If we revisit the issues that have made headlines in the e-commerce space in recent years, three broad concerns come to light that consequently aided companies like Amazon and Flipkart to monopolise ecommerce in India. The first area of concern is the abuse of aggregator superpowers through the inventory model. The second is deep discounting practices, which kicked brick-and-mortar stores out of the race. The third area of concern pertains to anti-competition practices such as imitating products and using algorithms to manipulate search results to influence consumers to buy these products.
According to a Reuters estimate, Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart currently control more than 60 per cent of the market. Monopolies or duopolies are hindrances to establishing a free market, a concept that the government encourages. Post demonetisation, when wallet-based digital payments saw a boom, the government's aggressive push for the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform changed the game. A year after that, UPI beat e-wallets in terms of the value of transactions. In May this year, the platform crossed the milestone of Rs 10 trillion worth of transactions, processing nearly six billion payments during the month.
On 29 April, when the government launched the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), the intention certainly was a replay of the UPI success story in the eCommerce space. Ironically, a day before the launch, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), raided Amazon and Flipkart over unethical practices that were creating a divide between corporate sellers and small businesses on their platforms.
Bu hikaye Businessworld India dergisinin July 02, 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Businessworld India dergisinin July 02, 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
MEMORIES & IMPRESSIONS
Ratan Tata was an exceptional human being. He was a visionary leader, esteemed industrialist, and a humanitarian, who left an indelible mark on India and the world.
The Robotaxi Market
The robotaxi market is shaping up to be a high-stakes battleground as tech giants and automakers race to transform urban mobility.
And the Nobel Prize Goes to AI
The recent Nobel Prize T awards to AI pioneers affiliated with Google have sparked a broader conversation about Big Tech's influence on research and the limitations of traditional prize categories.
Ola Electrified
Once considered a trailblazer in India’s electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem, Bhavish Aggarwal’s Ola Electric now faces a major accountability crisis.
Sharp Slide in Industrial Output on Eve of Deepavali
India’s index of industrial production (IIP) saw a sharp reversal in August, contracting by 0.1 per cent, in stark contrast to the 4.7 per cent growth in July, mostly because of significant contractions in mining and electricity generation.
Heralding the Solar Era with Sustainable Electrification
RAJEEV KASHYAP on the economics of solar power, the hurdles in scaling it, and much more
A WELL-GREASED MACHINE
The OmniBook X14 laptop runs on first-generation Snapdragon X Elite, which bets big on Al-enabled productivity and battery life, but falls short when it comes to overall experience, says Deep Majumdar
DO NOT LETA HEALTH CRISIS RUIN YOUR FINANCIAL HEALTH
For a family of four living in a metro, it is recommended to opt for a family floater health insurance plan with a sum insured of at least Rs 15-20 lakh
Disruption Ahead: Beyond Organisation Charts and Structures
ALBERT EINSTEIN FAMOUSLY said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Dr. Rahul Shivajirao Kadam: A Visionary Leader Blending Sustainability, Innovation, And Social Empowerment
We are on the stage of global warming, and these technologies not only help prevent further damage but also leave behind a better environment for future generations.