Innovation and exploitation: India’s e-commerce boom threatens to upend local businesses and workers’ rights

While online shopping explodes in the world’s biggest country, traditional companies are struggling to adapt

The apps are there for whatever you need: an extra mango, a carton of milk, a pint of ice-cream or a replacement phone cable for the one your dog chewed in half. For those living in the urban centres of India – and increasingly in the smaller cities and towns beyond – almost anything can be delivered at the touch of a button – sometimes within less than 10 minutes.

Online shopping, otherwise known as e-commerce, is rapidly changing the way India shops and nowhere is that clearer than through quick commerce: the apps that can deliver groceries and other essentials to your door in the time it takes to hard boil an egg and at a cost of 30p – or less – for the service.

Continue reading…

About Author