll out its services and offers to gain subscriber traction. Global telecommunications company Bharti Airtel has now launched 4G trials exclusively for its existing customers in Mumbai.

     

    As part of this, Airtel customers across the city can now avail a complimentary upgrade to Airtel 4G at 3G prices and be the first to experience blazing Airtel 4G speeds. The company will use this trial phase as an opportunity to gather customer feedback around the quality of its 4G services and assimilate these market insights into Airtel’s wider agenda of building a world-class 4G network infrastructure for the city.

     

    Additionally, Airtel has also inked go-to-market partnerships with Samsung and Flipkart to proliferate 4G devices and transition more and more customers to experience the fastest browsing experience.

     

    Bharti Airtel Mumbai, Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat hub CEO Ashok Ganapathy said, “As an increasing number of Indians show a preference for consuming data and content over their mobile devices, we at Airtel are excited to bring the power of 4G to our customers in Mumbai. While launching Platinum 3G, we significantly augmented our network and now have made further investments in building a robust 4G network here. For us, delivering a compelling service experience to our customers is our utmost priority. We want our existing customers to be the first ones to enjoy the Airtel 4G experience and are offering them a free upgrade to Airtel 4G at the same price as 3G. We look forward to our customers’ valuable feedback towards delivering a truly world-class 4G experience in Mumbai.”

     

    To avail this offer, existing Airtel customers with 4G ready mobile devices can walk into any of Airtel’s retail touch points across Mumbai and upgrade to a 4G SIM and experience high mobile internet speeds.

     

    As part of the deal with Samsung India, the two companies have decided to promote each other’s 4G offerings at their respective outlets. Samsung India’s retail stores will now facilitate easy Airtel 4G SIM swap for customers buying 4G smart phones. In the weeks to come, Samsung will also offer bundled Airtel 4G SIMs along with Samsung 4G handsets available in the Indian market. Airtel 4G double data offers are now available for Samsung’s Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy A7 and Galaxy A5 mobile devices. Samsung will also be looking at launching its all new Core Prime 4G mobile smartphone in Airtel 4G markets.

     

    Flipkart, on the other hand, will be offering Airtel 4G with double the data benefits for customers buying select 4G handsets. Flipkart-exclusive 4G devices (including brands like Xiaomi, Motorola, Lenovo, Asus and Huawei) that will soon come bundled with an Airtel 4G SIM. While existing Airtel customers will be able to follow a quick SMS registration process to activate 4G, non-Airtel customers buying their 4G device from Flipkart will be guided through a simple process to smoothly transition to the Airtel 4G network.

     

    Airtel’s 4G services are now available across India including Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune, Chandigarh and Amritsar.

  • Doodle Collection inks licensing deal with Yash Raj Films

    Doodle Collection inks licensing deal with Yash Raj Films

    MUMBAI: Doodle Collection has inked a licensing deal with Yash Raj Films Licensing to launch a limited edition range of diaries inspired from some of the studio’s films.

     

    Doodle Collection’s limited edition range of YRF diaries celebrate cinema and Bollywood in its most colourful, creative and quirky form. The diaries are inspired by YRF movies across genres – from the classic KabhiKabhie to the modern and spunky Band Baaja Baaraat. The typographic designs are inspired from Rocket Singh Salesman of the Year and Chak De! India.

     

    The highlight of the collection is the diary inspired by the cult hit DilwaleDulhania Le Jayenge.

    The diaries are available on the Doodle Collection website and at stationery retailers like Landmark and Crossword along with online portals like Flipkart, Amazon and Fashionara.

  • IAMAI hails CCI order to close investigation against e-commerce

    IAMAI hails CCI order to close investigation against e-commerce

    MUMBAI: The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has welcomed the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) decision to quash charges of cartelization and anti-competition practices by e-commerce companies.

     

    IAMAI hopes that this will finally put a stop to motivated charges brought up regularly by certain interested groups against e-commerce companies. IAMAI is of the view that this order will allow e-commerce companies to continue to provide innovative services to consumers in a free and fair manner.

     

    In recent months, charges have been brought by various malcontent elements that discount sales launched by numerous e-commerce websites were anti-competitive in nature. It was also alleged that e-commerce websites and online product sellers entered into exclusive agreements, thereby leading to market dominance.

     

    The CCI has ruled that e-commerce companies did not violate competition norms by indulging in cartelization or by abusing their dominant position. “The Commission is of the prima facie view that no case of contravention of the provisions of either section 3 or section 4 of the Act is made out against the opposite parties,” it said in its order.

     

    With regard to exclusive agreements, the CCI said that such pacts need not result in appreciable adverse effect on competition. “It does not seem that such arrangements create any entry barrier for new entrants. It seems very unlikely that an exclusive arrangement between a manufacturer and an e-portal will create any entry barrier as most of the products which are illustrated in the information to be sold through exclusive e-partners face competitive constraints,” the order stated.

     

    In fact, the CCI order praises the e-commerce companies by observing that online distribution channel provide an opportunity to the consumers to compare the prices as well as the pros and cons of the product. Furthermore, through the option of delivery right at their door steps, consumers have the opportunity to accept the purchase at their convenience and do not need to set aside a couple of hours at a stretch to make the purchase through a brick-and-mortar retail outlet. Therefore, at this stage, it does not appear that the exclusive arrangement between manufacturers and e-commerce/portal companies lead to Appreciable adverse effect on competition (AAEC) in the market.