iWorld
How Amazon, Flipkart performed in 2020
KOLKATA: The stringent lockdown during the early phase of the Covid2019 pandemic brought about sea changes in consumer behaviour in India. E-commerce was one of the sectors which emerged as beneficiaries thanks to first time online shoppers and increasing online payment. Among the leading players, both Amazon and Flipkart grew substantially.
While Amazon started the year 2020 with a substantial lead on penetration, Flipkart has closed in by December. Both etailers grew reach, as more consumers shifted online during the age of social distancing. However, Flipkart’s 20 per cent growth left Amazon’s five per cent growth, although on a much larger base, looking low, a report from Kalagato said.
Moreover, e-commerce penetration has deepened across the board. Interestingly, the highest growth was seen among older customers of 45+ age group and the 35–45 age group to a lesser extent. The former category has the potential to unlock further growth for the sector, as it still remains the most under penetrated segment. Data from the research firm also showed that this is the cohort where the gap between Amazon and Flipkart is the biggest.
From the transacting/paying customers, Flipkart performed better in the year. While the Walmart-owned online retailer started 2020 on a stronger footing than Amazon, the platform has come out on top through the pandemic as well, the report added. Amazon grew transacting reach by 1.5X, while Flipkart doubled it during the year. The growth was sharper among females, tier-3 towns and older customers.
Flipkart with higher open rates and time spent also led in average transaction value per customer at 12 per cent higher order values on average than Amazon, and a whopping 30 per cent lead during the festive period – October 2020. But an Amazon customer orders 30 per cent more frequently than a Flipkart customer, highlighted the report. The better loyalty of Amazon customers have been attributed to holistic bundled service including Prime Video content.
The report added that Flipkart would need to work on greater reach and desirability, whereas Amazon needs to move its inactive base into transacting customers. Moreover, the entry of Reliance Industries with Ajio and JioMart and the Tata Group with TataCliq and its investment into 1MG and BigBasket has made the competitive e-commerce space more complicated.
Broadband
Excitel Broadband names Varun Pasricha as chief executive officer
Former COO steps up to lead broadband firm’s next growth chapter
MUMBAI: Excitel Broadband has elevated its chief operating officer, Varun Pasricha, to the role of chief executive officer, handing the reins to a leader who has already spent nearly eight years shaping the company’s rise.
Pasricha joined Excitel in August 2018 and has since been instrumental in building what he describes as “the most loved broadband brand in the country”. Now, as chief executive officer, he is expected to steer the internet service provider through its next phase of expansion in an increasingly competitive home broadband market.
Before his tenure at Excitel, Pasricha held senior leadership roles at Zomato, where he led sales transformation and served as business head for partner growth across India and the UAE. He oversaw the shift in the company’s advertising model from fixed ad slots to performance driven engagement, migrating more than 7,000 paying clients globally while delivering a 20 per cent upsell on the portfolio.
Earlier, at G4S India, he was senior vice president for strategic business, managing a profit and loss portfolio exceeding Rs 1,000 crore. Over two years, he grew the business by around 50 per cent while improving margins through contract renegotiations and cross selling. He also worked closely with the leadership team as vice president for strategic projects, focusing on corporate strategy, restructuring, and new business launches, including entry into last mile logistics.
His career spans strategy and operations across sectors. At Max Healthcare, he was senior manager for business strategy, working on planning and joint venture rollouts in tier II cities. He co-founded Edventure Online, an education advisory venture aimed at helping students make informed career choices. At Indus Towers, he served as senior business manager in the central strategy team, helping convert the energy vertical from a cost centre into a profit engine.
Pasricha began his career at McKinsey & Company as an analyst, building the consulting toolkit that would underpin his later operating roles.
With a résumé that blends boardroom strategy and frontline execution, Pasricha’s appointment signals continuity with ambition. For Excitel, the message is clear: the company is betting on a leader who already knows where the cables run and where the next connections must be made.
