News Articles 09-08-2020

1. Title: Amazon Easy' stores now in all-new avatar with a single touchpoint for
multiple services

Background: Amazon India is the leading eCommerce marketplace our country has
right now. With over 310 million active customers, Amazon is growing at a swift rate.
With such a broad user base, it is true that there are also millions of sellers who are
growing this marketplace each day. Amazon offers three plans in its fulfillment model
– Fulfilled by Amazon(FBA), Amazon easy ship and Amazon Self ship. These come
with their advantages and disadvantages. But for sellers who are just
starting, investing in Amazon FBA can be slightly overwhelming. Amazon’s self-ship
is the cheapest option available, but again, it involves a lot of independent work. The
middle way that needs to be understood – Amazon easy ship.

Summary: Online retailer Amazon has upgraded “Amazon Easy” store format that
integrates its multiple services through single touch point. Customers will be also be
able to place an order on Amazon.in with guided assistance from the store or get it
delivered at their doorstep as claimed by Amazon. The first such exclusive Amazon
Easy store is now operational in Mahalaxmi layout in Bengaluru from today. With a
plan of expansion Amazon would soon upgrade format stores to other parts of country
with existing and new network partners like Indiabuys, Velocity and Vakrangee.

Future Implications: Amazon Easy will play an important role in enabling million
customers as well as it will create local jobs and self-employment opportunities. As
customers feel more secure in buying from amazon and have return options, it will
influence more sellers to collaborate with Amazon easy. With Easy Ship, sellers will
have the opportunity to ship across India. With Easy Ship, since Amazon logistics
does not take care of packing and warehousing, sellers can decide the kind of
packaging he/she want to adopt. Maybe for some packages you want to go for
branded packaging while for some you only prefer sturdy but straightforward boxes.
Also, seller can pack economically to save on shipping. Thus, with Easy Ship seller
will have this freedom of choice. Amazon shipping offers a great convenience of
picking up the shipment from pick up address. Sellers doesn’t need to send their
products anywhere, and seller can quickly ship out double the amount of orders if the
pick-up is done from seller’s location. All these factors are going to attract lot of self-
employment and collaboration with networking partners.

Link to Article:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/retail/amazon-easy-stores-
now-in-all-new-avatar-with-a-single-touchpoint-for-multiple-
services/articleshow/77445692.cms

2. Title: Yulu to focus on long term rentals, add 1 lakh electric bikes by 2021
Background: Yulu is a start-up, which is operational in Bengaluru, Pune and
Bhubaneswar, launched its sharing vehicles in 2018, to fovus on an IoT(solution and
address the traffic problems in cities). Initially the considered offering customers
petrol vehicles, soon they realized about pollution and decided not to add to existing
problems. And that led to launch of Yulu Miracle, Yulu scooters have 48 Volt motor
and requires no license or hemlet usage.

Summary: Yulu is a bike sharing platform which assembles its own electric bikes
through partnerships with original manufacturers. Yulu CEO Amit Gupta has planned
to ramp up his business by introducing electric bikes to new cities and by providing
long term subscriptions by adding 1 lakh bikes on the road by 2021. Gupta considers
pandemic as temporary and expects user to pickup bike-sharing in near future. India
will be a huge marketplace for Yulu with the expectations of growing demands after
the lockdown because Yulu’s decision is more focused on long term rentals. Also,
after lockdown demand for second-hand vehicles have been increased to maintain
social distancing. On the other hand, vehicle rental startups like Drivezy, VOGO and
Bounce were forced to hive most of theirs bikes and cars due to a severe drop in
demand for public commute and vehicle rental services.

Future Implications: During the pandemic there will be less demand in rental bike
subscriptions due to lockdown and less public commutes. But after the pandemic it
will be able to attract number of customers for long-term subscriptions. As people are
going to avoid public transportations. In India where people cannot afford car or new
two-wheelers, Yulu is going to have a great deal where people can rent bikes as per
their convenience and need. Yulu is giving an environment friendly deal as electric
bike does not contribute to pollution. Use of individual bikes in large numbers will
maintain social distancing as well as deterioration of environment.

Link to Article: https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/yulu-to-focus-on-long-

term-rentals-add-1-lakh-electric-bikes-by-2021-11596979896600.html