<ul><li>Flipkart owned fashion retailer <keyword id="319719" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Myntra">Myntra</keyword> has announced new leave policies as a part of its employee-centric initiatives.</li><li>With the COVID-19 pandemic and its new normal of working from home, several companies have turned to placing focus on their employees and their wellness.</li><li>Earlier, home services startup Urban Company (formerly known as UrbanClap) had announced an unlimited mental health <keyword id="1950724" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="leave-policy">leave policy</keyword>.</li></ul>Flipkart owned fashion retailer Myntra has announced new leave policies as part of its employee-centric initiatives.The list of new leaves introduced makes way for employees to take leaves not just when they are sick but also when their family members are sick. The company has also made a decision to make wedding leaves available for same-sex couples as well. Amar Nagaram, chief executive of Myntra, said in a statement that this move would help employees to “take care of their priorities at work and beyond, while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.” Here are the kind of leaves introduced by Myntra: – 14 days of Care Leaves that employees can avail to take care of young children and older parents when they fall sick or need assistance. – 5 days of wedding leaves including for those who get married outside the country, same-sex partner marriages, and civil unions. (Indian laws do not yet allow <keyword id="21193" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Same-sex-marriages">same sex marriages</keyword> in the country). – Unlimited wellness leaves or sick leaves. – 24 vacation days. With the COVID-19 pandemic and its new normal of working from home, several companies have turned to placing focus on their employees and their wellness. This has also resulted in companies introducing initiatives such as no meeting Fridays, mental health as a priority and more. Earlier, home services startup Urban Company (formerly known as Urban Clap) had announced an unlimited mental health leave policy. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/unacademy-acquires-tapchief-to-help-students-get-their-dream-jobs-its-seventh-acquisition-in-the-last-one-year/articleshow/80982132.cms">Unacademy acquires TapChief to help students get their dream jobs – its seventh acquisition in the last one year</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/carl-peis-nothing-invites-users-to-invest-in-the-company-1-5-million-worth-shares-available/articleshow/80986814.cms">Carl Pei’s Nothing invites users to invest in the company – $1.5 million worth shares available</a>

Myntra's new leave policy includes 'care leaves' to look after ailing parents or sick children, and wedding leaves for same-sex marriages

<ul><li>Try not to shop for what you may need and only purchase what you definitely need. There will always be a sale later.</li><li>While most large online outlets offer your money back on returns, few don’t, so always read the terms and conditions.</li><li>In the urge to buy something unique or cheap from international sites, you may end up paying a stupid amount on import duty. </li></ul> There was a time not so long ago when <keyword id="6368952" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shopping">shopping</keyword> was an ‘event’ for an ‘event’ - a wedding in the family, a religious festival, a birthday and a few other special occasions. But now, it is something that is indulged in almost every other day or week. And while some find the experience of going to a mall thrilling, that insatiable need to shop⁠ ⁠or to find great discounts and deals is more or less limited to a phone or a computer because of the current COVID-19 situation. While it may be tough to ignore the plethora of sale notifications from companies like <keyword id="18635" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword> and <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> telling us about the fabulous deals they have in store, it is crucial to be mindful of the points below before investing our hard-earned money. 1. Make a wishlist: It is easy to jump into a rabbit hole of <keyword id="6357762" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="online-shopping">online shopping</keyword> and buy everything cheap just because you may need it later or may fit into it later. Try not to shop for the ‘mays’ and only purchase what you need now. There will always be a sale later. 2. Take time to scour the internet: Just like you don’t walk into a shop and buy the first thing you see, don’t just buy the first thing you see online that meets your requirement. While it may be tempting just to click ‘buy now’ when you see something exciting, and on sale online, it is advisable to do your research and check out a bunch of sites before you hone-in on a product. It’s common to stumble upon an identical item cheaper on another site. 3. Buy good quality out-of-season articles and save them for later: While buying for the upcoming season may seem like the sensible thing to do, what would be more prudent is to invest in premium quality products end-of-season. They are often dirt-cheap, and you may never be able to purchase it full price anyway. It may be a bummer to wait for months before you can wear your new purchase, but it will undoubtedly be rewarding when you do sift it out months later. In fact, it’s best not to buy these when the company is offering a sale, instead, look out for these items when the sale is not on, some sites have a permanent sale section for things that are low in stock, or they want to get rid of inventory since the season is gone. 4. Measure up: It is always best to take a tape measure and measure yourself or the space in which the item you wish to buy will go. However, some size charts can be quite deceptive. So, it may be a good idea to check out the sizes of your already-existing items and buy from the same brand or same size. Also, don’t buy something by just seeing the picture. There are hilarious memes out there when people have bought items thinking it’s of standard size and they turn out to be miniatures. 5. Make a note of the delivery time and delivery charges: No one wants to pay extra for delivery nor wait forever to receive an item. Some sites have an option wherein you can check the delivery time to your location by typing in your pin code, and some websites also have options of items that are ‘ready to be dispatched’ that will take a shorter period to arrive. There are instances where the site claims there is no delivery charge, but you will notice the same product in another site will cost you less even after paying the delivery charges. Another point to note is whether you will have to bear any cost if you have to return or exchange the product. 6. Go through the fine print, particularly the return/exchange policy: A big advantage to shopping online is the fact that you can ‘usually’ return a product and get your money back. However, while most large online outlets offer your money back, few don’t. They only offer exchange or store credit, and sometimes not even that. It would be wise to read the ‘shipping and returns’ terms and conditions or call the customer care and check with them. 7. If you are unhappy with the product, complain: It’s always smart to let the seller know if you faced any issues with the product. However, be kind and patient, a random rant by an irate customer is often ignored. Call, mail, chat, whatever floats your boat. If your problem is genuine, an enterprising seller may offer you a voucher to make up for a bad experience. 8. Be very careful while ordering from international websites: In the urge to buy something unique or cheap, you may end up paying a stupid amount in import duty. Also remember, once purchased, it will be close to impossible to return the item if dissatisfied. 9. Always read the user feedback: This feature may be unavailable in most sites, but some, like Amazon, <keyword id="319719" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Myntra">Myntra</keyword>, <keyword id="113593" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Marks-Spencer">Marks &amp; Spencer</keyword> etc., have a feature where users can leave images and feedback on the product. Now, interpreting the feedback is also crucial. Beware of the always-disgruntled shopper who will buy a ₹100 headphone but expect Marshall-quality audio or disingenuous extra positive feedback probably written by the seller’s kin. Then, there is a genuine lot whose opinion is resonated by most, which is usually the best indicator of whether the product is worth buying. Also, go with your gut. If something looks too good to be true, it probably is. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/heres-how-indians-are-buying-tesla-facebook-and-apple-shares-through-brokerage-startups/articleshow/80403004.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Here’s how Indians are buying Tesla, Facebook, and Apple shares through brokerage startups</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/news/recession-in-india-will-end-latest-by-march-says-a-top-economist/articleshow/80399198.cms">Recession in India will end latest by March, says a top economist</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/budget/news/do-not-panic-when-finance-minister-nirmala-sitharaman-reads-out-the-revised-estimates/articleshow/80400869.cms">Do not panic when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reads out the revised estimates</a>

Nine useful tips to amp-up your online shopping game

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/48530775.cms" /> 
The New York Times recently published a report on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Amazon">Amazon</a>’s orientation process in the US. It carried depressing behavior of <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword> officials reminding new recruits to dump their ‘poor habits’ they might have learned at previous jobs, ‘hit the wall’ and eventually ‘Climb the wall’. Recruits toil hard to meet or exceed expectations the company boasts are ‘unreasonably high’, and they can then declare "I'm Peculiar" – a virtual award to everyone who gets the perfect score. 
 
For a company toying with the idea of delivery by drones but has workers suffering from cancer and miscarriages claiming they were edged out or unfairly evaluated, this could either be an HR innovation, or possibly an HR disaster. 
 
Around 400 <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Flipkart">Flipkart</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Myntra">Myntra</a> employees went on strike last month. They claimed they never receive enough uniforms, no proper access to toilets, inhuman shift timings and no weekly off days. The same company has also been in the news for making significant changes to its maternity leave policy and for implementing a comprehensive adoption assistance programme for employees to help their staff through crucial personal events. 
 
While there have been conjectures and confusions, there is a common pattern weaved in the gamut of these disconnected cases – it’s often the lower rung that complain. This was also true of past complaints of abuse by IT employees and the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Maruti+">Maruti </a>fiasco in the automobile industry around two years ago. 
 While getting <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> deliverymen to speak up about their problems was like trying to get blood out of a stone, we spoke to an HR consultant to get a fair idea of what might be wrong with India’s <keyword id="35621" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="e-commerce">e-commerce</keyword> industry. 
 
“Most outsourced staff in the industry get a raw deal. Often these deliverymen are outsourced staff. However, this might end up impacting the last mile delivery and the final point of contact with the customer”, Prashant Parashar, Princple Consultant, Potentia Growth Services says 
If outsourced staff might put customer satisfaction at risk, why would billion dollar companies bet their reputation, and be at the brink? 
 
“Outsourced staff may not always be a bad idea. It’s the way you deal with them. Outsourcing scales costs for startups and helps gather processes in a short span. It’s the question of the governance process to ensure that your staff adheres to certain standard”, Parashar says. 
So is could be the crux of major labour problems in the Indian industry? 
 
“There is a large section of unorganized labour in India where exploitation is still rampant. At the senior level there is a relatively higher employee crunch and higher supply-demand issue whereas there is relatively high supply of unskilled <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=labour">labour</a> in India. Emerging industries are in a process of evolution. The market will punish employers who don’t get this fixed soon”, Parashar says. 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

Unorganized
labour cheap across the world?

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/51009793.cms" /> 
There are several companies, both new and old in the industry, that are introducing new ways for helping young mothers in their workforces. While some are allowing women employees to take their children up to five years of age and spouse or caretaker along for business or training meetings, some are contracting with preschools for the kids of their women employees so that they get discounts while putting their kids in the school. 
 
This has happened because of the usual tendency of women employees to drop out after deliveries, impacting both business and their own 
career graphs. 
 
"India Inc is taking a three-fold approach to maternity benefits: realise, solutionise and sensitise," Mansee Singhal, principal talent at HR consulting firm Mercer India told ET. "Progressive benefits really make a company stand out as an employer of choice. Going beyond statutory policies to provide employees great pre-and post-natal flexibility as well as childcare benefits will help them retain talent." 
 
To ensure that, several companies and start-ups are offering women employees a whole lot of benefits who are on their way to become mothers. 
 
For example, Myntra rolled out a 'Parent Policy' that arranges for fruits being served at the desks of expecting mothers for better nutrition, while also arranging baby showers and reimbursing their transportation bills during the last few months of their pregnancy. 
 
Similarly, Urban Ladder's new workplace includes a nursing room for new mothers, which also serves as a resting room for those who are expecting. Hopscotch, on the other hand, offers in-house crèche facility, a nap room for expecting mothers and a room to change diapers of their little ones. 
 
Well, looks like no one wants to stay behind in being the company that cares for its employees like family members, while also ensuring that women going on sabbaticals don’t impact the health of their businesses. 
 
<a href="http://medimetry.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/pregnantofficejpg.jpg">Image source</a>

Why to quit job after having a baby when you have diaper-changing rooms in the office?

From the Indian Parliament to the Reserve Bank of India, to startup unicorns, this year was especially rife with high-profile resignations, giving fuel to ongoing controversies. Here are the top departures that left the country in surprise: 1. <keyword id="6375119" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="urjit-patel">Urjit Patel</keyword> <div type="image" title="Urjit patel" tempid="286964" msid="67322946" hostid="261"></div>
 In December, Urjit Patel announced his resignation from his role as the governor of the Reserve Bank of India citing ‘personal reasons’ amid differences between the central bank and the Indian government. While many top politicians and academicians in the country have been citing different reasons for ‘why’ Urjit Patel abruptly resigned from his post, many believe it was the tensions between the RBI and the government, particularly the latter’s moves that threaten the central bank’s independence that led to his departure. Patel has subsequently been replaced a former government official Shaktikanta Das. 2. <keyword id="6355547" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="arvind-subramanian">Arvind Subramanian</keyword> <div type="image" title="Arvind" tempid="286980" msid="67322947" hostid="261"></div>

(Image Credits- IANS) India’s Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian resigned from his position in Finance Ministry on 20th June citing ‘pressing family commitments.’ Krishnamurthy Subramanian was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indian-government-appoints-krishnamurthy-subramanian-as-its-new-chief-economic-advisor/articleshow/66987414.cms">appointed</a> as the new CEA after the post was left vacant for nearly six months. Months after quitting his post, Subramanian in his recently-launched book ‘Of Counsel’ <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/demonetisation-was-a-massive-draconian-monetary-shock-says-narendra-modi-governments-former-chief-economic-advisor-arvind-subramanian/articleshow/66860962.cms">commented</a> on the government’s demonetisation policy calling it “a massive, draconian, monetary shock” that took a hit on the Indian economy. 3. <keyword id="6364080" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="binny-bansal">Binny Bansal</keyword> <div type="image" title="binny-bansal1" msid="67322928" hostid="261"></div>

(Image Credits-Wikimedia.org) Indian e-tail major Flipkart Group's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Binny Bansal parted ways with the company on 13th November following the allegations of ‘personal misconduct’. Bansal announced his resignation, effective immediately, following an independent investigation by Flipkart and Walmart against him. However, Binny Bansal has strongly denied all the accusations against him. He is reportedly launching a tech startup to provide technology tools, learning and consulting services to growth-stage ventures, ET <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/binny-bansal-former-flipkart-executive-to-launch-new-startup/articleshow/67085632.cms">reported</a>. 4. M.J Akbar <div type="image" title="907c8b2772a84537d8c711eba43627b2" tempid="287008" msid="67322948" hostid="261"></div>
 (Image Credits-IANS) The #Metoo movement forced the Minister of State for External Affairs, MJ Akbar, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/too-little-too-late-indian-government-reacts-to-metoo-by-forming-a-panel-to-review-sexual-harassment-laws/articleshow/66347468.cms">to put down his papers days </a>after several of his former female colleagues accused him of sexual harassment. The campaign gathered much attention from people across India with many women coming forward to reveal sexual predators at workplaces, especially in the media industry. 5. <keyword id="6397414" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ananth-Narayanan">Ananth Narayanan</keyword> <div type="image" title="ananth-narayan" tempid="287014" msid="67322949" hostid="261"></div>
 Myntra’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ananth Narayanan,<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/myntra-is-in-the-middle-of-a-management-shakeup-after-key-leaders-resign-in-succession/articleshow/67043730.cms"> stepped down</a> from his position in the company within a month after denying speculation about his resignation, following Binny Bansal’s exit from parent Flipkart. Following his resignation other high-ranked officials including Mithun Sundar, Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), and Manpreet Ratia, Head for Human Resources, also resigned from their respective role in the company. 6. Chanda Kochhar 
 <div type="image" title="95b438c9e8e160e4d9704c9dc628ce2a" tempid="287133" msid="67322950" hostid="261"></div>

In October, Chanda Kochhar resigned as the CEO and Managing Director of India’s largest private sector bank, ICICI Bank. Kochhar had been sent on indefinite leave amid a corporate governance <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/its-the-end-of-the-road-for-chanda-kochhar/articleshow/66082441.cms">scandal</a> that led to an independent judicial investigation into alleged misconduct and dealings with Videocon. Kochhar was facing allegations of conflict of interest while making a loan to Venugopal Dhoot, the promoter of Videocon Group. 7. <keyword id="128581" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rana-Kapoor">Rana Kapoor</keyword> 
 <div type="image" title="5e96e735b844a0506c8cd17e3f2bbc9d (1)" tempid="287157" msid="67322951" hostid="261"></div>

The co-founder and chief executive of Yes Bank, Rana Kapoor, was reportedly asked by the Reserve Bank of India to put in his papers by January 2019. Kapoor had been working as the managing director and CEO since the bank started its operations in 2004. RBI decided not to extend the tenure of Rana Kapoor amid alleged corporate governance lapses and under-reporting of non-performing loans. The central bank further instructed Yes Bank to look for his successor. His resignation led to a crash in the bank’s shares. However, last month, its non-executive chairman, Ashok Chawla, also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/yes-banks-problems-get-further-compounded-as-its-chairman-is-forced-to-resign-amid-a-corruption-probe/articleshow/66634836.cms">resigned</a>, further exacerbating matters for the bank who had been tasked with bringing back stability to the institution.

Here were the most controversial resignations India saw in 2018

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/52122908.cms" /> 
Indian <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=e-commerce&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">e-commerce</a> has been a playground of contradictions, with a bundle of contrasting market data and a dash of controversial media reports. Each company has fuelled the confusion with data on traffic, number of users and GMV. 
 
Business Insider lists the 5 things that went wrong with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Snapdeal&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Snapdeal</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Flipkart&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Flipkart</a>: 
 
Gross Market Value (GMV) and Discounting Deep discounts have been the biggest attraction of Indian e-retailers over the last few years, with the focus solely being on growth. Every online retailer has spent heavily to fund discounts to win customers. In the year that ended March 2015, the cumulative loss of <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>, <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword> and Amazon India stood at Rs. 5,000 crores with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Flipkart&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Flipkart</a> posting a loss of Rs. 2000 crores and Snapdeal reporting a loss of Rs 1,328 crores. 
 
“It was pure greed. Everybody wanted a bigger piece of the market share. The idea was that the winner will take it all”, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Sanjay+Sethi&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Sanjay Sethi</a>, co-founder, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=ShopClues&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">ShopClues</a> says. 
 
This cash burn also held up GMV figures, which was considered the single most important metric for growth. Take that away, the valuation falls, and ‘growth’ suddenly seems stagnant. However, when you have deep pockets and big stakes, you’d want to be a whale. Problem is, when do you stop? 
 
“It’s not the company’s choice. If somebody else walks in, and you take it (the discount) off, you lose market share”, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Vijay+Shekhar+Sharma&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Vijay Shekhar Sharma</a>, founder-CEO, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Paytm&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Paytm</a> says. 
 In April this year, the government allowed 100% <keyword id="44528" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="FDI">FDI</keyword> in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=e-commerce&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">e-commerce</a>. However, the most disturbing feature in the policy was the bar on discounting. This has forced every player to re-consider their business models. 
 
As a senior <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Flipkart&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Flipkart</a> official requesting anonymity puts it, “Binny’s (Bansal) going deep into the commerce side, looking at every category and asking the right questions. You can be profitable at a gross level, but certain categories might still lose money. He’s focusing on how to sell better on Flipkart.” 
 
High Cost Machine 
While the initial race to shoot up GMV and touch a billion dollar valuation has receded, every player is left with a high-cost machinery, with soaring operational costs. 
 
Earlier this week, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Flipkart&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Flipkart</a> co-founder and Executive Chairman <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Sachin+Bansal&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Sachin Bansal</a> hinted at a tough financial climate. He maintained almost every Internet company around the world goes through it, and they’ll try and raise as much capital possible, but on their own terms. 
 
However, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=ShopClues&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">ShopClues</a> co-founder <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Sanjay+Sethi&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Sanjay Sethi</a> thinks the slack performance of the segment-leaders is a factor to their current woes. “Investors are rethinking about businesses that haven’t shown a clear path to profitability. There’s clearly a slowdown, but it’s not a long term thing”, Sethi says. 
 While there have been reports of the Snapdeal-Flipkart duo struggling to raise money at their current valuation since June 2015, the <keyword id="6357120" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="PayTM">Paytm</keyword> founder thinks most companies can live with their current cash burn rates. 
 
“I don’t know a company that cannot sustain for the next two years. Also, specific companies may have their own concerns and issues, but people are putting in money”, he says. 
 
Losing Focus 
In a market as fragmented as India’s, no one brand has dominated categories like apparel and grooming. Too much inventory stocked for too long eats away profit margins. Some say the country's FDI policy forced these companies to potray themselves as marketplaces, while they were handline everything from warehousing to logistics. 
 
Retailing in itself has never made money, even for <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Walmart&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Walmart</a> at this scale. It’s always a 4-5% margin. That way, the marketplace model is profitable even in Amazon’s balance sheets. The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=ShopClues&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">ShopClues</a> founder thinks when you’re on a hybrid model; you compete against your sellers, and that hampers growth. 
 
“If you decide to take fashion as a marketplace model because there are too many sellers, and a certain brand is making more money, there’s the greed to have an inventory in the interest of better margins. That way you build distrust among sellers”, Sethi says. 
 
Combine huge stockpiles in warehouses, heavy discounting and 4-5% gross margins in some categories, and you have a business that makes zero sense at unit commerce level. You can either sell too many brands on a pure marketplace model, or select brands on an inventory model. Fire and water don't mix. 
 
The Paytm founder agrees. “It’s better to leave merchandising and fashion trends to retailers. When I see these companies building private labels, it makes me uncomfortable personally.” 
 
Some steps proved costly 
The idea of going app-only proved to be a big distraction for Flipkart and Myntra. Flipkart’s <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Big+Billion+Day+sale&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Big Billion Day sale</a> went app only last October, and reversed its decision for its Republic Day sale this January. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Peeyush+Ranjan&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Peeyush Ranjan</a>, head of engineering at Flipkart agrees not many people install the app. "Websites push users to install the app. But only 4% of the people actually install the app", he says. 
 
While the company’s brave attempt to try something new must be lauded, it made little business sense. “Companies are fighting over 2-3% market share. It made no sense to leave 10% of your users and go app-only. That’s somebody not using the retail mindset”, Sethi says. 
 
Flipkart still maintains it was always mobile-first, and never app-only for them, and it all got misconstrued. Amar Nagaram, VP, Mobile Engineering, Flipkart says, “We never quite stopped our efforts for mobile web. We actually pushed browser companies to offer a better experience.” 
 
In a country with low credit card penetration, both Snapdeal and Flipkart ventured into mobile payments a bit too late. Flipkart now has its WSR Wallet and Snapdeal made way for the FreeCharge Wallet, but Paytm's Wallet services were way ahead. The Softbank-led company now allows its users to book Uber rides globally, and will soon let them shop on investor Alibaba's B2C portal. 
 
Lure of the Market Everybody agrees the fundamentals of <keyword id="35621" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="e-commerce">e-commerce</keyword> in India are very strong. Every other report brings on huge growth and market size figures. True, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=e-commerce&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">e-commerce</a> currently only accounts for 2% of the total market, and there is enough room for growth. 
 
The recent report by CIII and Deloitte India peg India’s business to consumer (B2C) segment will grow more than seven times to $101.9 billion and the number of online shoppers will grow over 10 times to 220 million in 2020. 
 
However, most data thrown around by e-commerce companies has been one big hogwash. App installs don’t count for traffic, number of active users doesn’t count for real transactions, and high GMV doesn’t count for profits. That’s why Flipkart’s 50 million app installs must be taken with a pinch of salt. 
 
“If only Snapdeal and Flipkart tone down their expectations, they could build fabulous businesses”, Retail Consultancy firm Technopak MD Arvind Singhal says. 
 
P.S: Snapdeal refused to comment, despite several requests.

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Myntra's new leave policy includes 'care leaves' to look after ailing parents or sick children, and wedding leaves for same-sex marriages

Sanchita Dash

Nine useful tips to amp-up your online shopping game

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BI India Bureau

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