The Big Story | Which Online Retailers Will Come Out On Top During The Festive Season | NDTV Profit - video Dailymotion

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As we head into the #Diwali and #DurgaPuja festivals, consumers will drive significant revenue towards retailers, with #ecommerce companies leading the charge.   Who will come out on top? Find out with Nupur Talwar Suri on 'The Big Story.' #NDTVProfitLive _______________________________________________________   For more videos subscribe to our channel: https://www.youtube.com/@NDTVProfitIndia Visit NDTV Profit for more news: https://www.ndtvprofit.com/ Don't enter the stock market unaware. Read all Research Reports here: https://www.ndtvprofit.com/research-reports Follow NDTV Profit here Twitter: https://twitter.com/NDTVProfitIndia , https://twitter.com/NDTVProfit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ndtvprofit Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ndtvprofit/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NDTVProfit/ #ndtvprofit #stockmarket #news #ndtv #business #finance #mutualfunds #sharemarket Share Market News | NDTV Profit LIVE | NDTV Profit LIVE News | Business News LIVE | Finance News | Mutual Funds | Stocks To Buy | Stock Market LIVE News | Stock Market Latest Updates | Sensex Nifty LIVE | Nifty Sensex LIVE

Transcript

00:00Well, festive cheer has arrived early with the big discount deals on Amazon and Flipkart.

00:09Consumers have begun to rush to snag deals on everything from electronics to fashion.

00:15Hello and welcome.

00:16You are watching The Big Story on NDTV Profit and I'm Nupur Talwar Suri.

00:20In the spotlight today is the great Indian battle of e-commerce sales.

00:24The upcoming October to December period is critical for retailers as festivals from Diwali

00:29to Durga Puja drive up sales, contributing a significant portion of the annual revenue.

00:35Consumers are embracing the festive spirit with their proactive shopping behavior, signaling

00:40an even stronger performance ahead.

00:42Now, leading smartphone brands like Xiaomi and Samsung are capitalizing on the moment,

00:49slashing prices and pushing hard to clear stocks while encouraging retailers to meet

00:54bold targets.

00:56E-commerce heavyweights, Amazon Flipkart as well as Myntra along with the rapid delivery

01:00services like Blinket and Zepto are leading the charge, rolling out discounts as high

01:06as 80% with ultra-fast delivery options.

01:10On The Big Story, we look at who's dominating the e-commerce shopping space.

01:25And to discuss this further, we are now joined by Mr. Anil Bharadwaj.

01:31He's the Secretary General of the Federation of SMEs.

01:34Mr. Bharadwaj, good evening.

01:35Thank you very much for speaking to us on NDTV Profit.

01:38Now, Mr. Bharadwaj, of course, this is a time, you know, when big e-commerce wars actually

01:44play out in the country.

01:45Everywhere you look, e-tailers have been aggressively advertising.

01:50They're trying to woo Indian shoppers with discounts.

01:53That almost would seem unbelievable, up to 80% off, up to 85% off.

01:58Now, we are also looking at revenues worth about one lakh crore this year.

02:04How do you see this big battle to capture this space?

02:10See, this is a fact of Indian retail industry that almost 40 to 50% of sales happen during

02:18the festive period.

02:20And almost everybody is predisposed to buy, to decorate houses for gifting.

02:25So gifting, as a matter of fact, majority of the gifting takes place during this period.

02:30And sellers have their tasks cut out.

02:32They also want to leverage this predisposition of the clients and the consumers.

02:39And they stock goods, they plan, they do their inventory planning, capital management, etc.,

02:44exactly for this one month and a half or two.

02:48So our members also stock stuff and they plan and they try to club many products together

02:55and try to push as many as possible.

02:58So it's like selling more and based on the quantity, they want to reduce the prices and

03:05deals come.

03:07So some, of course, may go up to 20%, 30%, 40%.

03:13So I mean, this is interesting as well as good for consumers.

03:18Right now, Mr. Bhajwaj, there are a lot of consumers who actually wonder whether these

03:24big giants actually first bump up the prices and then appear to give discounts.

03:32And that's the question on a lot of people's minds as to how much discount are you actually

03:37getting?

03:38Are these discounts for real?

03:40Well, to be honest, India is such a large market and there are so many sellers, hundreds

03:46and thousands of sellers, both online and offline.

03:49It is impossible to manage the prices, to be honest.

03:52So there is no possibility of bumping up the prices and then giving the discounts.

03:59The discounts are genuine.

04:01The difference is that people try to push the inventory because they have stocked it

04:07and they have, I mean, if you sell more, then there is a possibility that you can reduce

04:13the prices.

04:14So it's based on that bulk sale that ultimately they have been able to reduce prices.

04:20And they also know that if they miss out on this window of opportunity of one month and

04:25a half or two, then they will have to wait for next one year.

04:29So I think at the end of it, maybe the discounts will be pretty steep.

04:35In the beginning, maybe less, but I guess most of the discounts are real.

04:41What you are essentially saying is that it's actually volumes that are driving up these

04:46sales and the, you know, manufacturers are looking at perhaps doing enough volume to

04:53be able to gather profits.

04:55But you made this point about, you know, the first people who hit the sale.

04:59Now, there is some research that seems to suggest that the first one week of these sales

05:04is actually where you get the best deals and also where, you know, retailers actually

05:11get the maximum profits.

05:13Well, that depends actually from product to product.

05:17So I mean, it may be different in mobiles, it may be different in perfumery products

05:21or maybe different in maybe foodstuff.

05:25So it depends.

05:26So I think because of the competition, there are different people and they check out their

05:30own strategies to market that what suits them most.

05:34But there is no method to it, actually.

05:37So it is basically their own individual market genius that they want to try out.

05:43Right.

05:44Now, what we see in reports that are coming out, it seems to suggest that mobiles and

05:50fashion is something that has the biggest piece in the pie.

05:55Mobiles, yes, smartphones, top of everybody's list.

05:59But fashion, do you see this as a growing and a changing trend?

06:03Absolutely, for sure.

06:05I mean, fashion has entered into gifting, which was not earlier the case.

06:09Earlier, people used to gift only dry fruits and maybe biscuits and chocolates.

06:15Now, fashion has entered into it, perfumery in a big way.

06:19So I think it is maybe because that you have more choice.

06:23The brands are also there, which are more dependable.

06:25And the prices are also more stabilized.

06:27So people are aware that if you buy not in this season, you might end up paying more.

06:33So I think it works out because of the volumes and because of the ease of choice between

06:39many brands.

06:41Right.

06:42Also, the battle also seems to be shifting now to tier two and tier three cities.

06:48You know, earlier it was just the metros, which essentially contributed to much of the

06:53growth that we see in, say, the big guys, that's Flipkart and Amazon.

06:58But now we are seeing an interesting trend that it's also picking up in tier two and

07:01tier three cities.

07:02Is that something you have noticed as well?

07:05Yes, yes, you're right.

07:07And there are two major drivers for that.

07:09One is the connectivity, road connectivity, and the other is the connectivity of the mobile.

07:14So now, I mean, the villages in the remotest part of India, you would have two MP, the

07:21speed of two MBPS per second, which makes the smartphone works even in the villages.

07:29And people can use the apps of major platforms and order them online.

07:35And the good thing is that the goods can be delivered at their doorstep because of the

07:38better road connectivity.

07:40So I think a lot of good things have converged to create new markets in tier two and tier

07:46two, three cities.

07:48Now, in the beginning of this game, there were just two major players.

07:52One, of course, was Flipkart and then there was Amazon.

07:55Now we hear almost of new names coming up.

07:58Misho is one which seems to be picking up at least in tier two and tier three cities.

08:03And there are several others.

08:05How do you see this playing out in the longer run?

08:09Well, I think at the top, there may be two or three broad based platforms.

08:16And then, of course, there would be niche players, maybe regional players, maybe specializing

08:20in certain commodities, maybe specializing delivery on the speed of delivery.

08:26So India, I think, is a very hot market and it is providing opportunities for a lot of

08:30innovations to take place.

08:32So I think it's good.

08:34And looking forward, I think there are more opportunities for newer players who can serve

08:40those customers who have remained unserved until now.

08:44All right.

08:46Thank you very much for joining us on this discussion, Mr. Bhardwaj, good to have you

08:51on the show.

08:53Pleasure is mine.

08:55All right.

08:56Now, the big question that everybody is going to be asking today is that where is it that

09:00you can find the best discounts and how do you make the best use, essentially, of this

09:06season of discounts?

09:07And NDTV Profits' Mallika Mishra brings you the hacks.

09:13The Great Indian Sale on Amazon and the Big Billion Days on Flipkart are on.

09:18The sales went live today on 27th September.

09:21And for those of you who have Amazon Prime and Flipkart's VIP membership, you would have

09:26gotten access to the sale discounts from the 26th of September itself.

09:30Predictably, the Internet is flooded with videos and articles providing hacks on how

09:34to get the best discounts.

09:36We compiled seven best hacks for you.

09:39Hack number one, you must have a subscription or membership of these platforms.

09:44In case of Flipkart, you can also buy the early bird pass in just 99 rupees.

09:49Hack number two, you must have the right bank card, for instance, to make the best use of

09:55the Flipkart sale, an HDFC credit card or debit card could turn out to be of great advantage.

10:00And in case of Amazon, an SPI card could be the most beneficial one.

10:05If you don't have either, you could go for Flipkart access bank card and Amazon ICICI

10:10bank card.

10:11Even gift cards help with great discounts and cashback.

10:14Now, hack number three, most importantly, have clarity on what you want to buy before

10:19the sale starts itself, like which phone, which laptop, you should be clear about what

10:24color, how much storage, which version, etc.

10:28Have accurate clarity on the product of your interest.

10:32Hack number four, add the card and the shipping address to your account way before to avoid

10:37items going out of stock while you fill out these details.

10:40The catch is to make your purchase quick because the best deals are available in the first

10:4615 minutes of the sale.

10:48Hack number five, pre-install and keep a price history tracker on your phone or laptop that

10:53will help give you a better idea of the discount because people often get distracted with seemingly

11:00large discounts.

11:01This in turn will keep you focused on what you want to buy.

11:05Hack number six, before purchasing any product, compare its price on both Amazon and Flipkart

11:11as Amazon tends to give you better deals for small appliances and Flipkart gives you better

11:16deals for large appliances.

11:18And hack number seven, finally, don't forget to save your items in your wish list.

11:24Well, for those of you who are watching, that's going to be something to look at as to where

11:31you get the best deals on at least these two big majors.

11:36And to discuss this further, we are now joined by Mr. Harish Bijur, he's a business brand

11:41strategy expert.

11:42Mr. Bijur, good evening.

11:43Thank you very much for speaking to us.

11:45First up, what are your thoughts on these huge sales that we see?

11:50We see these two big majors, at least that dominate the Indian market space, that's Flipkart

11:57and Amazon, come out with these fantastic offers, you know.

12:01In fact, Myntra and Nykaa for that matter as well, 80% off, 85% off.

12:06So a lot of people are left wondering, do you first bump up the prices and then do you

12:10go out and say that you're going to give these products so cheaply?

12:15So that's a question that a lot of people are asking.

12:18Well, that's the way of the great e-commerce, the way you have dubbed it, the great e-commerce

12:25way.

12:26But, you know, this year is going to be even more interesting, fundamentally because e-commerce

12:30is under deep, deep stress.

12:32Now, e-commerce portals are possibly losing customers.

12:37And that is a real number which comes out from recent understanding of what's happening

12:41in this space.

12:42And now, if you're losing numbers, you want to get numbers back.

12:45And what better time to get numbers back than the festive times?

12:49And therefore, bumped up prices, which you will never, ever realize are bumped up prices

12:56and exciting discounts are the way to go.

12:59And e-commerce buying session today is quite like a game.

13:03You know, you and I are playing the game.

13:04Let's see who gets it.

13:06It's like getting on to a website to buy Coldplay tickets and winning Coldplay tickets.

13:12In the sense, you pay a lot of money for it, but then it's as if you won.

13:16So buying on e-commerce now is a win-loss kind of a thing.

13:20And I think you guys have done the hack of it.

13:23And I think eventually there needs to be an app which does this kind of a hack.

13:27You go to the app and say, I want to buy this, where should I go best?

13:31And I think that'll happen.

13:32Bingo.

13:33Oh, absolutely.

13:34That's a great idea.

13:35You know, of course, Coldplay tickets are maybe touching a raw spot for a lot of people here,

13:40even in NDTV.

13:42But going on to the battle that we are seeing now, there was a report that Alliance Bernstein

13:47had come out within, I think, January of this year.

13:51Now, according to that, Flipkart is actually leading the segment with about 48 percent

13:56market share.

13:57Now, this is especially in the smartphone and the online fashion segments.

14:01Now, what, according to you, is the strategy that's really working for Flipkart?

14:06Because in a lot of ways, Amazon was the big guy that came in, had a lot of things

14:12in place.

14:14Flipkart started very well, went down, and then after, you know, Walmart actually invested

14:19in it, came back up.

14:21So how do you see this battle, A, playing out between the two majors?

14:25And who do you see as the big third player coming in?

14:30You know, both the players have evolved over the years.

14:32You know, what began with books once upon a time is no longer about books anymore.

14:37And both the players are really talking about offering just about anything under the sun

14:42that you want to buy.

14:43And when this kind of a game comes by, it simply means to say that, you know, they're

14:48fighting for a piece of the pie.

14:51And therefore, when two big players are playing the game, products are going to be pari passu,

14:57brands are going to be pari passu.

14:59There's not going to be no differentiation between which channel is getting what brand.

15:03And you know, at the end of the day, confusion is going to result.

15:07And out of the confusion will come great success for both the big brands out there.

15:12Flipkart will gain, as will Amazon.

15:13Who's the third player, fourth player?

15:15I'm really waiting for that great big super app out of India.

15:19Unfortunately, not a single super app has made a success of it as yet.

15:24Tata New does exist, but I don't think it's a success.

15:28Reliance, the super app, is it coming?

15:31Well, let's look around.

15:33The Adani super app, is it going to come around?

15:36But to say that a true blue global super app emerging from India as the winner, it would

15:41be a great dream.

15:43But I suspect it's going to remain a great dream, because we are not too good at last

15:48mile issues.

15:50And most of the time, consumers in e-commerce want the last mile issue sorted completely.

15:56As of today, I think these two guys are trying hard to sort out that last mile issue.

16:02Right now, the big game also probably is going to be played in tier two and tier three cities.

16:09And both these companies, as well as MeeShow, which has come out into the space, specifically

16:17in the tier two and tier three cities, are emphasizing a lot on that growth there.

16:23So how do you see that in terms of the larger marketplace?

16:27Well, you know, you've asked Cassandra of e-commerce this question.

16:33I am a Cassandra on this business.

16:35I'm really saying that e-commerce is in trouble, guys.

16:39And if you really read the pulse of the great Indian market, I put the great Indian market

16:44into four buckets.

16:45Bucket one is urban, bucket two is rural, bucket three is rural, and bucket four is

16:51a space which I call deep rural.

16:54Now these are places which you and I have never, ever been to, possibly.

16:58Now in these four spaces, what's really going to gain traction is not going to be e-commerce.

17:05E-commerce has got n numbers of issues.

17:08E-commerce is dominating the urban market.

17:10Today's e-commerce penetration in the country is about 17%, which means to say 83% of the

17:16market out there is the big blue sky, which brands can penetrate into.

17:22The kind of turnovers we're talking is about 59 billion US dollars, which is nothing.

17:26Where will the money really come from?

17:29The money will really come from D2C to an extent.

17:33D2C is doing exceedingly well in this country.

17:36And it's one of those babies which is not crying out loudly.

17:40It will cry out loudly when it reaches a particular state.

17:43But the biggest, biggest game breaker, the challenger to e-commerce, the great e-commerce

17:49war as you dubbed it, is really not the great e-commerce war.

17:53It's going to be the great Q-commerce war of the future.

17:57Q-commerce has the ability to be in deep rural, be in rural, and be in urban.

18:04And Q-commerce, if you really look at the kind of growth Q-commerce has achieved in

18:07the country, I think e-commerce portals and e-commerce in general should be shivering

18:15and shaking, wondering what's going to happen, including this festive time.

18:21Right.

18:22So you seem to suggest that it's Q-commerce where this battle is really going to be fought.

18:26Now, we've had reports, I think it was just last week or so, where Flipkart actually managed

18:33to deliver a laptop in just about 13 minutes.

18:37That was a record by any standards.

18:39This was a gaming laptop.

18:41They were able to deliver it and, you know, they actually gave an update after 12 minutes.

18:47Now, whether the person actually wanted it in 13 minutes, a product that's about one

18:51and a half or two lakh rupees, is another question.

18:54But that's a battlefield that, you know, even Amazon and Flipkart are trying to get into.

19:00So far, not very successful, apart from few and far between sort of a situation.

19:05Who are the big players there?

19:07Well, I would put it this way.

19:10Anecdotally, n numbers, things can happen.

19:12Anecdotally, I can even say that this 12 minute delivery couldn't happen in Bengaluru with

19:16Bengaluru traffic.

19:17OK.

19:18But the point is, what's going to happen is Q-commerce is winning fundamentally because

19:24it's able to understand the local pulse of the local market much, much better.

19:29E-commerce has grown up to be a huge animal out there, OK?

19:33And this animal is talking about supplying products and services to all of India, whereas

19:39Q-commerce is really getting that much more local, localized.

19:43And the kind of, you know, stocking centers that Q-commerce talks about is really my local

19:47Kirana outlet totally at the end of the day, because we must appreciate that, you know,

19:53the war that is continuing today is between Q-com versus E-com, D2C versus E-com.

20:01It's, you know, Kirana shop versus E-com.

20:04It's ONDC versus E-com.

20:08Multiple sets of players and multiple sets of black fights.

20:11And Q-com succeeds.

20:12You know, in Bengaluru, you can actually order lingerie or undergarments on a Monday morning

20:19on Q-com site.

20:21It will reach you within 17 to 18 minutes.

20:24Why Monday morning?

20:25Because the Bengaluru techie works very hard five days of the week, Monday to Friday, Saturday

20:31and Sunday, they party hard, so hard that they don't even remember how hard.

20:37And on Monday morning, when they wake up, they suddenly realize, oh, my God, no undergarment.

20:42Immediately, Q-com comes to the rescue and out there comes fresh undergarments at your

20:47doorstep.

20:48Shoes are sold on Q-com.

20:50So the entire plethora of brands are going to grow on Q-com.

20:54And I think this is going to be an exciting space for all of us to watch as E-commerce

20:59makes all efforts to reach out.

21:02Everyone else is going to try and peck at the remaining 83 percent potential of user

21:09penetration that exists in the country.

21:12Absolutely.

21:13And that's going to be the big battlefield, according to you.

21:16But what do you see as the major segment in Q-commerce?

21:20As of now, at least in the metros, we see a lot of grocery deliveries on Q-commerce.

21:26So that's changed the face of how we shop for our groceries.

21:29Apart from that, one interesting trend that we are seeing is that Indians never focused

21:34on fashion as much as they've focused in the past five years or so.

21:39And of course, the likes of Myntra and Nykaa have come about.

21:43They've changed the way Indians want to look and feel.

21:46So what's your sense on that segment?

21:50Well, you know, the key growth area for Q-com at this point of time is grocery.

21:57So 47.3 percent of all grocery that is ordered in a big city like Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad

22:04come from Q-commerce from there.

22:07But then grocery is giving way to the rag trade.

22:09It's giving way to fashion.

22:11It's giving way to footwear.

22:12So it's giving way to suitcases.

22:14You know, sudden urge to buy a suitcase and there are 23 brands which are vying for you

22:19to buy one.

22:20So all this is going to happen.

22:21But let me come to the rag trade, you know, fashion.

22:24I think fashion is the big, big item out there which needs to be tapped into.

22:29In fact, 64 percent of all e-commerce is really in the space of fashion, a bulk of it.

22:37So this is going to help you expand into that balance, 83 percent of the blue sky market.

22:44But it's not going to be the only thing, you know.

22:46If you continue focusing on fashion, it's not going to be the only thing because fashion

22:50is that much more local.

22:53Fashion is that much more customized.

22:54Fashion is very, very price sensitive.

22:57And fashion is also eco-sensitive.

22:59In fact, in the deep rural markets, people don't like to own too many clothes.

23:04And I think that's the future.

23:06The deep rural markets are driving the urban markets.

23:09The urban attitude is to have 70 shirts in your wardrobe.

23:13The rural attitude is to have two and a half shirts in your wardrobe.

23:17What's two and a half?

23:18You know, it goes in for a wash and on average, you know, you end up with about two shirts

23:22or three shirts in your wardrobe.

23:24So limited consumption will come and will also lead and that will fight against fashion.

23:30So fashion portals need to be careful.

23:32They need to not only be fashionable, they need to be responsible as well.

23:37Let's look around and see how it pans out.

23:39Absolutely.

23:40So a voice of caution coming in there.

23:42Thank you very much for joining us this evening on The Big Story.

23:47My pleasure.

23:48Bye.

23:49So before we end the show, our reporter Rishabh Bhatnagar actually joins in to provide a detailed

23:56overview of how the Amazon Bengaluru Fulfillment Center actually functions.

24:04I'm joined by Abhinav Singh, Vice President of Operations at Amazon India.

24:12Thanks so much, Abhinav, for taking the time out.

24:15Firstly, for our viewers, just lay the context of it.

24:18Explain to us where an FC or a Fulfillment Center stands in the entire processing of

24:25orders.

24:26So we are at the inbound dock.

24:29This is where we bring in the inventory.

24:32So these are sellers from across the country who are sending the inventory to our Fulfillment

24:37Centers so that it can be stored in our Fulfillment Center ready for customers to order.

24:42Yeah, so you saw us inbound where we got the inventory from our sellers.

24:48This is where we keep it ready to ship for our customers when they order.

24:53If you see the what we call bins, but basically these are independent locations, all are marked

24:59with a barcode.

25:02So when a customer presses buy on the website, like when you press buy, there's a real-time

25:07computation that happens to determine which is the closest Fulfillment Center from where

25:14we can send the item to the customer.

25:17The associate comes to the right location, scans the location, takes the product, checks

25:22all six sides to make sure that everything is proper, it's not damaged, it's in good

25:29condition, and then takes it and sends it to where it is packed, where we'll go next.

25:39Akshata's handheld device has just gotten the orders which are being dropped by customers

25:44placing them from across the country.

25:46She's got the location on her handheld scanner as to where to go and find the product.

25:51She looks at the product, she scans it, she looks at all six sides of it to make sure

25:56that it is in the right condition, and then she puts it in her tote to be able to transfer

26:01it to the pack station.

26:06So you saw those picking, you know, Akshata over there, she put the package in the yellow

26:12tote.

26:13Those yellow totes are carried by the conveyance system, which you see in the background, and

26:18brought to the pack station.

26:20At the pack station, when they scan the item, the computer screen in front of them tells

26:26them the right box to select.

26:28This is based on a machine learning algorithm.

26:30Once the order is packed, we decide to label the package.

26:34At the time of labeling, there's a real-time decision which is made that we give a promise

26:40to the customer in order to keep that promise, what is the best mode of transportation.

26:46And based on that, the label is generated and put on the package.

26:50From there, it comes over here and gets packaged in these tertiary containers that you see

26:55over here.

26:56Based on the customer, where they are with respect to the product, what is the fastest

27:02mode of transportation to get it there, that's how the decision happens, and that's how the

27:07journey goes from here on.

27:11Well, that's all we have time for on The Big Story this evening.

27:14Thank you very much for joining us, and stay with us here on NDTV Profit for more.

The Big Story | Which Online Retailers Will Come Out On Top During The Festive Season | NDTV Profit

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