E-commerce companies are facing a problem when it comes to entering the Indian market. COD, or cash-on-delivery, is the preferred system of payment for Indian consumers who shop online. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/cash-on-delivery-remains-the-preferred-method-of-payment-in-india-2016-6">83% of Indian consumers said they prefer cash-on-delivery to credit or debit card purchases</a>. The reason why so many Indians prefer a cash-on-delivery system is due to the fact that infrastructure and delivery within the country are not exactly the most reliable and credit card systems aren’t as trustworthy as those in other countries, and in fact many Indians do not even make use of credit or debit cards at all, as <a href="https://brandalyzer.blog/2017/06/11/credit-card-penetration-in-india/">credit card penetration in the country, while rising, is still low</a>. This COD problem is one that is absolutely worth solving. The digital economy in India, including e-commerce, is expected to grow into a <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/in/Documents/technology-media-telecommunications/in-tmt-e-commerce-in-india-noexp.pdf">$1 trillion market by 2022, according to a recent joint report by the Confederation of Indian Industry and Deloitte</a>. E-commerce companies that are looking to get a slice of this pie are experiencing some growing pains. One of the biggest pains is the COD problem. <a href="http://www.livemint.com/Companies/7uHnnB7jS7aUk4i4V2adSO/Amazons-loss-jump-to-936-million-in-September-quarter-on-I.html">Amazon reported losses of $936 million dollars in September</a>, and you could attribute some of those losses to the fact that Indians prefer cash-on-delivery. But why is COD such a problem for e-commerce companies like <keyword id="18635" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword>? Part of the reason is restricted cash flow. It could take months for payments to reach the seller, and as <a href="http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-11-04/news/43658867_1_indiatimes-shopping-flipkart-courier-companies">Sachin Bansal, co-founder of Flipkart said</a>, “I would not like to have cash transactions. The non-immediacy of payments and higher returns are the problems we face with cash-on-delivery.” Not only could cash take longer to reach sellers, there remains a possibility that it might not get to them at all. While cash-on-delivery transactions cost e-commerce companies an additional 3% to process it could be more when returns are factored in. <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/retail/cash-on-delivery-hurts-bottom-line-of-cos-like-flipkart-snapdeal-due-to-extra-associated-costs/articleshow/25192740.cms?intenttarget=no">As Ashish Jhalani of eTailing India claims</a>, “the bottom line is impacted due to such orders. This number goes up by about 30% when returns happen.” The increased losses are not only due to returns but also because companies incur courier and shipping costs regardless of whether or not the customer purchases the product. <a href="https://hackernoon.com/how-cash-on-delivery-fuelled-e-commerce-growth-in-india-8ae66bea6cfe">So while impulse purchases may increase due to the fact that payment is not due at the time of ordering</a>, returns are commonplace, and there’s no assurance that a company will receive payment. So as India enters the digital age and online retail shopping rises, how do companies get around the COD problem? <a href="http://quantifiedcommerce.com">Quantified Commerce</a>, a company focused on building e-commerce brands mainly in India has found creative and practical answers to the problem of cash-on-delivery. We spoke to <keyword id="6504806" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Agam-Berry">Agam Berry</keyword>, co-founder of <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/quantifiedcommerce/">Quantified Commerce</a> to find out what his company is doing right now to avoid the COD problem. “The best way to lower returns and shipping cost in cod orders is by having local inventory in every city,” said <keyword id="41529" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Berry">Berry</keyword>, “we have warehouses in four cities and have plans to add forty cities by the end of the year.” This solution not only solves the cost problem but the return problem as well, “most of the time returns happen because a customer changes their mind in the time it takes for a product to get to them, but when you have inventory in every city lowering shipping times that problem is greatly reduced,” Berry said Berry also talked about how vertical integration is part of the solution to COD, “we’re looking into purchasing our own trucks, which would allow us to move our product between warehouses faster. Trucking and logistics in India are very fragmented and it takes as much as seven days to move a product from one part of the country to another, which puts further pressure on the liquidity of the companies in this space.” The decreased delivery time would be able to loosen the restricted cash flow as an added benefit, the faster a customer gets the product into their hands the faster a company can get the cash thus helping the cash flow cycle. While India is making strides towards the use of credit and debit cards, the COD problem is still one that is relevant to companies entering the Indian market. It’s a tough problem to solve, but with companies like <a href="https://twitter.com/QuantifiedC">Quantified Commerce </a>leading the charge, the solution may come sooner than we think.

Quantified Commerce’s Agam Berry on India’s love of cash on delivery

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/48884952.cms" /> As the countdown for <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Diwali+">Diwali </a>has already begun, India’s leading <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=eCommerce+">eCommerce </a>industry is all set to organise attractive online sale to lure e-shoppers this festive season. 
 
As per an Economic Times report, industry majors like <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Flipkart">Flipkart</a>, <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Snapdeal+">Snapdeal </a>along with several small start-ups are expected to burn Rs 2,000 crore to attract consumers till the festive season ends. 
 Their planning is not limited to this, as celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan, <keyword id="6355923" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Aamir-Khan">Aamir Khan</keyword>, along with other stars will join the bandwagon to promote these online marketplaces on various social media platforms. If sources are to be believed, <keyword id="436047" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ecommerce">eCommerce</keyword> companies had spent Rs 1,300 crore just on marketing and promotion during the same time in 2014. 
 
While top firms took the lead last year; this year, we might welcome small start-ups as well. 
 
As per the media planner, until last year, online retailers had been spending 60% of their marketing budget for the festival season on television marketing. But this year, just about 35% is expected to go to television for marketing purpose. 
 <keyword id="2032258" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ashish-Jhalani">Ashish Jhalani</keyword>, founder of eTailing India &amp; Indian School of eBusiness (ISeB), said that his company tracked around 700 eCommerce firms of different scale and size in 2014. This year, the number has grown to more than 1,700, which includes small and big players, and points to market expansion, he said. 
 
A growing number of start-ups are also advertising to showcase their offerings and leave an impact on consumers. According to top media buying firms, the heavily-funded online start-ups are the ones splurging without watching returns on investment. 
 
"Unlike the general market sentiment of slump, advertising in media is seeing a significant up-swing. Almost all advertising (inventory) has been blocked in the October-December quarter," said Navin Khemka, managing partner (north and east region) at Group Mowned media buying firm Maxus, which represents Hero MotoCorp and Paytm. 
 
Lakshmi Narasimhan, chief growth officer at GroupM-South Asia, said, "A lot has to do with emerging categories in the online space. Online advertisers are neutralising losses of traditional advertisers and leading to huge spurt in demand. Retail sector (ecommerce plus brick and mortar) will be about 8-9%. The split is more or less equal between ecommerce and retailers." 
 A large corrugated boxes manufacturer, which supplies packaging material for <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> as well as Amazon, informed that the companies have just doubled the order as compared to last <keyword id="188" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Diwali">Diwali</keyword>. 
 
Aman Jain, founder of cash-back site Go-Paisa said that a leading eCommerce firm has doubled the commissions for coupon companies and cash-back sites from 8% in August to 16% to woo more and more mobile customers. 
 Gurgaon-based logistics company <keyword id="2230197" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="GoJavas">GoJavas</keyword>, which counts <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword>, Jabong and Lenskart among clients, is enhancing its automation. By September, an automatic sorting system that can process up to 1.5 lakh packages daily will be in place. "We expect volumes to touch two to three times of normal pre-festive season," said <keyword id="2230975" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vijay-Ghadge">Vijay Ghadge</keyword>, chief operating officer at GoJavas. 
 
Srini Murthy, senior vice-president for marketing at Snapdeal, said, this year his company will focus on customer experience. "We will try to make sure we give the best offers but the new news for the consumer will be great delivery experience and many more brands versus last year," he added.

Etailers will ensure you have a great time shopping this Diwali!

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/46329427.cms" /> 
Dear Finance Minister, 
 As a voice of the <keyword id="436047" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Ecommerce">eCommerce</keyword> ecosystem in India, I can only imagine the Herculean juggling act that the <keyword id="6358021" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="budget">budget</keyword> presents before you. 
 
We understand that your budget will table proposals in line with the path the government visualises for industry as a whole. We know that the Government is focusing on promoting eCommerce, innovation and entrepreneurship. 
 
We are also aware that 2014 has been a defining year for eCommerce in India. Your Government, therefore has had the chance to see and appreciate its potential. 
 
Six big areas that this budget could help the industry with are: 
 
Building an aggressive roadmap for the National Digital Literacy Mission: eCommerce will be one of the many beneficiaries of the Digital Literacy Mission. Yet, genuine progress of any kind will be elusive if public-private partnerships do not move in this direction. 6.5 lakh villages adding up to over 147 million people, need to benefit serially from the National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM). Whether this digital literacy is used to enable education, healthcare, citizen services, financial services, or any other basic need, technology and connectivity can make a huge difference to the socio-economic levels of a community. The budget can set forth the agenda to extend telecom infrastructure through initiatives like the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) and encourage the industry to be ready with solutions that can be rolled out using the NOFN. There can also be constructive frameworks to ensure scale and awareness to build acceptance, so that communities co-opt as stakeholders. Teachers, community leaders and grassroots organisations will serve as the bridge that reach out to those digitally excluded. 
 
<keyword id="44528" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="FDI">FDI</keyword>: A large number of eCommerce firms are expecting that the new government will show the path for foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail in India. This will pave the way for global retailers to offer their formidable knowledge, and supply chain in India; moreover, I believe smaller eTailers would see strategic investments by international brands looking to enter and expand in India. Allowing FDI would bring funds to more players thus more spending on educating and acquiring customers to come online; which would potentially boost the consumption and benefit small traders and manufacturers over the long haul. Most eCommerce companies would welcome clarity as a strategic input to their business. 
 
Tax Clarifications: eCommerce companies struggle with issues such as double taxation, multiple interpretations of taxes related to eCommerce. The industry is looking forward to implementation of GST. Furthermore, to boost the growth of eCommerce in India the industry believes the government should provide exemption from VAT and sales tax for online retailers. Clarification on <keyword id="6355686" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Service-tax">Service Tax</keyword> between domestic and overseas vendors for eCommerce and export proceed realisation (SEZ) is needed from the budget. 
 
<keyword id="547488" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="tax-incentives">Tax Incentives</keyword>: eCommerce firms are also expecting implementation of crucial tax incentives in order to boost investments in logistics infrastructure and technologies. The integration of India Post into the logistics infrastructure, with industry, would help boost the growth of the industry as products can be delivered faster and at a more efficient cost. 
 
Data Centres and Cloud Services: Companies are also expecting tax incentives for building data centers and cloud services within the country. These technology infrastructures will not only provide better data security but should also reduce costs. If built properly, the infrastructure should also reduce speed latency associated with international data centers. 
 
Integrated Solutions: From making commodity boards profitable, to access-to-market for handicrafts, to better packaging solutions for made-in-India produce, I see a lot of collaboration happening to make ecommerce a success in India. Facilitation of these objectives, via special purpose vehicles may expedite the optimisation and coordination between Ministries and Boards. 
 Over to you, <keyword id="2737481" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Honourable-Finance-Minister">Honourable Finance Minister</keyword>. 
 
Humbly yours, <keyword id="2032258" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Ashish-Jhalani">Ashish Jhalani</keyword> <keyword id="2047431" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="eTailing-India">eTailing India</keyword> 
 
About the author: This article has been written by Ashish Jhalani, <keyword id="5645" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="CEO">CEO</keyword> of eTailing India

An open letter to the Finance Minister from an
Indian e-tailer

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/44925751.cms" /> The e-commerce industry is growing significantly in India. Currently, it is worth $13 billion and is expected zoom to $90 billion by 2021, said <keyword id="2047431" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="eTailing-India">eTailing India</keyword> founder <keyword id="2032258" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Ashish-Jhalani">Ashish Jhalani</keyword>. He believes this 700% growth will change the way organisations allocate internet advertising budgets in India. 
 
According to Jhalani, "e-commerce is a full-fledged industry today, from being ancillary part of the retail industry less than a few years ago. Much like Apple changed the music industry, e-commerce will not only impact retail, but also the advertising industry.” 
 Smartphones users in India prefer to buy products online from popular etailers like Flipkart, Snapdeal and <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword>, which have reported that up to 35% of their traffic comes from the mobile phone. 
 
High penetration of smartphones in India and improving Internet connectivity will help e-commerce firms to reach millions of new users in the coming years. 
 
In line with the growth of e-commerce, one-third of the world's advertising revenue is also expected to go digital by 2018. At a recent conference, search giant <keyword id="45395" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Google-India">Google India</keyword> declared that Indian Internet users will surpass the number in the US by the end of 2014 and around 500 million people will be online by 2018. 
(Image: Thinkstock)

India’s e-commerce Industry Set To Zoom To $90 Billion By 2021

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/31890122.cms" />BANGALORE|NEW DELHI: Even a decade ago, the name "Bansal" would have brought in images of coaching classes in Rajasthan's Kota, but today it is the common factor binding the who's who of India's fledgling e-commerce sector. 
 Five young men who answer to that name have emerged as trailblazers of Indian e-commerce, taking on global biggies like <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword> and eBay for top honours in the country's exploding market for online retail. 
 Online marketplaces <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> and Snapdeal, apparel retailer <keyword id="319719" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Myntra">Myntra</keyword> and eyewear retailer <keyword id="1518229" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Lenskart">LensKart</keyword> all have Bansals at the helm. Such is their clout that they account for nearly Rs 10,000 crore of the total online retail pie of about $2 billion. 
 
But their adeptness at trade and commerce is not a state secret. As a sub-sect of the Aggarwal community, the Bansals are known for running a tight ship when it comes to business and entrepreneurship. 
 "We (Bansals) have the math, <keyword id="25455" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="finance">finance</keyword> and data skills that are extremely important for e-commerce," said Rohit Bansal who teamed up with schoolmate and Wharton alumnus Kunal Bahl to set up online marketplace Snapdeal in 2010. 
 
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/31889716.cms" style="margin: 5px;" /> 
 
The Bansals of the new economy also sport degrees from IIT and IIMs. The five Bansals with their four companies - Flipkart, Myntra, Snapdeal and LensKart - set up shop within the last seven years and control about 85% of India's entire e-tailing industry. 
 
But they have to contend with the might of $75-billion (Rs 4.5 lakh crore) Amazon, which entered India last year and is investing heavily. Heading the fightback are <keyword id="225032" type="PERSON" weightage="40" keywordseo="Sachin-Bansal">Sachin Bansal</keyword>, 32, and Binny Bansal, 31- founders of Bangalore-based Flipkart - who met each other while studying at IIT-Delhi. Their company today generates about Rs 6,100 crore in sales, half the industry total.Flipkart is also the biggest challenge for Amazon, a company where both the Bansals honed their skills before setting up on their own in 2007. Coming second is Snapdeal, whose Rohit Bansal, 31, graduated ahead of Sachin and Binny from IIT Delhi. <div style="page-break-after: always;">
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 "My ancestors from my paternal and maternal sides have all been <keyword id="80597" type="POSITION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Businessmen">businessmen</keyword>," said Rohit Bansal, who is from Malout, a small town in Punjab, just four hours from Chandigarh where the Bansals from Flipkart grew up. 
 
Snapdeal’s turnover is now half of Flipkart, and it is expected to cross the $1 billion mark next year. The Bansals are making a mark not just in horizontal marketplaces, but also single-category retail. Bangalore-based Myntra Designs, founded by another IITian Mukesh Bansal, is giving stiff competition to Flipkart in apparel, one of the highest-margin categories, where profits range from 30% to 50%. 
 “It has come full circle with me getting in fashion retail online,” said Mukesh Bansal, <keyword id="5645" type="POSITION" weightage="40" keywordseo="CEO">CEO</keyword> at Myntra, who hails from Haridwar. His father had opted for a public sector job over joining the family business — ironically, clothes trading. “No family influence made me think of entrepreneurship. But the startup bug bit me in Silicon Valley,” said Myntra’s Bansal, 38, who moved to India to start Myntra in 2007. His venture is targeting sales of Rs 1,500 crore next fiscal from apparel sales, the largest in its category. 
 
LensKart, founded by another Peyush Bansal, 30, is considering selling his other portals such as WatchKart, BagsKart and JewelKart to a horizontal player at the ‘right price’ to focus on the eyewear market. “My parents didn’t understand while I was starting up. But they came around later. You have to understand that they are products of their generation,” said Bansal, who is targeting revenue of Rs 100 crore from LensKart next fiscal. 
 
RBI Chair Professor for Economics &amp; Social Sciences at IIM Bangalore Charan Singh says that a community’s dominance over a certain trade is a factor of its social interactions. “It can be likened to the Jewish community in the US which continues to hold top posts in US banking and technology industry.” Ashish Jhalani, head of retail advisory firm eTailing India, agrees. “Certain communities in India do encourage entrepreneurship. The Bansals and Aggarwals have definitely dominated businesses in India, particularly retail trading, for centuries.”

Flipkart, Lenskart, Myntra & Snapdeal, Led By Bansals, Account For 10k Crore Of 12k-Crore E-Commerce Market

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/36055430.cms" />India's online retailers are busy with acquisitions and funding as they take on the world's biggest Internet shopping giant, <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword>, for dominance in the domestic market. 
	<o:p></o:p>
 <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>, India's largest e-shopping portal, announced in April the takeover of rival <keyword id="319719" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Myntra">Myntra</keyword> in a deal estimated at $330 million.<o:p></o:p>

	As Amazon enters the fray, it is forcing domestic players to get critical mass to compete, said Ashish Jhalani, founder of Indian consultancy eTailing. It's still a fragmented sector and there will be more consolidation in the future, he added.<o:p></o:p>
 "Our role model is Alibaba," Flipkart's co-founder <keyword id="225032" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Sachin-Bansal">Sachin Bansal</keyword> said. He added, “there's a lot of similarity between the Chinese and Indian online retail markets."<o:p></o:p>

	"What's happening in China is inspiring -- it's bigger than anything in the US," said Bansal.<o:p></o:p>

	Flipkart's merger with Myntra created an entity with annual sales of $1.5 billion, which is more than half of India’s online shopping market, estimated at $2.3 billion by Indian consultancy Technopak.<o:p></o:p>

	Venture capitalists have been pumping money into the sector. Till now, deals worth $497 million have been struck this year as compared to $592 in the last year. <o:p></o:p>

	"This sector used to be for the brave-pocketed but it's becoming viable and the profit light can be seen at the end of the tunnel," said Bansal.<o:p></o:p>

Flipkart Takes On Amazon For E-Shopping Supremacy

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/33735196.cms" />BANGALORE: Flipkart could be weeks away from concluding a deal to buy rival Myntra as the two sides engage in last-minute haggling over valuation before concluding what will be the biggest transaction in India’s online retail industry. People with knowledge of the talks said fashion portal Myntra is aiming for a valuation of $400 million (Rs 2,400 crore). 
 
The company, based in Bangalore, is founded by Mukesh Bansal, 38, an IIT-Kanpur graduate. But Flipkart, also based in Bangalore and cofounded by 32-yearold IIT-Delhi alumnus Sachin Bansal (the two Bansals are not related), may not be willing to concede that much. 
 
Negotiators are considering a "target valuation" of $350 million, and may push the offer to $370 million, but there is "no possibility" of valuing Myntra at $400 million, according to a source with direct knowledge of talks. Representatives of Flipkart and Myntra declined to comment. The deal is being stitched during a period of frenetic activity in the ecommerce space. 
 
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Holding co to own shares in cos 
 
Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, is steadily building out its India operation -- it will start selling fashion items in the next few weeks -- while the country adds hundreds of thousands of new online shoppers every month. 
 
The timing of the transaction also takes into account an initial public offering of Flipkart’s shares next year, most probably on the Nasdaq stock exchange in the United States, sources said. Flipkart, which raised $360 million in two rounds in 2013, was valued at around $1.6 billion in July last year. 
 
The valuation is "significantly more" now, the sources said without disclosing how much. India's largest online retailer hit the billion-dollar milestone in annual gross merchandise value last month. 
 
The sources who briefed ET about the contours of the deal that is taking shape said that Mukesh Bansal will most likely be given independent responsibility for all fashion retail at the combined business, including Myntra as well as Flipkart’s fashion unit. This is the model that Amazon followed when it acquired shoe and clothing retailer Zappos in 2009, which even now runs as an independent company. A holding company will own shares in Flipkart and Myntra. 
 
A Flipkart-Myntra combine is aimed at shoring up the former's leadership in India's booming online retail industry, projected to reach $8.5 billion (over Rs 51,000 crore) in size in 2016. Moreover, Amazon is making its presence felt just eight months after entering India -- it has introduced about 20 categories of products and more are on the way. 
 
Myntra's Mukesh Bansal has said the company needs about $100-150 million (Rs 600 crore to Rs 900 crore) in the next three years to reach its goal of becoming a Rs 20,000-crore fashion company in 2020. Flipkart has made a commitment to pump in over $100 million (Rs 600 crore) into the company, said a consultant. 
 
"This will help (the country’s biggest fashion portal) Myntra take on competition like Jabong and other fashion sites. And by joining hands, both will be able to take on Amazon, which is the major driving force in these talks," said the consultant who has worked with Flipkart and Myntra. 
 
Ashish Jhalani, head of advisory firm eTailing India, said the potential merger indicates how Amazon has changed the game in a short time. "It is imperative that the merger goes through and a very formidable domestic player emerges that can compete with Amazon and eBay," said Jhalani. 
 
Common investors such as earlystage investor Accel Partners and investment fund Tiger Global are expected to remain invested in Myntra, as also recent investor Premji Invest, which participated in the Rs 300-crore funding round in the fashion portal in February. 
 
The two companies now have three common investors — Accel, Tiger and Belgium-based family office Sofina. Myntra’s other investors are IDG Ventures India and Kalaari Capital. 
 
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"If a deal happens, it will get done by end of the month," a source said, adding that the transaction will have elements of cash and stock without providing details. 
 
Fashion, which delivers over 35% in operating margin, is among the most contested categories in ecommerce and has seen the emergence of players like Jabong, Fashionara and Limeroad and even web-only brands like Yepme and Zovi. 
 
"The Flipkart and Myntra merger will create the first Indian e-tailing powerhouse, and provide a big fillip to India's still nascent but very promising e-commerce industry," said Arvind Singhal, chairman of retail advisory services firm Technopak. 
 
Flipkart, which introduced fashion in 2012, has a focus on providing a large selection, while Myntra is seen as a curated fashion destination with focus on quality of selection.

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Quantified Commerce’s Agam Berry on India’s love of cash on delivery

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Etailers will ensure you have a great time shopping this Diwali!

BI India Bureau

An open letter to the Finance Minister from an Indian e-tailer

Guest Author

India’s e-commerce Industry Set To Zoom To $90 Billion By 2021

BI India Bureau

Flipkart, Lenskart, Myntra & Snapdeal, Led By Bansals, Account For 10k Crore Of 12k-Crore E-Commerce Market

Economic Times

Flipkart Takes On Amazon For E-Shopping Supremacy

BI India Bureau

Flipkart And Myntra Enter Final Lap In Negotiation

Economic Times