Benefits under the new Consumer Protection Act 2019

Consumer can cheer as the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 has recently replaced the three-decade old Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The new act proposes a slew of measures and tightens the existing rules of further safeguard consumer rights. Introduction of a central regulator, strict penalties for misleading advertisements and guidelines for e-commerce and electronic service providers are some of the key highlights.

Consumer Courts – Consumer redressal commissions, aka consumer courts, are present at the district, state and national levels to address consumer complaints. The Act has increased the pecuniary jurisdiction, which means ability of courts to take up cases depending on the value of the case, of the consumer courts. Another crucial change says that now the money spent on buying the product till that time will determine the value of the case as opposed to the previous parameter of total value of the purchased goods/service.  In another move, the Act allows consumers to file their complaint with the court from anywhere. This comes as a big relief as earlier they were required to file complaint in the area where the seller or service provider was located. This is a fitting move considering the rise in e-commerce purchases, where the seller could be located anywhere. In addition, the Act also enables the consumer to seek a hearing through video conferencing, saving him both money and time.

Product Liability – The Act has proposed provisions for product liability under which a manufacturer or a service provider has to compensate a consumer if their good/service cause injury or loss to the consumer due to manufacturing defect or poor service. For instance, if a pressure cooker explodes due to a manufacturing defect and harms the consumer, the manufacturer is liable to compensate the consumer for the injury. Earlier, the consumer would only be compensated with the cooker’s cost. The consumer could ask for compensation, but through a civil court, which usually takes years to resolve a case, and not consumer forum. The most significant impact of this provision will be on e-commerce platforms as it also includes service providers under its ambit. Product liability is now extended to service providers and sellers along with manufacturers. This means e-commerce sites cannot escape as aggregators anymore.

E-commerce under the radar - E-commerce will now be governed by all the laws that apply to direct selling. The guidelines propose that platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal etc will have to disclose sellers’ details, such as their address, website, email, etc and other conditions related to refund, exchange, terms of contract and warranty on their website to increase transparency. The onus of ensuring that no counterfeit products are sold on these platforms will also most likely lie with the companies. If any such product is reported or recognised, the company could be penalised. This move is fitting since cases of fake products sold through e-commerce platforms is rampant. A survey by a social community platform LocalCircles conducted in December last year showed that 38% respondents out of 6,923 were sold counterfeit products from an ecommerce site in one year.

Separate Regulator – The Act proposes establishment of a central regulator, Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), to address issues related to consumer rights, unfair trade practices, misleading advertisements and impose penalties for selling faulty and fake products. Broadly, regulatory moves of CCPA will be directed towards the manufacturers, sellers and service providers and will not address customer grievances and disputes directly. Nevertheless, the overall purpose of CCPA is to strengthen the existing consumer rights.

Source: - Economic Times

Why Marketers should focus on Indian Language Content

English once dominated the Internet in India, but not anymore. According to the 2001 census, there are more than 1.600 dialects spoken in India, with 22 official languages recognized by the government. Interestingly, only 8% Indians read English language newspapers while others prefer consuming news in their local language. Clearly, these regional languages are now taking center stage, and the Internet too is transitioning into a diverse amalgamation of Indian languages.

According to a recent Google – KPMG report, India has 234 Million Indian language users online while only 175 Million are English language users. The Indian language user base is poised to account for 75% of India’s Internet user base by 2021. These projections are set to have a profound impact on the existing and future content on the Internet, where a paradigm shift is now imminent.

Rapidly growing Internet penetration, affordable mobile data connections and improving digital literacy have appeared as the key drivers for the growth of Indian language content within the Internet ecosystem. It is interesting to note that apart from digital content platforms, several chat applications, online government services, digital payment services, classified ad platforms and e-tailing platforms are witnessing a steadily growing Indian language user base. Currently, 68% Internet users feel that Indian language content is more reliable than English.

However, there is a huge gap between the demand and supply of quality Indian language content across categories from digital news to online payment platforms. 60% Internet users claim that limited Indian language content acts as a major obstruction in the adoption of online services. Therefore, Internet based enterprises are losing out on a lot of businesses and have a untapped client base. In fact, Indian language content drives almost twice the engagement and exponentially increases the reach of online content. So, the transition from English to Hindi languages will benefit content creators as well as brand managers experts for SMEs.

As brands comprehend the persuasion power of Indian languages, regional content is increasingly being leveraged to increase brand recall through vernacular based digital advertising. Additionally, Indian language users find it challenging to read product descriptions and reviews in English. Research suggests that the share of digital advertisements in Indian languages is set to increase from 5% to 35% by 2021. This proves to be a massive opportunity for SMEs.

90% of new Internet users over the next five years are projected to be Indian language users. Government is planning to propagate digital literacy among 60,000 rural households by 2021. The adoption of Indian language content across categories such as entertainment, news, online shopping and digital payments will consequently skyrocket. Business will continue to capture a larger share of consumers by giving them access to quality Indian language content.

This shift in the Indian language consumption trends within the Internet will push e-commerce firms, digital entertainment platforms, online payment platforms and other Internet based players to continually invest in creating content that covers the most consumed regional languages. The creation of vernacular based content will lead to higher internet inclusion, especially among the rural population in India and hasten India’s journey towards becoming a truly digital country.

Sectors badly hit due to Demonetization

In a bid to promote cashless and digital economy, PM Narendra Modi announced demonetization on November 08. Modi scrapped old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, saying this will crack a whip on black money hoarders and encourage more and more Indians to open bank accounts. Since Demonetization, banks have received at least Rs 6 Trillion and this figure is likely to go up. Many sectors were hit as people faced cash crunch and did not have new notes to spend. Sales of daily and luxury items were also hit due to Demonetization. Here are few sectors that have been impacted due to note ban.

E-commerce – The sales of e-commerce companies came down to 60-70% and there was a significant drop in orders, especially the cash-on-delivery ones. Despite rolling out multiple offers, the online marketplaces have seen a drop of sales costing as much as Rs 10 Lakh too.

Smartphone Makers – Mobile phone makers and sellers are facing a tough time as people have no cash to buy phones. Many have delayed their phone launches due to demonetization.

Automobiles – In November, utility vehicles sales are likely to go down 40-50%. Sales of two wheelers and luxury cars are the worst hit.

Travel and eating out – Travel sector has been hit as foreign travellers coming in are in a fix over note ban. Even Indians are not opting to travel overseas, due to demonetization. Restaurant reservations in Delhi – NCR have gone down by 28%.

Movie Theatres – Although people have started booking tickets online, even the entertainment faced the brunt of demonetization. Many of the movie halls saw a drop in viewership when demonetization was announced.

SMEs to E-commerce platforms

Many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have taken to e-commerce platforms to expand their reach, both in the domestic and global markets. According to a report, 50 Million SMEs in the country, at least three million, especially from smaller cities are already using e-commerce platforms. In coming years, the figure is likely to double and may touch 30 Million in five years.

Zeelplast Machinery was started with Rs. 50,000 in 2008. The company is based out of Ahmedabad. The fully automatic moulding machines manufacturing company was limited to supplying local areas, before it took to e-commerce. Now the company has evolved from strength to strength with its brand identity, marketing support and getting orders from across India.

According to a study conducted by Snapdeal and KPMG, nearly 85 percent of SMEs which adopted E-commerce believe it is a cost-effective medium for sales growth. It also claims SMEs actively adopting the internet for Business activity boast 51 percent higher revenue, resulting in 49 percent more profit and a seven percent broader consumer base than their offline counterparts.

Some E-commerce entities are also helping SMEs to procure raw material at affordable costs. This has emerged as a new line of business. Ahmedabad based tradohub.com is working in a similar way. It supports SMEs for buying raw material from international markets. Buying material from e-commerce platforms reduces the cost by six to eight per cent. This is helping SMEs to adopt e-commerce platforms which are beneficial for IoT and Indian Economy as well.

It’s Time for “Apponomics”

Having an app is not a need now; e-commerce firms are actively pushing their consumers to their apps and encouraging them to buy through them with attractive discounts and sales. There was a time when sale was put on once or twice a year, but in present era it is every day and several hours sale. For a large percentage of Indians, the mobile phone is either the only or the primary gateway of the Internet.

Internet based companies and social media platforms are in race to acquire Mobile platforms companies. Mobile app also means less data usage and lower load on the server. Marketing cost on mobile app is lower than desktop. This year InMobi, the world’s largest independent mobile advertising company launched its first book, “Apponomics – The Insider Guide to a Billion dollar App Business.” This book is helpful for developers to turn their apps into a successful and sustainable global business.

The great benefit of e-commerce is one can click and buy. But there is a biggest challenge in Mobile app, one has to demonstrate to the people how wonderful the app is so they can download it in the first place and then show them how great the shopping experience could be over and over again. Between a Mobile app and Mobile website, mobile apps are faster and can provide a better customer experience.

There are crucial differences in the way mobile apps and mobile websites allow customers to navigate and experience the shopping journey. Although a mobile app functions a lot like a mobile website but it has certain functional and operational benefits over a mobile website. It gives businesses the advantage of having their own corner on a customer device. Because users have to download and install the app, businesses have more control over their presence on a device. For instance, a mobile app can be closed or inactive, but it still works in the background to send geotargeted push notifications and gather data about the customer preferences and behavior.

There are various considerations before making Mobile apps for a business. Cost of development is high and need to be developed and maintained separately for iOS and Android. It is possible to design Mobile apps for offline usage. Mobile apps provide high speed and rich user experience. In the end, Mobile is the primary source of traffic and conversions and it is becoming one. Products or service is sticky resulting in high percentage of repeat visitors and transactions and a loyal customer base makes the business case for apps very easy.

Things to know about Net Neutrality

Net Neutrality has been in the news and on social media these days. Everyone in the world is talking about Net Neutrality. Some people are in support of it and some are not. The debate over net neutrality has now snowballed into a national movement and this is good news for a consumer. Here are few things to know about Net Neutrality.

A neutral internet is one in which all the websites are equally accessible on all internet connected devices. All of these should be accessible at the same speed and one should pay the same amount for said data regardless of the kind of content one is looking for. The fuss triggered by Airtel Zero which is a new platform created by telecom major which allows other corporations to pay, so that user get access to a particular service for free.

The TRAI has put up a consultation paper on regulatory framework for over the top services (OTT) on its website. It defines typical OTT services as Viber, Skype, Whatsapp, Chat On, Snapchat, Instagram, Hike, Line, e-commerce sites, videos and gaming sites. The telecom service providers aim to more closely watch and control these OTT services so that they can charge more or differential rates.

Telecom and Internet companies have spent huge sums of money on setting up infrastructure and that cost needs to be recouped. Their argument is that hugely profitable companies that provide OTT services have built massive profits by utilizing neutrality. All of these companies use internet pipe for free and in turn profit from millions of consumers. As an individual one must care for net neutrality.

If one don’t care or support net neutrality then in future one will face difficulty in accessing data on internet. There will be fast lanes and slow lanes of internet traffic. A company which pays more to an internet provider will come under fast lane. Access to information could be controlled online. E-commerce or other business sites can pay internet providers to block negative reviews sites. One might have to pay more and separate for different type of content online. As a whole one must support net neutrality and make these things to stop happening in future. After all, Internet can make India a trillion economy and there will be no living without Internet. 

After E-commerce, it’s time for Taxi in Internet Market

The next big thing in India’s Internet marketplace after online retailers Flipkart and Snapdeal will be on demand taxi hailing service. Companies such as Ola, TaxiForSure, Uber, and Meru are experiencing a boom in demand for their cab services in a country where the transport infrastructure is still creaky and safe public and private commuting options are few. This is because of shift in consumer habits towards convenience and on-demand services, and most crucially, low prices, have fuelled the boom.

In present scenario, a person wants a smartphone first rather than a car. Such shifts in consumer habits including use of smartphones for buying goods and services are helping the industry grow exponentially. Ola and Uber have grown explosively over the past year by offering car rides at prices lower than the fares charged by auto rickshaws. These companies spend massive amounts of capital on marketing, discounts, recruiting thousands of new drivers and expanding into new markets.

Earlier, cabs were used for airport rides. That has changed now because of unrivalled ease of access offered by mobile apps. All the large companies, including Ola and Meru, get a majority of their business from mobile apps, while Uber is entirely app-based. Similar to online marketplaces Flipkart, Snapdeal, and Amazon, all of which host product owned by third party sellers, Uber and its rivals have no ownership of the cars their customers use.

These firms don’t even employ drivers; they simply connect customers with drivers using technology and charge a commission varying 13-20% on each ride. All these taxi companies are funded by investors. Investors will pump in much more money this year to support the spending spree of the cab aggregators. Ola is also in talks to raise more funds. Ola, Meru, and Uber are rapidly expanding into new cities. Ola is planning to expand into 200 cities by March 2016.

While cab services are becoming increasingly popular with customers, Uber, Ola and others face significant regulatory hurdles. In upcoming time, Taxi companies will enter into Billion dollar business and some may open publicly. Third big thing in Internet market after E-commerce, and Taxi will be Food business online. We may see more businesses coming online and making needful impact in society.

Internet can make India Billion Digital Economy

Internet users in India are growing with rapid pace. It took 10 years for India to get her first 10 million users and another decade to hit the first 100 Million. Then the pace quickened. The next 100 Million came in three years between 2010 and 2013, and the third 100 million took only 18 months. Internet users crossed 300 Million in December 2013. By 2018-19, Internet users will reach to 500 Million. A digital population of 500 Million can transform India’s economy, business landscape, governance, and society beyond recognition.

Internet users could spawn an economy worth $200 Million from interrelated activities. This is a four-fold increase from where we are today and growth will come in three years. By 2018, every second Indian will have access to Internet. The biggest growth will come in E-commerce, which will expand five-fold, while education and healthcare via mobile internet will expand Internet use. Digital Marketing will be the key method to reach out your business to people via search and display advertisement.

Internet could also catalyze entrepreneurship and wealth creation. Global investors are already chasing Indian startups. With 500 Million internet users it will be equal to the size of Europe. There are challenges like low bandwidth, but that won’t prevent the upcoming Internet Tsunami. In each of next five years, India can see a startup of worth $1 Billion. Internet growth will also lead to massive job creation. About 4 lakh people now find direct employment because of Internet. This will expand to 20 Lakh by 2020.

Internet will also improve governance. According to etaal.gov.in, which tracks internet transactions, E-governance transactions increased from 0.5 Billion to 1.7 Billion between 2013 and 2014. However, there are many challenges too. Internet costs can harm Indian population. It may become very expensive in future. 90% of India’s population use pre-paid connection with average monthly recharge of Rs 50 to Rs 70 and 3G recharge of Rs 150. It will be very difficult to sell big data plans and in a huge cost.

More people are going online via free Wi-Fi or paid access. About 45 Million access Internet in Public areas and time spent online has gone up from 10 Minutes per day to 45 Minutes now. Government is also planning to make certain places in Metro cities free Wi-Fi enabled. So far Internet penetration in India has been in English while for new users demand for local languages will increase. According to reports, 10% rise in Internet penetration increases economy by 1.08%. If Internet were a sector then its weight in GDP would be greater than that agriculture and utilities. 

Metro to Marketing Train

Advertising to increase by 12.7% in the coming year, GroupM said in a report. From Digital to print advertising, businesses are fighting to give their ads and spending in crores to attract customers. Now, Companies are targeting Metro train coaches in cities to promote their business. I was travelling in one of the Yellow line metro and whole Train was covered with advertisement of E-commerce giant Amazon India.

It was very difficult for me to understand Where the Train was last up to. Everything was covered with ads from Amazon. Even the interior ad space was covered with E-commerce ads. The Delhi metro covers 190.03km across six lines and ferries close to 260,000 passengers on a daily basis. Part of it is underground and part overground. DMRC runs 216 trains with 1,282 coaches. According to a report, 8 Million people used its services in 2013-14. Presently, most of the Metro trains have become marketing trains.

Earlier companies fight for ads on TV and newspaper, now they are fighting for ads on Metro. It might a situation in India when companies will promote their business on Indian Railway, which is one of the longest networks in the World. In Delhi, after IndiaMart, Amazon, and Political parties, Myntra will be seen advertising on Delhi Metro coaches. Paytm and Snapdeal are also in discussions to do the same. Advertisers may around Rs. 25 lakh to wrap up six to eight coaches of the metro for a month i.e. on average Rs. 4 Lakh for a coach.

The companies are also hoping for similar opportunities in Bengaluru and Chennai. Mumbai smaller Metro has trains sporting ads from BigBasket, UltraTech Cement, and Oxigen, an electronic payment service. Consumer goods and mobile phones companies may also join the queue. Delhi Metro has awarded exclusive rights for displaying advertising materials including pictures, printed material, electronic media, smart posters, and visual displays. The concept is very popular in Singapore, Bangkok, Hongkong, Dubai, and the US.

This is very catchy and effective medium. This leads to increase in consumer base, more downloads of mobile apps, and increase in revenue. Even, people who are not aware of it know about companies. It becomes easy for sales person to reach out in a local market and sell products because of awareness of companies and products. What if Metro trains are also used to increase awareness of Social causes? Display ads of Government campaigns may increase awareness and it will last long. With changing scenarios of marketing in last two years, huge amount of money will flow in market and there will be more marketing trains.

2014: The Year of Elections and E-commerce

Another year is on the end and India is on the positive side of the growth bench. The year was more of the E-commerce, Elections, Digitalization, and their advertisement on Social Media. E-commerce sector got Billions of funding from other countries whereas Elections in India were the example of role of Social Media in attracting, delivering message, and knowing people. In both areas, Advertisement on social media played a big role. In my opinion advertisement, growth in 2014 was more than any other year.

This year, according to an estimate, advertising spends were increased by 12.5%. E-commerce was clearly the dominant category that showed significant increase in spending. Instead, the business ended up growing 10%. E-commerce companies including companies those that run popular sites Flipkart, Snapdeal, Jabong, Olx, and Quickr spend around Rs. 750 Crore in advertisement. These companies launched TV commercials, and in the un-up to the festive season that started in October, many companies went into advertising drive. It is not sure if e-commerce companies will remain as aggressive with their advertising in 2015.

It is a small component of India’s Rs.38 Trillion overall retail trade industry. Yet the, e-commerce format with sales of Rs. 1 Trillion managed to create the buzz in 2014. The year highlights were, Amazon raised $2 Billion in Indian e-commerce space followed by Softbank invests $627 Million in Snapdeal and $210 Million in Ola cabs. Flipkart also gets $1.7 Billion funding, taking valuation at $7 Billion. Footfalls in shops during festive season drop in favor of e-commerce and many more in the sector.

Advertising in Elections came on the back of a Rs. 300-350 Crore blitz by BJP in the parliamentary elections it won and another Rs. 200 Crore by the Congress. This year was more into Digitalization in India. Digital Advertising was more than the print advertising. Government spent Rs. 251 Crore on print advertising between April and November, 20.3% lower than the same period a year ago. Between April and November, Spending on Television advertisement also declined by 8.43%. Digital advertising grow by 30%.

Except ads, Elections in India saw a major change. People came into engagement through Social Media, Radio ads, and all the campaigns launched by PM were successful in making some impact. Everyone was aware of the activities of PM and other leaders. On the other hand, Indian Economy holds a momentum of growth. Inflation came into control at the end of the year. Oil price saw major decline after a decade and decline of $1 in Oil price, save India Rs. 3500 Crore.

Investors and businesses from other countries are investing in India because they find a promising and consistent government in country. PM vision of converting cities into smart cities and bringing in technology in every sector will improve work environment in India. Small businesses will grow and more business will emerge. Agriculture sector will also be benefitted, which holds the 52% contribution to Indian GDP. After so much in 2014, experts see better times ahead. There is high probability of Interest rates being cut. More spend on advertising will be there and everybody is hoping that more money will come in the country.

Mobile Technology will charge Indian Economy

Over the last few decades, the Indian Economy has witnessed a significant transformation. From being primarily an agricultural economy, the services sector has overtaken and has become the leading contributor to growth. E-commerce sector is also emerging as the largest contributor to growth of Indian Economy. Within the services sector, the communication sector has grown at an astonishing 25.7% from 2000-01 to 2008-09. Even during the financial crisis year of 2008-09, while other sectors slowed down, communication sector continued its forward march.

Since then, the importance and role of telecom sub-sector and services is well known. Rising per-capita income and introduction of affordable handsets and lowest call rates have all led to an explosion in the subscriber case. India is the second largest user of mobile in the world with 900 Million users in the world, it accounted for 12% of world’s online population. Findings reveal that every 10% increase in mobile penetration rate leads to a 1.2% increase in GDP.

In last 2-3 years, e-commerce sector emerged as the astonishing business sector. E-commerce companies revealed that maximum number of users explore and order products from mobile. Therefore, companies are shifting their marketing focus towards mobile technology. In the next five years, E-commerce sector will contribute up to 2% to Indian Economy. Mobile apps are becoming the key thing for every company and business today.

For developing markets, basic mobile services still dominate and mobile data is the next wave of development. A doubling of mobile data use leads to a growth in the GDP per capita growth rate of 0.5 percentage points. Telecom companies are coming with 4G penetration in the market, which will be new boost to economy. Research said that, a 10% rise in 3G-penetration increases GDP per capita growth by 0.15 percentage points.

Next thing, which will charge Indian Economy, is the Internet. Every business is dependent on Internet these days. No apps, no site can run without Internet. It has become the necessity of human being today. Mobile phones are more useful when they are connected to Internet. India lacks behind in providing good internet connectivity to its citizens. However, government and big firms like Google, Facebook are working on drones project to provide Internet connection to all citizens across the world.

There are several other benefits of mobile phones. They significantly help to maintain physical and psychological health when family members move away from home. In addition, they enable women to maintain three roles within the household, simultaneously being wives, mothers, and wage earners. More mobile phones subscriptions are correlated with more democratic participation, less gender inequality and longer time spent in education. In all three areas, the impact of mobiles on social development indicators is stronger in developing countries. All these benefits of Mobile technology will charge Indian Economy. 

“E” Emerges Everything

Many important things, without which we cannot live, surround life. I was thinking about certain important things in one’s life and then suddenly I realize something. I asked my friend about it and start writing on a piece of paper. I appreciate the way she thinks and how fast she thinks. She said many words and I wrote them on paper. What I find is the importance of alphabet “E” in life. I thought that it is the power of “E” which drives everyone life. I will share every word here and will share my views on it. There are many more words but I felt these play an important role or meaning.

The first word came to my mind was Electricity and Electronics items. It is very difficult to live without electronics items these days. With increase in use of electronics items, digitalization is increasing in the world. Soon, India will emerge as the world power in Digitalization. Next is E-commerce. We all know how fast e-commerce business is growing in India. It is expected to reach $11.8 Billion by next year. EBay is among one such company. This year e-commerce businesses all over the world broke many records.

Environment is another word on which major countries of the world are keeping their focus. Increase in global warming and disasters are a major concern. Carbon emission from industries is also an issue. In G20 Summit 2014, President Obama talked about the need of control on Carbon emissions. Then we have the role of Engineers in the world. They are the ones who develop this world.

In life, Entertainment is also necessary. With increase in Sports events, Media, Television channels, and movies, entertainment industry emerges as a new developing industry in the world. Inside the corporate world, ethics of an employee play an important role in driving an organization. Education, Enthusiasm, Eagerness, Emotions are important in life.

Employment level of a country always affects an Economy. More Employment is generated more number of people will earn and spend money which is good for an economy to grow. This is the major concern in Europe since last three-four months. Increase in Empowerment is must for a country. The last and most interesting is the Entrepreneurs. There had been many entrepreneurs in the past and many more are emerging. India will produce the maximum number of entrepreneurs in the world. For me Entrepreneurship is living a lifestyle and creating employment for others.

There are many more words, which start from “E” and are important in life. These are Endurance, Enemy, Example, Everlasting, Excitement, Easy, Emergency, Exercise, Equipment, Europe and many more. All of us use one of these words daily. The idea behind this article was to look out for important words or terms used by people around us and most of them start from “E,” and I realized the power of “E” in one’s life.