e-commerce
Alibaba in talks with Snapdeal to enter India
MUMBAI: As it is ready to embark upon a new journey by launching what may be the biggest IPO ever, Chinese e-retailer Alibaba may also be making a move to tap into the growing Indian retail market through an investment in local e-retailer Snapdeal.
According to an Economic Times report, Alibaba, is in talks with online retailer Snapdeal to enter India. The e-commerce giant is in discussion for a possible investment in the Indian company, but no decision has been taken yet.
The report also quoted a source saying that the deal will be announced in a month.
The Chinese company is expected to be valued at over $165 billion at the conclusion of its initial public offer. So far, Alibaba has only been linking Indian merchants with overseas buyers and sellers.
With its entry in the Indian online retail space by aligning with Snapdeal, the Chinese e-tailer will be competing directly against market leaders like Flipkart and Amazon. Even though the Chinese company would be a late entrant, it has the advantage of size — as per sales Alibaba is bigger than Amazon and eBay combined.
While on the other hand, the Delhi-based company has already raised a total of $233 million in two rounds of investments this year. The last round in May valued the firm at $1 billion. It is expected to be worth Rs 50,000 crore by 2016, according to a market rating agency Crisil.
The company, in which Ratan Tata holds a stake, is also attracting attention from Japan’s largest e-commerce company Rakuten Inc and telecommunications firm SoftBank Corp, the report added.
On contacting Snapdeal, the spokesperson said, “As a policy, we do not comment on such speculations.”
Alibaba’s shares are set to debut on the US market on 19 September, in what could be the world’s largest ever initial public offering. It increased the price range on its offering from $66 to $68 on 15 September, reflecting strong demand from investors for the year’s most anticipated debut.
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.
