iWorld
India has biggest appetite for mobilecCommerce states SAP Study
BENGALURU: Consumers in India are leading the demand for mobile commerce services, with 97 per cent of consumers asking for more mobile interactions with banks, telcos, retailers, utilities and other businesses. SAP AG recently announced the study findings for India which indicates an impressive traction of mobile commerce in the country with 80 per cent of the population making parallel usage of the mobile phones other than just calls and text messages.
More than half of the consumers in India indulge in maximum mobile purchases for entertainment service like cinema, theatre shows, DVDs, sport games (53 per cent) followed by music downloads (48 per cent) says the study.
The surging popularity of mobile commerce in the country also highlights the increase in the internet penetration with 63 per cent of consumers accessing the internet on their mobile at least once a day. 65 per cent of the users feel mobile is a convenient mode of transaction leading to a greater consumer adoption in this segment.
The study found that India scores high in using mobile for banking transactions when compared to other countries in the world. As per the statistics, excluding voice messages, most of the mobile owners turn to their mobile phones for bill payments (78 per cent), bank transactions (72 per cent) and for setting up a new account (74 per cent).
“The dynamic nature of business as well as the freedom to operate from different parts of the world and at odd times has created a need for mobile commerce becoming mainstreamed,” said SAP Platform & Technology Business at SAP Head – Sales -Neeraj Athalye, “Our strategy and solutions – unwired by mobile apps and fueled by in-memory and advanced analytics – underscore our unique ability to enable companies from the boardroom to shop floors, to better anticipate, accelerate and differentiate their business.”
Mobile Transactions in India
The research shows how mobile based transactions have gained popularity in India and has become an integral part of the consumer’s life.
*More than half of the consumers in India indulge in maximum mobile purchases for entertainment service like cinema, theatre shows, DVDs, sport games (53 per cent) followed by music downloads (48 per cent)
*The other key purchases via mobile are clothes/footware/other attires (47 per cent) and books or e-books (40 per cent)
While embracing the appetite for mobile purchase adoption, it is vital that organisations looking to develop products and services for India are able to balance the desire for ease and convenience with security requirements:
*In the study, 57 per cent of users in the country believe that once they gain confidence in mobile security, they will increase their mobile payment activity
*Providing services that are lower cost (24 per cent) and personalised (33 per cent) will encourage mobile owners to make more bank transfers through their mobile phones, in turn increasing the mobile based consumption in India
*Consumers in India are driven to buy goods using their mobile phone by exclusive offers (33 per cent) and coupons (26 per cent).
The research also reflects that ease of use is a core principle that will accelerate overall user adoption in the telecommunications industry
*Free minutes, texts and Web use (26 per cent), personalized services (28 per cent) and lower cost services (26 per cent) will encourage consumers in India to use their mobile to check usage data for their mobile account.
Research Methodology
3,288 interviews were conducted with adults aged 18+ who own a mobile phone (basic or smartphone) in APAC (China n=1000, India n=1050, Japan n=651, Australia n=587).
Respondents completed an online survey in March/April 2013. Research conducted by Loudhouse, an independent research agency based in London.
e-commerce
Eternal teams up with OpenAI to supercharge AI across Zomato and Blinkit
Collaboration targets merchant tools, partner assistants and internal automation via Stitch platform.
MUMBAI: Eternal isn’t just ordering food, it’s ordering up a major AI upgrade. The company behind Zomato, Blinkit, District, Hyperpure, Feeding India and AI-native venture Nugget has joined forces with OpenAI to weave advanced AI deeper into its sprawling commerce ecosystem. The partnership taps OpenAI’s Enterprise API to deploy models across Eternal’s apps, partner platforms and internal systems. Key focus areas include AI-assisted workflows for merchants and delivery partners, contextual AI assistants embedded in partner portals, next-gen search and discovery experiments, and accelerated product iteration at Nugget.
Internally, Eternal is eyeing OpenAI’s latest coding models including GPT-5.3-Codex to power Stitch, its in-house automation and developer orchestration platform. Stitch already handles end-to-end automation across engineering and non-engineering teams, the integration aims to slash manual work, speed up shipping and streamline complex workflows.
The collaboration extends to a structured Partner Upskilling Program, rolling out advanced AI tools and assistants to Eternal’s restaurant and delivery partner network to boost operational efficiency, compliance and decision-making.
Eternal, Group CEO Albinder Dhindsa captured the excitement, “From high leverage areas like software development to real on-ground implications of influencing operations, we are learning about the evolving implementations of newer and developing tools in the AI landscape. We are happy that this collaboration with OpenAI will open up even more surface area for us to learn and innovate.”
OpenAI International managing director Oliver Jay added, “Eternal operates at a meaningful scale across consumer and partner platforms. We are excited to support their teams in applying AI advancements to real-world systems, from AI-native ventures to partner-facing initiatives.”
In a market where speed, scale and smarts define winners, this tie-up positions Eternal to turn everyday orders into smarter, faster experiences, one AI prompt at a time. Whether you’re swiping for dinner or delivering it, the future just got a little more intelligent.
