e-commerce
Tata Group to be the ‘Alibaba’ of India?
MUMBAI: The multiple investments made by its chairman emeritus Ratan Tata in e-tail and the steep rise in the e-commerce industry seems to have inspired the Tata Group too, which is now reportedly planning a big entry into the e-commerce space with a marketplace-based model.
The Economic Times reported that the site will be headed by its subsidiary Tata industries and that Tata is modeling its business on Tmall.com, which is the marketplace in the Alibaba Group.
The new marketplace business, modelling on Alibaba’s Tmall.com, would allow third-party sellers on the platform. It would help generate revenues by charging a fee or commission from merchants, who will use the platform.
The yet-to-be-named venture is likely to be rolled out in 2015, and will initially showcase Tata’s existing retail chain brands such as Westside, Croma and Star Bazaar. Tata is also planning to tie up with its partner Zara, which only sells online through its own sites.
It will also allow other merchants to sell alongside Tata’s various units. The group has already reportedly begun enrolling vendors and hiring people, the report added.
Tata already has a substantial presence in real-world retail, including joint ventures with Britain’s Tesco, Spain’s Zara and coffee chain Starbucks. Last month Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, bought a stake in Snapdeal and online jewellery retailer Bluestone.
India’s e-commerce market has been booming in recent years with market leader Flipkart clocking a valuation of $7 billion in a July funding round when it raised $1 billion from a clutch of existing investors and a day later, Amazon announced plans to invest $2 billion in India.
Also, India’s online retail business is expected to surge to between $19 billion and 38 billion, from about $2.3 billion in annual sales now. Enticed by the potential, other business houses like Reliance Industries and Aditya Birla Group have reportedly been hinting at forays into the e-commerce space but have not revealed any concrete plans so far.
e-commerce
Instamart and Duolingo launch street spell check campaign for Instaprint
Duo the owl fixes signboard typos across cities to showcase instant printing.
MUMBAI: If spelling mistakes had a sworn enemy, it might just be a bright green owl with a printer. Instamart has teamed up with language learning platform Duolingo for a quirky nationwide campaign that turns everyday spelling errors into a public spectacle while promoting its instant printing service, InstaPrint. The playful activation takes aim at the many misspelled shop boards and public signs scattered across Indian streets. From “saloons” that promise haircuts rather than drinks to menus and posters peppered with punctuation mishaps, the campaign sends Duolingo’s mascot Duo on a mission to restore linguistic order.
Armed with Instamart’s instant printing feature, Duo prints corrected versions of the mistakes on the spot and pastes them over the originals. The result is a series of humorous street interventions that have quickly begun circulating on social media.
Photos and videos of the grammar correcting owl have been widely shared online, with amused users reacting to the unexpected spell check patrol. One user joked, “Ab ayega na maza bhidu,” capturing the internet’s delight at the unusual campaign.
Behind the humour lies a practical message. The activation is designed to showcase the capabilities of Instaprint, Instamart’s printing service that allows users to print documents and posters almost instantly.
The company says the feature is meant for everyday needs such as printing resumes, visa documents or last minute posters without the usual scramble to locate a print shop.
Instamart introduced Instaprint in 2025 across select metropolitan cities including Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi. The service allows users to order printed materials directly through the platform, extending the quick commerce model beyond groceries and household essentials.
By combining Duolingo’s famously persistent owl with India’s street level spelling quirks, the campaign taps into the internet’s long running fascination with grammar mistakes while demonstrating a real world use case for instant printing.
After all, in a world full of typos, sometimes what you really need is a quick printer and a very determined language teacher.
