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Indian e-commerce market is set to get all the more competitive with the reports of a new player entering the domain. According to an ETtech report, Paytm is considering to spin-off its marketplace in November this year that will eventually pave way for Chinese e-commerce behemoth and its primary investor Alibaba to establish its presence in the lucrative Indian e-tail segment.
Paytm parent One97 Communications had registered a new entity for the online retail business, named Paytm E-Commerce Pvt. Ltd a few months back.
Citing a source ETtech said. “The contours of the spinoff, paperwork and board members are being finalised and the official launch is planned in November.”
Apparently, once this process gets finished, the new unit would be able to independently raise money from investors.
Indian e-commerce segment is currently ruled by local poster boy Flipkart and American giant Amazon. With successful “Big Billion Days”, India’s biggest etailer is also in talks with Walmart for a reported $1 billion infusion in exchange for a minority stake in the company.
Amazon has already been going aggressively with huge investments. The company recently launched Amazon Prime in India and is reportedly launching its Prime Video service on November 9.
Alibaba’s entry would only heighten the competition and could result in a possible ‘shakeout’ in the industry.
Meanwhile, Paytm’s three-day sale festival is beginning from today. The USP of the sale are the cashback offers, totaling over Rs. 100 crore by merchants on its platform. The sale will focus on customers in smaller towns and cities with categories like kitchen, fashion and home furnishings in the forefront instead of consumer electronics.
Saurabh Vashishtha, the VP for business and product management of Paytm’s e-commerce marketplace, said, “We expect 10 million transactions in three days. This year we have lined up total benefits of more than Rs 1,000 crore including cashback and discounts on three days of the Maha Bazar Sale.”