Will Paytm Mall disrupt e-commerce in India?
Alibaba is introducing online to offline ( O2O) commerce in India.
Alibaba is introducing online to offline ( O2O) commerce in India.
TOI reports that Alibaba will allow Chinese vendors to sell on Paytm Mall.
What’s going on?
First it allowed Indian sellers to sell to Chinese marketplace. Now Chinese sellers can sell through Paytm Mall.
It is Alibaba’s lateral entry into Indian e-commerce ecosystem. Alibaba owns 46% of Paytm Mall, while Softbank owns 21% ( it also has a stake in Alibaba).
Why does it matter?
Indian vendors may face a tough time. Most import items from China. Then they sell it through various marketplaces after adding their margins.
Chinese vendors can directly sell to Indian consumers. It will remove the middle layer of Indian merchants.
What’s the bigger picture?
Paytm Mall has been experimenting with O2O model ( online to offline) in India since 2017. It has organized Paytm 12.12 Festival .
O2O model taps into the already existing customer behavior of show-rooming ( customers check out the product offline, and order online with discounts).
NDBJ Insight:
Alibaba is eyeing the traditional market share with the model, not just looking to grab the online marketshare.
India’s retail opportunity is many times of e-commerce market. That’s where Alibaba is looking at, similar to what it is trying to do in China.
Dig deeper: PWC report on Indian retail’s future