Today’s news starts with a new Global Shopper Study on mobile shopping habits with insight on when to send offers to consumers and using which format works best. With the merger of Alibaba-owned Meituan and Dianping, a food fight is shaping up in China. In India, is Rocket Group planning to sell Foodpanda amid growing competition? Paytm launches its hyperlocal wallet. Five key mobile trends critical to every e-commerce business.
Mobile Shopping: 51% Want Location-Based Coupons, 45% Shopping Map 09/16/2015
As more shoppers turn to their phones while in stores, they’re becoming more open to interactions from retailers, especially based on where they are at any given moment. For example, consumers prefer getting personalized offers via email before leaving home but once near or in a store, they prefer a text offer, according to a new study. Shoppers also are likely to use various forms of location technologies on their smartphones as they shop, according to the 2015 Global Shopper Study. Via mediapost.com
As O2O booms in China, two startups announce merger
This strategic cooperation is strongly supported by shareholders of both companies including Alibaba, Tencent, and Sequoia Capital, said a joint statement issued this afternoon. The merged company is expected to run the leading online to offline, or O2O, platform in China, said the statement. Local food takeout is the most obvious O2O niche, which is why Meituan and Dianping shifted into that area as they saw smaller startups strike gold….
The Dianping-Meituan marriage also serves as a warning shot from Alibaba and Tencent to China’s top search engine, Baidu, which recently vowed to plough over US$3 billion into O2O services with its Nuomi site coupled with Baidu Takeout Delivery. (UPDATE less than one hour after publishing: Baidu’s international spokesperson Kaiser Kuo says that the merger is “an extreme measure that shows just how seriously Meituan and Dianping view the threat from Baidu Nuomi.” He goes on to claim that Nuomi is gaining market share in the deals sector while Meituan is losing share. Via techinasia.com
Is Foodpanda looking to sell Indian arm?
Online food ordering company Foodpanda Group may be looking to sell its Indian arm as the Rocket Internet-backed firm revisits its strategy in the country amid intense competition in the food-tech sector, according to two people familiar with the development. The Germany-based company has reached out to at least three of its peers in India, said the two people who did not wish to be quoted. The process is being spearheaded by the company’s senior executives in Germany, including co-founder and group chief executive Ralf Wenzel. Via dealstreetasia.com
India: Paytm set to roll out its hyperlocal business
Electronics payments company and marketplace Paytm, run by One97 Communications Ltd, is all set to roll out its hyperlocal business within the next 10 days and expects more than half of its sales to come from this channel by the end of 2016, a senior company executive said. As hyperlocal becomes the next big thing after the investment frenzy in the e-commerce sector, both businesses and investors are seeking to grab a chunk of that market.
The hyperlocal offering, to be part of the company’s Paytm mobile wallet offering, will initially focus on food ordering, table bookings, cinema tickets, and deals in the neighbourhood in partnership with multiple firms including BookMyShow (Bigtree Entertainment Pvt. Ltd), PVR, Zomato (Zomato Media Pvt. Ltd) among others, said Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and chief executive officer of Paytm. Via dealstreetasia.com
5 noteworthy trends happening in mobile apps
The app market continues to evolve as developers and users explore the possibilities of mobile technology. From business security concerns to developers news to consumer product highlights, these five trends could change tomorrow’s mobile app landscape. Via thenextweb.com