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New Delhi, Prosus-owned OLX Group on Monday said it has appointed former <keyword id="421566" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Star-Sports">Star Sports</keyword> President and CEO <keyword id="1479800" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gautam-Thakar">Gautam Thakar</keyword> as <keyword id="203686" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="global-CEO">Global CEO</keyword> of its pre-owned car marketplace <keyword id="10367965" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Olx-Autos">OLX Autos</keyword> effective March 15 of this year. Thakar will lead a worldwide organisation with a workforce of more than 4,000 employees across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the US. OLX Autos runs online digital trading platforms in addition to more than 500 inspection centres across the Americas, Asia and Africa, each year inspecting 300,000 vehicles and enabling 130,000 vehicle transactions. "I'm extremely pleased to welcome Gautam as Global CEO of OLX Autos," Martin Scheepbouwer, CEO, OLX Group, said in a statement. "He brings a unique set of capabilities to this exciting opportunity including an exceptional general management track record, strong customer orientation, deep marketplace experience, and a rich experience leading and inspiring teams on a global footprint." Most recently, Thakar was CEO of Star Sports in India which was acquired by the Walt Disney Company. Prior to that Thakar was in the US for over a decade and brings leadership experience in digital marketplaces as former global CEO of Shopping.com and LivingSocial acquired by <keyword id="384914" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Groupon">Groupon</keyword>. Thakar was a part of the founding <keyword id="404408" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="management-team">management team</keyword> of baazee.com which pioneered e-commerce in India before being acquired by eBay in 2005. "I am delighted with the opportunity and responsibility to lead the impressive global OLX Autos team. I've long watched the bold and ambitious approach taken by <keyword id="6356837" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="naspers">Naspers</keyword> and Prosus as they've built great companies in so many exciting markets, including India," Thakar said on his appointment. "OLX Group's commitment to this business is unparalleled and I am inspired to join the team to build the world's most trusted platform for buying and selling cars." He will remain based in India in his new global role. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/discounts-have-dropped-lower-on-the-customer-priority-list-say-indian-online-retailers/articleshow/81145830.cms">Discounts have dropped lower on the customer’s priority list, say Indian e-tailers</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/how-to-check-railtel-ipo-share-allotment-status-online/articleshow/81145120.cms">Indian Railways owned RailTel’s IPO: Here’s how to check share allotment status</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/india/news/puducherry-government-falls-as-chief-minister-v-narayanasamy-loses-trust-vote-in-assembly/articleshow/81148119.cms">Puducherry government falls as Chief Minister V Narayanasamy loses trust vote in Assembly</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/deutsche-bank-plans-to-hire-1000-freshers-in-india-as-it-looks-to-build-core-technologies-in-house/articleshow/81147886.cms">INTERVIEW: Deutsche Bank plans to hire 1,000 freshers in India as it looks to build core technologies in-house</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/analysts-reports-showed-that-90-percent-of-unsecured-retail-loans-have-gone-to-salaried-government-employees/articleshow/81150110.cms">One in every five rupees lent by SBI to individuals, goes to government employees</a>

Star Sports President Gautam Thakar appointed Global CEO of OLX Autos

<ul><li>OLX is planning to expand its offline used car business under the brand ‘<keyword id="7064533" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cash-My-Car">Cash My Car</keyword>,’ which will bring direct buying and selling of used cars. </li><li>The company is reportedly planning to set up 150 stores across 40 cities in India by 2021. </li><li>Currently, OLX has 27 stores operating in New Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida, Ghaziabad, Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai.</li></ul>OLX, an Indian online marketplace for pre-owned goods, is making a big push into the used car business, with plans to <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Industry/pyhVH3xSZWF51dxLwH9RhJ/OLX-to-expand-used-car-business-offline-eyes-150-outlets-by.html">expand its operations</a>, opening up to 150 used car stores across 40 cities in India by 2021. The used ar business operates under the ‘OLX Cash My Car’ brand in collaboration with Germany Frontier Car Group (<keyword id="5821602" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="FCG">FCG</keyword>). Currently, OLX has 27 stores that operate in New Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida, Ghaziabad, Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai. OLX claims the new venture will speed up the entire process of selling a used car within 45 minutes, from inspection to online auction and payments. India’s used car market has witnessed a steady growth over the last few years from ₹385 billion in 2011 to ₹960 billion as of September 2018. The used car market may shoot up by 15% to touch ₹2,500 billion by 2021, according to an Economic Times<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/used-car-market-witnesses-steady-growth-as-new-car-sales-hit-a-speed-bump/articleshow/54382047.cms"> report</a>. This venture will operate under OLX Auto, which generates <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/with-german-company-fcg-in-tow-olx-goes-offline-for-used-car-trade/articleshow/66803652.cms">nearly 25%</a> of the overall revenue and is currently the largest revenue source for the company. OLX will directly own all the new stores, according to a Mint<a href="https://www.livemint.com/Industry/pyhVH3xSZWF51dxLwH9RhJ/OLX-to-expand-used-car-business-offline-eyes-150-outlets-by.html"> report.</a> Taking into account the growth rate of the used car business, which is 15%-16% annually, the company is expecting a steady rise in the offline business. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/The-11-new-cars-people-most-regularly-ditch-after-just-one-year-of-ownership/articleshow/66168880.cms">The 11 new cars people most regularly ditch after just one year of ownership</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/why-indian-automakers-saw-the-worst-festive-season-sales-in-november/articleshow/66748991.cms">Why Indian automakers saw the worst festive season sales in November</a>

Online marketplace OLX plans to open 150 ‘offline’ stores for buying and selling of used cars across India

<ul><li>In our latest interview series, we speak to a few CMOs to understand how they are helping out their organisations find the right ways to connect with consumers.</li><li>Sapna Arora, CMO, <keyword id="6360657" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="olx">OLX</keyword> shares with us how her role has changed over the last few months and walks us through the platform's combat strategy for the horrifying second wave of COVID-19. </li></ul> As India reels through a dire second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, brands are trying to be there for consumers, to help them through these testing times. Till the time the number of positive cases in India declines, it’s not business-as-usual for brands. The overall sentiment of the audience is also grim and brands are trying to be there for consumers in spirit with their consoling marketing campaigns or by donating a part of their CSR budgets. Omni-channel marketplace OLX has altered its marketing approach to be relevant today. It has updated its communication and messaging by focussing on community building and using its platform to amplify pleas on social media. <div type="javascript" title="Instagram" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> <div type="javascript" title="Instagram" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> Sapna Arora, CMO, OLX has found her role changing as a marketer and brand custodian. Her mantra has been to be agile, resilient, empathetic, helpful and kind. The horrifying scale of the second wave has made all playbooks on marketing redundant. Last year, CMOs in India focused on shifting their marketing monies from traditional mediums to digital platforms. Now, Arora’s role at OLX has been about helping the brand adjust to the sudden changes in the macro-environment, prepare for the uncertain tomorrow, use communication tools to help out customers and address vaccine hesitancy. Arora further shared with us how the second wave has changed OLX’s priorities, what route should marketers take to and much more. Excerpts: <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q. How has your communication changed during what is probably one of the worst calamities we've faced in recent times? What is your B2C communication all about?" text="Q. How has your communication changed during what is probably one of the worst calamities we've faced in recent times? What is your B2C communication all about?">Q. How has your communication changed during what is probably one of the worst calamities we've faced in recent times? What is your B2C communication all about?</cmsannotation> It’s true, an emergency of this magnitude, felt across all nations, and for such a prolonged time, has not been witnessed before, not in the last 100 years. Rare complications are further deepening the crisis. We are moving with caution and with empathy. Our communication has vastly changed. How we collectively arrest the progression of this disease will be the litmus test to our awareness as a society. Our endeavour is to ensure that we remain relevant to our users at all times. We have opened up our social media handles to people seeking help, allowing all users to leverage our large reach and ensure wider sharing of messages. To reach out further, we have started donation drives and have partnered with Give India to provide food to Covid-affected families. Brand messaging now shows our side of care, offering comfort, encouragement and hope, addressing vaccine hesitancy, encouraging masking, sanitising, staying home, staying safe, connecting plasma donors with recipients, warning about fraudsters, and so on. It’s no more just a transactional relationship. We have to be real and relevant and show purpose, that’s what’s expected of leading brands at this time. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q. How has your schedule changed as a CMO during the second wave? What are some of the new tasks that you are doing? Can you draw a comparison between last year's lockdown with this year's?" text="Q. How has your schedule changed as a CMO during the second wave? What are some of the new tasks that you are doing? Can you draw a comparison between last year's lockdown with this year's?">Q. How has your schedule changed as a CMO during the second wave? What are some of the new tasks that you are doing? Can you draw a comparison between last year's lockdown with this year's?</cmsannotation> We don’t know how fast we’ll be able to bounce back from the second wave or what the next normal will be like. The buoyancy that emerged after the first wave was quickly dissipated in the second wave. We need to ensure business continuity, as well as show empathy to consumers, and also within the organisation. There’s no playbook to dip into for response planning. On the business side, among the new tasks, is to offer better content experiences to online consumers, touch more and more digital access points. We had plans that needed to be modified, and that has been the impact on my schedule. The messaging has moved to not just about updating product news, but also to show a higher degree of sensitivity and resilience. Agility, along with mission and purpose, are the reigning marketing principles now. Last year, it was all about digitising, educating people about the virus, hand hygiene, and celebrating frontline heroes. This year, it’s more about reaching out, about vaccines, medicines, oxygen supplies, and offering a helping hand. Affirmative story-telling is at heart of the new reset. Soon after the crisis is sorted, our new tasks would be to think hard about what consumers in the next normal would want. We’ll certainly have to redesign shopping journeys for our consumers, develop adaptive ecosystems, and so on, but as of now, that can wait. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q. As a company, how are you using your advertising tools to help out people?" text="Q. As a company, how are you using your advertising tools to help out people?">Q. As a company, how are you using your advertising tools to help out people?</cmsannotation> The scale and ferocity of the second wave has altered all understood paradigms. There are heart rending stories of loss, and people are talking only about essentials, about conscious consumption. At a time when everything feels impossibly hard, there is a greater need to remain optimistic and to steer hyper-local activations. We are infusing positive content across our digital platforms. Responsible brands are expected to have a wider agenda. While social media is full of all kinds of content on the virus, reliable and trustworthy content is hard to find. We have opened up our social media handles for all Covid related queries, people can post their SOS calls, run enquiries that will help them reach wider audiences due to the vast reach of our brand, and we are helping in food supplies for affected families. We are also running campaigns on public discipline, on all our social media handles. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q. How has your role as a marketer changed?" text="Q. How has your role as a marketer changed?">Q. How has your role as a marketer changed?</cmsannotation> With the constant change that we are all experiencing, like the shift in containment zones, virus mutations, gaps in vaccinations, and so on, our roles, tasks and priorities have also been changing. Stakeholders, consumers and employees are looking at the brand, to know what we stand for, what values we uphold. We need to be realistic in our expectations, our goals, and in our messaging. To gain trust, we need to listen to our communities, employees and customers. We are looking beyond the traditional spaces of marketing, such as advertising and market-driven campaigns, to be relevant to people. We have tweaked our social media content around Covid-related information, encouraging people to vaccinate and to remain masked. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q. What is your goal for this quarter? How have your goals changed due to the second wave?" text="Q. What is your goal for this quarter? How have your goals changed due to the second wave?">Q. What is your goal for this quarter? How have your goals changed due to the second wave?</cmsannotation> We have recalibrated our goals, from being number centric to being centred around how our resources can help communities. The goal presently is revolving around building strong connections with our consumers, fostering emotional togetherness while remaining socially distanced, to suppress virus spread. As a brand, we have come forward, using technology to build cohesive customer experiences. We recognize the human tragedy, and also the need to keep business running. As we understand now, the situation will rise and flare up at different times in different market segments. We will be mindful enough to act accordingly, and will continue to rejig our messaging, to show resilience and empathy. One can’t think in silos, or take an absolute stance amid such volatility. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q. As a leader, how are you trying to be there for your employees?" text="Q. As a leader, how are you trying to be there for your employees?">Q. As a leader, how are you trying to be there for your employees?</cmsannotation> At this time, CMOs need to help their organisations adjust to the new realities. We have moved swiftly to expand our digital operations. The pandemic has deeply impacted the way businesses work. We have to show resilience, adaptability and help each person in the organisation to deal with the change. It’s a volatile situation, people are anxious, jobs need to be saved. We have adopted a people-first approach. Our teams have prioritised physical and emotional well-being of all. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q. No communication or relevant/empathetic communication? Which route should a brand take during difficult times like these?" text="Q. No communication or relevant/empathetic communication? Which route should a brand take during difficult times like these?">Q. No communication or relevant/empathetic communication? Which route should a brand take during difficult times like these?</cmsannotation> In times of crisis, governments, as well as employees and consumers look up to their brands for answers. We have to cut the clutter, come on the front foot, move in the direction of the prevailing collective sentiment. By showing compassion, offering hope and understanding, and delivering relevant and trustworthy messages, brands show purpose, and better connectivity with their consumers. When a brand has reach and voice that can impact lives, the expected course of action is to come forward and help. At OLX, we are mindful of our responsibilities, and are addressing community pain points. Purpose establishes a brand’s culture and strong ethics. It has always been part of top brand cultures of the world. Now it’s playing a central role. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q. What are your areas of focus for now?" text="Q. What are your areas of focus for now?">Q. What are your areas of focus for now?</cmsannotation> Till the time the Covid positivity rate declines, it’s not business-as-usual. We cannot afford to drop the ball. We are updating our messaging, focussing on community building; care is central to the underlying thrust right now. Our messages are helpful and uplifting. Holding each other’s hand, we have to steer a route for recovery.

Affirmative storytelling is at heart of the new reset: Sapna Arora of OLX

<ul><li>In our latest series, we talk to brands about how they have been marketing during these adverse times, the things they have learnt and how they are preparing for the somewhat uncertain future.</li><li>Sapna Arora, Chief Marketing Officer, OLX India shares with us her learnings of the lockdown period, the brand’s strategy to adapt to the constantly changing environment and action plan for <keyword id="9359618" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="unlock-2-0">unlock 2.0</keyword>. </li></ul>India is slowly getting back on its feet. However, brands can never revert to their old versions again. The lockdown period has taught our marketers too many lessons that can’t be unlearned. During this adverse period, the focus shifted from growing to survival, which made Indian brands grow conscious of where they spent their marketing bucks and pushed to relook and reinvent existing business models. OLX India’s Chief Marketing Officer, Sapna Arora told us how this period taught her the importance of using your own moral compass while communicating with your target audience. Even though the times were grave, the e-commerce brand used a little humour to laugh with its customers. Arora also walked us through OLX’s combat strategy which was in tandem with the government’s four lockdown phases and shared how it found a stable corner in a fluid environment. The transition started by taking a step back, observing the consumers for a while even if it meant being silent for that period -- to figure out the correct tone. It decided to opt for a reassuring, empathetic and humorous tone to walk along with its consumers. The second wave of communication was to spread a tad of positivity by reminding consumers they can make the most of their time even inside four walls. OLX’s Third and fourth phase of marketing was all about lending a hand in adjusting to the new normal, redefining the meaning of home and moving to a stage of acceptance and decluttering. As we enter unlock 2.0 phase, Arora further shares with us how consuming from the comfort of our homes will continue trending, why it is important to feel what your consumers are feeling and draft messages to resolve those concerns every time you communicate and everything else that OLX has planned for the new world order. Q. How have the last three months been for you? It has been a ride with a heady mix of chaos, assumptions, small wins and many learnings. While we were keen to continue to communicate with our user base, we spent some time figuring out the correct tone. We went ahead using our own moral compass of how we would like to be spoken to. As humans caught in this situation where currently all seemed normal, yet, danger lurked around. We communicated with our consumers in a low, reassuring, empathetic tone in order to assuage their anxiety. We did a second wave of communication around working with our consumers in helping them make sense of what was happening around. In some way, helping them resolve their emotions and steer them in a positive direction - hence we had a series of messages around what the consumers could do while they were stuck at home. There was no hard-sell of brand OLX. In a third wave, when we gathered that people had settled into a routine and come to terms with living in a lock-down, we wanted to help them get more comfortable with their living and working spaces. Hence the idea of decluttering. This is also when we talked of brand OLX. In the fourth way, we took the idea of decluttering further and helped the consumer with decluttering ideas around specific parts of their homes. Q. Have you observed consumer behaviour changing? With such a drastic change in lifestyle, there has definitely been a change in our behaviours as well. Some very defined trends have come up: Reliance on digital/ video based solutions: Instead of asking “Is there a reason to do this online?”, we are asking “Is there any good reason to do this in person?” Even local retailers are now offering ‘phygital’ stores and live-streaming as a concept has resurfaced again, back from the good-old days of ‘tele-shopping’ networks. A stark example of digital shift is seen in the auto industry. Even though it is a high ticket purchase, almost 70% of buying decisions are now taken online. Automobile brands are experimenting with new forms of content such as augmented reality, virtual reality and more. Similarly, in other categories too, brands will increasingly create digital touchpoints to move closer to their consumers and this will enable real-time conversations between both. Reduced discretionary spending and tendency to opt for affordable or alternative solutions hence propensity for pre-owned goods has been on the rise. People are increasingly wary of their expenses and have taken a conservative approach to the same. Consumers will weigh in their options before making a purchase and most of their purchases will be digitally-driven. This has translated into a strong growth for our pre-owned auto segment. Pre-owned cars are about 10%-50% cheaper than new cars hence as consumers look to up their hygiene quotient by shunning public transportation, pre-owned car demand has seen a multifold rise. Reframed meaning of home Spending extended periods of time at home has forced people to rethink their homes as spaces for working, relaxing and exercising, among other activities. Home takes on a whole new meaning as individuals and families figure out new ways to balance their work-life needs within the confines of their space. Going forward, we can expect setups at home that go far beyond a second screen. People will bring in special equipment, machines, and advanced video/audio setups to accommodate this change in lifestyle. Policies and new insurances will need to follow. Large packages are growing at an exponential rate, and we're going to continue to iterate in the space. Q. What are some things that you think will never be the same once we resume normalcy? Needless to say, some things will be forever impacted by the new habits that we have formed as consumers and the new innovations and pivots that corporations have subsequently made. Social distancing is here to stay for a long time to come at least until a vaccine is available. Humans by nature are social yet owing to social distancing there will be a marked reduction in the way consumers or brands interact with each other. Our entire societal ecosystem and relationships are built on trust which stems largely from in-person contact and communication and hence other ‘surrogates’ for trust would have to be developed. Consuming from the comfort of our homes is also a trend that will continue in a large way. These may include remote working and home shopping, which will drive opportunities for connectivity, distance learning, video conferencing, home office equipment, e-commerce, delivery services and the like. Travel is an area which will witness a profound impact as people would question if it's necessary to travel at all especially related to work. Only essential travel would be deemed suitable by users hence there would be decline in footfall in mass travel mediums and tourism related travel. Brands will increasingly grow conscious of their marketing spends and focus more on business continuity especially as more consumers move online and reinvention of business models for adapting the new normal will continue. Increasingly, we will see more brands come online and focus on the same as their primary marketing channels. Q. As markets open up, how are you ensuring that your consumers start trusting you? In the last 10 years, OLX has become synonymous with buying and selling anything online owing to which we have built a huge corpus of trust amongst consumers. As the markets open up, we have been advocating for the need to practice social distancing and practising right sanitization protocols for consumers via our marketing communication. On our retail front with <keyword id="8083535" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="olx-cashmycar">OLX CashMyCar</keyword>, we have resumed business as per government guidelines, across India albeit in a safe manner which would involve periodic sanitization of our retail centres and ensuring a safe and trustworthy retail experience for consumers. Our team members at our retail stores have been trained to follow the best possible sanitization protocols and adhering to the government guidelines to combat the spread of COVID-19. Additionally, we have also started home inspection services where we will offer inspection and procurement of the car for car sellers within the safe confines of their homes. Q. How do you see the e-comm sector shaping up? What would its future look like? Owing to the lockdown, e-commerce and online marketplaces has seen a boost. Once the lock-down ‘stabilized’ and ecommerce companies were in full swing, with the local physical stores being closed, there was an inevitable shift of consumers from offline to online. The pandemic has allowed buyers to throng to online marketplaces in order to cater to their needs. The transition is divided into three phases now, next and beyond, according to a recent report by EY. A quantum change will come when there is an increase in ecommerce sales in tier 2 and 3 towns, where digital consumption of content has increased but digital transactions are still low. Q. Has the current situation made you innovate and think out of the box, in terms of how you communicate with your consumers? Our communication has been driven by how we felt the consumers’ fears, anxiety, concerns, needs were playing on their minds during various phases of the lock-down. Our communication in India moved in four phases, almost in tandem with the phases of the central government’s lockdown. At the beginning, we advocated and educated our users on how to stay safe, keep their hygiene quotient up via creative communication tools such as images, gifs and videos. Across the second stage, we spoke about positivity and getting comfortable at home by using one’s time in activities such as reading, cooking, spiritual well-being etc. Subsequently, once consumers had settled into a routine and given our homes had become our sanctuaries, we spoke about decluttering and how it improves one's mental wellbeing. We did this sans any brand focus on OLX. The campaign centered around how decluttering could ameliorate the stress levels amongst users. Research has stated that a cluttered environment affects our efficiency and most households often have plenty of items they no longer use. By decluttering our environment, we are addressing how it helps alleviate accumulated levels of stress related to upkeep of the same. Thereafter, we gave specific decluttering tips, educating the user on how they could make the most out of the space and possessions they had. Additionally, we have also been focusing on highlighting positive stories around how consumers are using OLX to assist the most affected during COVID-19 via short films. We recently reached out to two lovely kids and their families on how they sold off their old toys on OLX to raise money for the PM cares fund. Marketing communication needs to be simple, positive and focus on giving hope to people amidst these testing times. Q. What does your media plan look like? Which medium gets your lion's share? As a digital-first brand, we have always had a major focus on digital media and ancillary focus traditional media. We have in the past leveraged traditional mediums such as television, OOH and radio. However, as digital usage has shot through the roof we have also been experimenting with new-age platforms. Right now, our focus is primarily on digital but we are not bound to the same. Prior to any campaign, we evaluate the best possible medium to reach out to the consumers and take a call on the same. Q. What are some of the key learnings from this experience? Key learnings are: <ul><li>Marketers should use their own moral compass in how they communicate with the consumer. </li><li>Keep the dialogue on - Brands should carry on communicating albeit in a sensitive manner.</li><li>Don't veer off track from your long term strategy - Even though the situation is extremely fluid brands shouldnt lose sight of their long term strategy. Brands should stick to their original purpose unless the circumstances have led to thought-through pivot in the business operations. </li></ul>

Marketers should use their own moral compass while communicating with consumers: Sapna Arora, OLX

<ul><li>82% of parents surveyed anticipate that screen time for kids will reduce once the pandemic subsides in 2022.</li><li>65% of parents surveyed are conscious of their kids’ changing behaviour, and try to have one-on-one interactions to check on their mental well being.</li><li>Prolonged internet usage and screen time is impacting kids’ behaviour, leading to increased physical &amp; mental stress: 80% of parents say that the pandemic has impacted their kids’ social skills.</li></ul><keyword id="817469" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="OLX-India">OLX India</keyword> conducted a study to understand digital behaviour among kids during the pandemic, and its impact on their stress levels due to prolonged internet usage. In the backdrop of National Parents Day celebrated on 25th July, the study asked parents of kids in the age bracket of 5 to 18 years to share their perspectives on the concept of cyber responsibility. The third annual edition of this survey was conducted in May-June 2021. Digitally savvy kids will grow to be more aware of safe and secure online behaviour, and <keyword id="6360657" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="olx">OLX</keyword> believes that the accelerated online usage ushered in by the pandemic should go hand-in-hand with safe and secure online experiences. The company runs a survey every year on parenting day, to gauge children’s internet usage trends and parental response, in order to identify changing behaviours, and to highlight the need to use the Internet in a safe and responsible manner. The 2020-21 OLX National Parenting Day survey revealed that prolonged screen time and unhindered access to the internet due to online schooling, with little to no alternatives to engage kids during the pandemic, has exacerbated mental stress, anxiety and compromised online safety mechanisms for them. It has led to potentially unsafe, dangerous or risky online situations and behaviours that kids are indulging in. Parents believe that their child’s privacy and security are at risk and there are high chances of impersonation of digital identities, hacking, being coerced into sharing private information or making online purchases without parental permission. 75% of parents have noted their kids making impulsive in-app purchases, and are worried that they may be careless in divulging personal information. But the positive news is that parents are taking action towards monitoring the online activities of their children. 80% of parents surveyed feel it necessary to actively monitor content being consumed by their little ones and 75% of parents now make it a point to supervise their kids’ online activity. This is in stark contrast to a study conducted by OLX in January 2021, where 60% of parents surveyed admitted to not monitoring their kids’ online content consumption. Clearly, extended lockdowns have made Indian parents more vigilant and aware. There is an increasing concern about the mental health of kids, 60% of parents surveyed observed a decline in their child’s physical and mental wellbeing. Furthermore, 80% of parents shared that the development of their kids’ social skills has been severely impacted. Inputs from respondents also highlight the concrete actions taken towards managing this situation, and are generally positive. As coping mechanisms, parents indicate that they have started to take more interest in enhancing their own digital skills (80%) to keep up with their kids, and spending dedicated time with their kids to check on their health and wellbeing more regularly (65%). On the bright side, over 4 in 5 parents (82%) were hopeful that their kids’ newly developed internet obsession will recede, once the pandemic subsides in 2022 and normalcy is restored to some extent. Talking about how smart devices are governing every child’s life, Sapna Aroa, CMO, OLX India said, “With another year of being confined to homes, the new normal has definitely taken a toll on everybody’s mental health. The demand for smart devices and the internet has seen a steep rise due to online classes, not just school but extra-curricular and co-curricular as well. This is a novel experience for both children and parents, who need to quickly become comfortable with this new world of learning.” She further added, “Our intent through this study was to get a first-hand account of how parents are dealing with their child’s accelerated and increased exposure to online classes. These inputs are valuable in keeping online experiences safe and secure for everyone.” Sapna said. Over 60% of the participants in this study were from Tier II and <keyword id="381312" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tier-III">Tier III</keyword> cities, where internet penetration and technology usage has been heavily accelerated due to the pandemic, and their perspectives were aligned with those from Metros and Tier I cities.

Majority of parents surveyed have noted their kids making impulsive in-app purchases, reveals OLX study

<keyword id="6356826" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="environment">Environment</keyword> Minister of India today said popular websites like <keyword id="6381424" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Quikr">Quikr</keyword>, <keyword id="6360657" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="OLX">Olx</keyword>, Ebay, Amazon and Youtube are involved in trade of rare animals and their body parts. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave said online smuggling of rare animals and their parts are being monitored by the state and central governments as part of combating cyber crime. He also said "Several websites are seen advertising sale of rare animals and their parts". 
 He furnished a list of 106 such websites collated by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB). The 106 websites include prominent names like quikr.com, olx.in, alibaba.com, eBay.com, youtube.com, amazon.com, shopping.rediff.com, petsmart.com and <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SnapDeal">snapdeal</keyword>.com. Dave said several steps have been taken to prevent such illegal activities which include utilising services of cyber crime specialists on contractual basis to carry out regular cyber patrolling to detect posts and offers on such portals. He said if any such offer is detected, details are retrieved of the suspect and information is passed on to relevant enforcement agencies for legal action. 
 
A meeting of representatives from online trade portals was convened in May this year to discuss issues pertaining to online wildlife trade, sensitise them about it and discuss modalities to assist WCCB in case of such detections. Dave said during training and sensitisation programmes conducted by WCCB, the issue of illegal online wildlife trade is being highlighted so that officials involved in the enforcement are abreast of such trends. A wildlife body had recently alleged that a prominent website was selling wildlife specimens, including sea horses and alligator heads, protected under the country's laws. 
 
Wildlife SOS had claimed the website was offering an array of wildlife trophies, including alligator heads, preserved snakes, butterflies, starfish, rare beetles and seahorses, besides hunting manuals and devices.

Amazon, Quikr, Ebay, Snapdeal involved in wildlife trade: Govt

New Delhi, Feb 7 () More than half of people in a survey said that they have shared their phone numbers and addresses publicly and close to three-quarters of netizens knowingly skipped terms and conditions and safety legal guidelines online, a report by internet firm OLX said on Friday. According to the report, 66 per cent of the total respondents showed that they have been victims of online financial frauds and the UPI platform has been used by fraudsters to dupe netizens. "52 per cent of respondents have publicly shared their phone numbers and personal addresses online while 26 per cent have admitted to sharing sensitive one-time passwords with others. The remaining 22 per cent of respondents admit to sharing bank account passwords, UPI pin, credit and debit card details with others," OLX 2020 Internet Behaviour Study said. OLX studied the behaviour of close to 7,500 netizens between the age groups of 18-55 to understand the state of awareness and cyber safety preparedness for the report, the company said. "73 per cent of respondents said they actively skipped the terms and conditions and safety-legal guidelines owing to the fact they were cumbersome to read and too complex to understand. This figure was 67 per cent in 2019. Only 27 per cent admitted to actively reading them prior to signing up for online platforms or services," the report said. Contrary to the neglect, the report found that 72 per cent respondents were cognisant of the fact that conducting banking transactions over unsecured WiFi networks could jeopardize their own safety. The survey found that parents have now become more vigilant over content that their kids access online compared to their attitude in 2019. "In 2019, 60 per cent parents admitted to not supervising the content their kids viewed online while in 2020, 66 per cent parents actively monitored their kids internet access," the report said. PRS HRS

Survey finds more than half of netizen share phone number publicly

The halo around the Indian armed forces has gotten so strong in India that people believe anything said in the name of the uniform. That has led to a ‘spate’ of frauds by people posing as ‘armymen’, according to a <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/crime-branch-asks-public-to-beware-of-army-men-on-olx/article29650980.ece">recent advisory</a> from the Navi Mumbai Police. If you buy and sell products via online classified portals such as OLX and Quikr, you need to be careful while dealing with people claiming to be a part of the Indian Army. In a recent <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/armyman-scams-mumbai-woman-of-rs-52000-third-case-in-2-months/articleshow/73239901.cms">incident</a>, a resident of Ambernath was duped of ₹52,000 by a fraudster posing as an armyman. The victim, Eman Shafiq Katt, wanted to buy a two-wheeler from the accused, Arbaz Khan. The latter claimed that he was in the army and wanted to sell his scooty as he has been transferred. Once the victim transferred the money into his account, the accused stopped taking her phone calls. Reports of similar scams have emerged from <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/pune-fake-armyman-dupes-interior-designer/articleshow/73102160.cms">Pune</a>, <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/swindlers-pose-as-army-men-online-dupe-people/articleshow/67879800.cms">Bengaluru</a>, <a href="https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2019/oct/30/two-army-men-dupe-cisf-jawan-of-rs-57000-in-online-fraud-2054822.html">Nagpur</a>, <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/men-pose-as-army-bsf-personnel-to-cheat-people-on-olx-in-chandigarh/story-zWs2Oit3b1oE9BNx6TdfOJ.html">Chandigarh</a> and <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/chandigarh/ludhiana-man-loses-1-3l-to-olx-fraud/story-xKgCucjj9cRGpxfEEEL4EP.html">Ludhiana</a>. How to protect yourself from ‘armyman’ frauds Do not trust someone because they show an army ID card One of the things that is common in these types of frauds is that the person shares an army ID card and asks you to trust them as they are in the army. Do not fall for such tactics and avoid trusting someone based on an ID card that could have been forged very easily. Avoid making advance payments If you are buying a product, do not make advance payments and instead, ask the seller to take the payment upon delivery of the product. Meet at a public place Whether you are the seller or the buyer, always insist on meeting at a public place to complete the transaction. Be careful while accepting payments There have been instances where fraudsters use <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/scammers-whatsapp-stealing-money-how-to-protect/articleshow/72976604.cms">QR codes</a> to scam people online. When receiving money, do not scan any QR code and be careful while clicking on links. Do not provide any OTP to the sender as they might use this to steal money from you. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/scammers-whatsapp-stealing-money-how-to-protect/articleshow/72976604.cms">Scammers are now using WhatsApp to steal money - here’s how you can protect yourself</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/miscellaneous/the-11-most-sophisticated-online-scams-right-now-that-the-average-person-falls-for/slidelist/68568461.cms">The 11 Most Sophisticated Online Scams Right Now That The Average Person Falls For</a>

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Star Sports President Gautam Thakar appointed Global CEO of OLX Autos

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Marketers should use their own moral compass while communicating with consumers: Sapna Arora, OLX

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Amazon, Quikr, Ebay, Snapdeal involved in wildlife trade: Govt

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Survey finds more than half of netizen share phone number publicly

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A new kind of financial fraud is using the Indian army as decoy

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