A tight funding environment is leading to consolidation in several e-commerce verticals. Hyperlocal players seem to be worst-hit: (1) hyperlocal grocery delivery company Peppertap has shut its grocery delivery business and is now focusing only on logistics business, (2) hyperlocal delivery company Roadrunnr is merging with food-ordering app Tinyowl (per media reports). Media reports have also reported that several other portals such as Foodpanda, Jabong and Housing are on the block.
Lack of fresh funding as well as stricter focus on profitability by investors is leading to swift business model changes by companies. Snapdeal has incorporated various services such as flight/bus/hotel booking, food delivery, and personal services in its app. It has also stated that instead of tracking GMV, it would track the number of daily transacting customers as a performance metric. Flipkart is also shifting gears: (1) it has abandoned its app-only strategy for both Flipkart and Myntra, (2) it has opened its logistics vertical Ekart to other e-commerce companies, and (3) it has launched ?Brand Hub? on its app to allow brands to create their own stores on Flipkart, using its data analytics and other support services.
