Spotify is witnessing a change in how people are listening to the service as they stay home due to lockdown curbs to stem the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. “Morning routines have changed significantly. Every day now looks like the weekend” the music streaming major said in a letter to its shareholders. The company is […]
ETtech Top 5: Home delivery gets costlier, AIFs seek clarity & more
Dear readers, In a bid to conserve cash and cut ballooning losses, hyperlocal delivery companies are passing on additional delivery charges to customers. Illustration: Rahul Awasthi Doorstep delivery gets costlierMicro-delivery firms MilkBasket and Supr Daily have started levying a packaging charge and service fee. The move has been driven in part by increased investment to […]
E-commerce firms stick to MRP as offline stores charge extra: Survey
E-commerce platforms have fared better than offline stores in complying with rules limiting sale of products to their maximum retail price (MRP) during the past five-week period when India has been in mandatory lockdown, according to a survey. Conducted by community platform LocalCircles, the survey showed that 39% of respondents had at some point in […]
Google makes Meet video conferencing free to all users
Alphabet’s Google on Wednesday said any user will soon be able to host free video conferences on Meet, turning its previously business-only tool into a bigger rival to Zoom and others battling for users during the coronavirus outbreak. Zoom, Microsoft’s Skype and Facebook’s Messenger introduced features this month to attract users as people barred from […]
Alphabet warns of difficult quarter as Covid-19 impacts advertising market
Alphabet on Tuesday beat analysts’ estimate for quarterly revenue as its Google unit posted double-digit advertising growth despite the economic slowdown from the novel coronavirus. Shares of Alphabet rose 4% to $1,282 following the after-hours release of financial results. Alphabet shares were down about 8% this year at Tuesday’s close. A booming economy and rising […]
Govt starts e-retail chain for rural India
It’s the desi, rural version of Flipkart and Amazon, and is promoted by the government. Concerned over the severe restrictions on mobility and lack of adequate supplies in times of Covid-19, the government has facilitated the creation of a village-level online retail chain, planning massive supplies of essentials through fast-expanding outlets that are taking orders […]
Cyber attack fears high due to work from home: NTRO
India’s critical sectors may fall prey to inimical forces which could use relaxations in geofencing restrictions granted to employees working from home to make cyber attacks, said an assessment by the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO). Sectors including government undertakings, strategic and public enterprises, banking and financial services, telecom, power, energy and transport, among others, […]
Amazon India offers zero interest credit
Amazon India will give zero-interest credit to customers to buy products on its platform or pay bills, partnering lenders Capital Float and Karur Vysya Bank for the initiative. The company has followed in the footsteps of rival Walmart-owned Flipkart and a slew of smaller startups such as LazyPay, Simpl and ePayLater to launch a ‘buy-now-pay-later’ […]
FMCG firms take direct route to customer homes
Representative Image More than a dozen consumer goods companies including Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Mondelez, Procter & Gamble, Dabur and Colgate have started selling products directly to consumers. That’s circumventing traditional trade and distributor networks in areas where last-mile delivery has been disrupted due to Covid-19 restrictions. Their latest direct-to-home initiatives involve partnering startups such as […]
WhatsApp doubles video participants limit to 8
WhatsApp is doubling the number of participants on a WhatsApp video or voice call from 4 to 8 people at a time. The move could help it compete with popular videoconferencing app Zoom. WhatsApp said over the last month, people on an average are spending over 15 billion minutes talking each day on WhatsApp calls […]