Tag: snapdeal

eBay overcoming Amazon in the field of mobile commerce in BRIC countires

eBay has beaten Amazon in the race to expand e-commerce in BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries. Last week, eBay announced that it expects to see no less than 12% of its sales come from these countries by 2015. In order to achieve this goal, the retailer has been investing more heavily in e-commerce in these countries, with a strong focus on mobile commerce in particular. eBay anticipates that the global e-commerce market will be worth more than $300 billion by 2015, and the company is eager to beat out its only major competitor, Amazon, in order to establish dominance in the changing world of commerce.

eBay invests in Snapdeal

eBay has announced that it has completed Series C investment in Snapdeal, a leading online retailer based in India. Snapdeal boasts of more than 20 million users who regularly purchase products on a platform that is somewhat similar to eBay. Snapdeal has found some success in the field of mobile commerce, tapping into the growing population of India that has access to smartphones and tablets. The success the company has seen in the mobile commerce field has attracted the attention of eBay, which has invested $50 million into Snapdeal.

Snapdeal expects to see a strong sales year

By investing into Snapdeal, eBay is moving further into the Indian market. The company already has its own division devoted to the country, eBay India, but this only boasts of 5 million users, much less than those that make use of Snapdeal. Moreover, more consumers are beginning to favor mobile commerce over traditional forms of commerce. Snapdeal is more accommodating of purchases being made bring a mobile device than eBay India is, which leads more consumers to the former rather than the latter. With 20 million users and a strong focus on mobile commerce, Snapdeal is expected to generate more than $400 million in sales this year.

Amazon finds some progress in Brazil and elsewhere

Amazon has been working to establish a stronger presence in BRIC countries but has been met with several challenges along the way. While none of these challenges are expected to topple Amazon’s efforts, eBay was able to overcome the challenges it faced more quickly than its competitor. Nonetheless, Amazon is rapidly establishing a foothold in Brazil in much the same way that eBay is establishing its presence in India.

Snapdeal has released a new “brand stores” concept for mobile businesses.

India’s largest online shopping site, Snapdeal, has just announced the launch of its “brand stores” concept, which will give retailers the opportunity to create their own e- and mcommerce store on the company’s site.

This is expected to boost sales by 50 percent over the next year.

The company has set a goal of approximately $120 million (Rs 600 crore) in revenue for its current fiscal year. However, at the same time, it has high hopes for its mcommerce results, believing that about half of the purchases that will be made on the website will have been made through the mobile platform within the upcoming two years.

The Snapdeal brand store works to help many offline and local retailers to step into mcommerce.

It gives those businesses the opportunity to reach the rapidly growing number of online shoppers. According to the CEO and founder of Snapdeal.com, Kunal Bahl, “Brands will be able to decide the look and feel of their page, customise product selection, manage promotions and exclusive launches.”

Though the companies will be able to take part in the brand stores part of the website for free, according to Bahl, there will be a revenue-share model that will be based upon the sale of the goods.

Currently, there are approximately 3,000 businesses that are already taking part in the brand stores element of the Snapdeal website. The company is also in negotiations with around 2,000 more businesses, which they hope will “be onboard soon.” Bahl stated that “We plans to have 10,000 brand stores in the next 12 months.”

Snapdeal is viewing the brand stores as a concept that brings with it a very large opportunity in both e- and mcommerce. Bahl added that he believes that the concept will only continue to grow, and with it, innovations will build alongside. He stated that a number of brands, including those that are quite big, have not yet established their own online presence. Many don’t have the capability or the in-house expertise for the back end operations of such a venture, such as the payment requirements and the logistics. It is in this space that the company is hoping to make the biggest mark.