India Inc witnessed a myriad of changes last year and is now looking forward to a huge opportunity for consumer growth across urban and rural India. Keeping this in mind, the budget is expected to focus on stimulating growth by providing disposable income in the hands of the consumer and augmenting public spending while maintaining fiscal discipline. Here are some of the key points that we could expect that impact the retail segment in particular. To summarise, India Union Budget 2020 is an opportunity to boost consumption through rural investments and expansionary policies aimed to stimulate growth.

Publication: ET Retail

Date: January 21, 2020

Personalization is nothing new in the world of e-commerce. Consumers are now expecting personalized shopping experiences from all online stores. In fact, according to a RedPoint Global survey conducted by The Harris Poll, more than half of consumers (63 percent) expect personalization as a standard. The only difference now is that they want more. While many e-commerce companies offer personalized product recommendations for their website visitors, you can go far beyond that to provide shoppers with a personalized experience from start to finish.

Publication: Entrepreneur India

Date: January 20, 2020

Recent statements by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on online retailer Amazon suggest that the Centre has a mixed view on e-commerce and how it should be regulated. On the one hand, the Centre wants investments from foreign players to pour into the country while on the other hand it refuses to stop micro-managing the sector. Amazon made two significant announcements while its founder Jeff Bezos was in India last week. This included an investment of $1 billion to help small shops connect to its platform.

Publication: The Hindu Business Line

Date: January 20, 2020

Technology startups and small businesses are tapping new avenues of funding beyond traditional venture and debt capital, with the emergence of revenue-based and working-capital financing, corporate investment arms, and iSAFE notes that work like warrants. According to startup founders and investors, this signals maturity of the local ecosystem. GetVantage, Spring Marketing, Drip Capital, OfBusiness and 100x.vc, as well as corporate investment arms Next47 and Sony Innovation Fund, among others, offer startups targeted expertise beyond cash to grow their business, with the promise of zero, minimal, or deferred equity dilution.

Publication: The Economic Times

Date: January 22, 2020