Nitin Saluja, co-founder and CEO of Tiger Global-backed Chaayos said, “This is a part of the playbook that brands have globally followed to sell branded products, bottled coffee, and other products. There is an underlying customer demand…and for us, we’ve been selling these products for 10 years now and quick commerce is a channel that is growing very fast, and so are our sales on that channel.”

The ease of instant delivery, along with personalized menus, is enabling quick-service restaurants (QSRs) to access new consumer segments. These chains are reimagining their menus—crafting combo meals, limited-time offers, and bite-sized portions specifically for quick commerce platforms.

Quick Commerce Companies in India Reshaping Food Delivery

The rise of quick commerce companies in India has changed the dynamics of the food distribution ecosystem. Platforms such as Blinkit and Zepto, traditionally known for distributing grocery items and daily necessities, are now aggressively expanding to the food category. Their growing partnership with popular QSR chains shows the increasing importance of quick deliveries in the food sector.

From burgers and fries to desserts and beverages, top QSR brands are taking advantage of these platforms so that they can serve their most popular items quickly. This strategic alignment is running both high -order volume and increased brand visibility, making it a winning position for QSRs and quick commerce players.

Quick Commerce Food Industry Insights

As per Quick commerce food industry insights, instant food delivery demand is growing, particularly in metro cities where convenience is at the top of the consumer agenda. Consumers now expect meals to be delivered within 10-15 minutes, compelling QSR brands to streamline their operations for this emerging delivery model.

The increased trend of late-night hunger pangs, spontaneous snacking, and last-minute party orders is propelling the demand for QSRs to keep pace with quick commerce platforms. Tailored packaging, pre-cooked food items, and special kitchen setup arrangements for speedy deliveries are becoming the standard in the sector.

A recent report by Bernstein highlighted Quick Commerce as the fastest growing and emerging platform for consumer staple brands in various channels. Currently, e-commerce leads 6–10% of the total sales for major FMCG companies, accelerated commerce contributes 30–50% of its online sales. Bernstein has predicted that India’s quick commerce companies will grow from $10 billion to $75 billion by 2032.

Sagar Daryani, founder and group CEO, Wow Momo said, “We sell frozen momos in quick commerce and modern trade channels…and are seeing Rs 5 crore a month in sales. Of this, quick commerce is 52%. It’s growing very fast, and we expect to go from annual sales of Rs 36-38 crore this year to Rs 75 crore by next year.”

QSR Brands on Blinkit and Zepto Gaining Traction

Today, the QSR brands on Blinkit and Zapto are watching significant traction because consumers rapidly choose these platforms for their favorite food. Whether it is a quick coffee, a box of fries, or a full meal, these platforms are bridging the rapid difference between the restaurants and the customers.

As the quick commerce and QSR wave continues, it is clear that speed, adaptation and convenience will shape the future of the food distribution industry in India. In India, there is an aggressive expansion with quick commerce companies, the instant food distribution is to live here – consumer expectations and QSR strategies alike.

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The holiday season is approaching, and the countdown for the much-awaited Black Friday Sale 2024 has begun. Known as one of the biggest shopping events of the year, many shoppers begin planning their purchases months in advance to make the most of the discounts.

Initially, a one-day event, Black Friday has evolved into a month-long shopping phenomenon. Companies now launch their promotions as early as October to build up the anticipation and attract new customers for November deals. This extended sales period has majorly increased consumer spending.

During the 2024 Black Friday Sale, electronics, clothing, and accessories are expected to remain the most popular categories. Moreover, the predictions say that consumers will be spending approximately $278.645 billion, globally over the weekend. This shift reflects the growing importance of Black Friday sales as a key driver for both holiday shopping and business profits.

Key Trends in Consumer Behavior for 2024 Black Friday Sale

The consumer pattern is as dynamic as it gets, it is constantly evolving and keeps on changing every year. This year Black Friday weekend is predicted to surpass all the sales records of the previous years.

According to Forbes, around 24% of the buyers are intending to spend more than they spent in 2023. While 52.6% of them intend to shop in the pre-Black Friday sale as well.

This year, shopping habits are expected to change, with 58.4% of customers predicted to opt for a mix of in-store and online shopping, while 34.6% are anticipated to prefer exclusively for online purchases.

What Challenges Businesses Face in Black Friday Sale

When a business makes a plan for the annual Black Friday Sale, it is important for them to understand the challenges business owners face while selling their products online and in-stores.

These challenges can range from managing catalog and inventory to handling payment issues and website slowdown. So here are some of the major issues that the businesses may face during the Black Friday Sale:

1. Issues in Maintaining Inventory

Maintaining inventory and managing supply chains can be a significant challenge, especially during peak shopping seasons like Black Friday sales. Unpredictable consumer behavior, delays in shipping, and raw material shortages often lead to stockouts or overstocking, resulting in an imbalance in inventory levels.

Businesses that rely on just-in-time inventory systems are particularly vulnerable, as even the smallest delays can disrupt the entire supply chain. Adapting to these challenges requires improved forecasting, more flexible supply chain models, and a proactive approach to risk management.

2. Challenges with the Logistics

It becomes really difficult for the businesses to maintain their logistics as the transportation and the warehousing industries operate to their fullest. With more people preferring to shop online, there is a lot of strain on transportation and fleet management. As the number of orders rises, the e-commerce platforms must be well-equipped to process a high volume of orders simultaneously.

All the goods carrier services including air, ocean or road, all of them experience congestion due to high demand. Without a well-established network of carriers and logistics partners, many businesses risk failing to deliver their orders on time.

3. Impact of Price Rise

Black Friday deals kick off the shopping season with great offers, but this year, inflation is weighing consumers down. With inflation beating all the records, the prices of necessities like groceries, rent, gasoline, and other household items have also touched the roof.

A lot of the consumers are demotivated by the rising prices as they are hardly able to make ends meet. Even after huge discounts on all the products a lot of these products are out of their budgets, making them change their priorities and options.

4. Technical Issues

Technical issues such as website slowdowns and payment errors are frequent during Black Friday sales due to high traffic. As per Demandsage, Black Friday shopping alone attracted 9.8 million online customers in 2023 that shows the strain on digital platforms. This year the number is predicted to grow by 9.9% and reach 10.8 billion.

According to Baymard, there are 22% of the customers abandon the cart due to long and complicated checkout process and 17% because of the website crashes, further emphasize the need of website optimization during peak periods. Implementing solutions like CDNs, caching, and mobile-friendly designs can help prevent these issues and ensure a seamless customer experience.

How Can Businesses Prepare for the Sale Season Using Technology

Black Friday presents an excellent opportunity for businesses to drive sales and enhance customer satisfaction. However, achieving success requires careful and strategic planning. Here are the few ways businesses can effectively prepare for the holiday season sales with the help of technology.

1. AI For Customer Support

AI is one of the most effective technologies for businesses to utilize during the holiday season sales. By integrating AI, companies can easily engage with multiple customers through messages and address their grievances without burdening customer support team.

During peak season, businesses can use AI to manage basic queries related to FAQs, payment issues and order status updates. This allows human teams to focus on more complex customer queries. Not only does this lessen the burden on the support teams but also ensures higher service during this busy period.

2. Block Chain in Supply Chain Challenges

Blockchain technology plays a key role in maintaining smooth supply chain operations during the Black Friday sales season. By providing a transparent and secure platform, it helps businesses to track inventory and shipments, ensuring timely delivery to warehouses or customers.

Moreover, blockchain helps in preventing fraud by verifying the authenticity of goods and securing payment processes. With its efficiency and accuracy, blockchain helps businesses in meeting high demand, managing inventory, and provides a seamless shopping experience during this busy period.

3. Cloud Computing to Prevent Website Crashing

Cloud computing is a game-changer in preventing website crashes, especially during high-traffic events like Black Friday sales. By using cloud services, businesses can scale their website’s resources dynamically to handle sudden traffic surges.

Rather than relying on fixed server capacities, the cloud offers on-demand resource allocation, ensuring that websites remain fast and responsive even during peak activity. With powerful backup systems and real-time monitoring, cloud computing ensures a smooth online shopping experience, minimizing downtime and keeping customers satisfied during the peak sales.

Conclusion

The upcoming Black Friday sale highlights the importance of how businesses can strategically navigate through technological and logistical challenges.

Technologies like blockchain can enhance supply chain transparency while cloud computing can help in ensuring scalable online operations to accommodate high traffic. AI-driven customer support systems can ensure higher service by addressing routine inquiries.

Addressing payment concerns, like transaction declines or limited payment options, is critical for a seamless shopping experience. With proper planning and active measures, businesses can transform these challenges into pathways for impressive sales and heightened customer satisfaction.

The post How Is Technology Helping Businesses In Driving Black Friday Success appeared first on Tech Research Online.

“Introducing Perplexity Shopping- a one-stop solution where you can research and purchase products. It marks a big leap forward in how we serve our users, empowering seamless native actions right from an answer. Shopping online just got 10x easier and fun,” the company posted on X.

Product Cards

The AI startup will generate product cards in visual formats for users. The cards will display relevant items based on the questions users ask in relation to their shopping. Perplexity’s new AI feature takes on traditional e-commerce rivals like Amazon and Google.

The shopping feature will initially be available to US-based users before expanding to other regions. To use the feature, US users should have paid for the Pro subscription tier. The AI startup plans to leverage the shopping feature to expand its AI chatbot userbaser while developing related services such as online shopping and search.

“You can use it to research and make purchases on all things like building your library, buying electronics for throwing a party, and so on,” the San Francisco-based AI startup said in a video posted on X.

From the video, users can learn how to query Perplexity AI search in a conversational way. The AI chatbot allows users to refine results through follow-up responses. Perplexity’s shopping feature is powered by a range of integrations that include Shopify. This gives the AI platform access to the most recent and relevant information from sellers on the ecommerce platform that ship to the US.

Multiple Features

Perplexity’s AI shopping comes with a raft of features that save users time. These include a one-click checkout that facilitates full purchase processing within the app. This feature ensures users complete their transaction on the Perplexity page without having to cross over to the merchant’s website.

“Just save your shipping and billing information through our secure portal and select ‘Buy with Pro’ to place your order,” the company said.

Perplexity says that each Buy with Pro order comes with free shipping. In situations where the Buy with Pro feature is not available, users are redirected to the seller’s website to complete their purchase.

Perplexity’s AI shopping also comes with a Snap to Shop search function. This visual tool displays relevant products to users in line with the images they upload. This enables users to find the items they are looking for even when they can’t remember the names.

Tough Competition

In a bid to differentiate itself from competitors such as Google, Perplexity says its shopping suggestions are not sponsored. The company refers to its results as unbiased recommendations that are generated by its AI depending on user reviews.

“When you ask Perplexity a shopping question, you’ll still get the precise, objective answers you expect, plus easy-to-read product cards showing the most relevant items, along with key details presented in a simple, visual format,” the company said.

The AI startup, which is backed by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, will not be earning commissions from the sales generated through its platform. According to Sara Platnick, Perplexity’s spokesperson, the company has not added a commercial element on the products.

Just recently, Perplexity said it will begin adding ads to its general AI responses for US users. The ads will be designed as paid media and sponsored follow-up queries. These will appear beside Perplexity’s AI answers.

The post Perplexity Adds Shopping Feature as It Seeks to Expand User Base appeared first on Tech Research Online.

Amazon won the partial dismissal at a time when US regulators are reigning on big tech companies for similar reasons. Meta platforms and Apple are facing antitrust lawsuits in the US. Search giant Google is currently facing two trials, including one where a federal Judge ruled that it’s an illegal monopoly.

Google awaits a court ruling of another antitrust trial that is focused on its ad technology.

Alleged Anti-Competitive Practices

The US FTC lawsuit against Amazon was filed by regulators in September 2023. The US Federal Trade Commission lawsuit alleged that Amazon was stifling competition by forcing vendors to use its order fulfillment and advertising services to maintain market dominance.

The e-commerce giant was also accused of pushing out vendors who sell products on rival platforms at lower prices. The FTC accused Amazon of increasing product prices using an algorithm. There are 1 billion products on Amazon’s online superstore. Amazon told the court that it has not used the algorithm since 2019.

Amazon’s Dismissal Request

Investigations into Amazon’s business practices were initiated in 2019. In December 2023, the e-commerce company asked the District Court Judge, John Chun to dismiss the antitrust case.

Amazon argued that its practices applied to all retailers and that the FTC had not identified any harm to consumers. Judge Chun granted Amazon’s antitrust case request in part, a move that pleased Amazon.

“We are pleased with the court’s decision to dismiss some of the claims. Amazon’s practices support a competitive marketplace that fosters innovation and growth,” the company said in a statement.

The Next Step

Though the court dismissed some of the allegations in the lawsuit, the FTC will pursue other claims that the Judge upheld. A sealed ruling issued by Judge Chun shows that the trial will take place in two parts. Chun turned down Amazon’s request to compel the FTC to present its evidence of alleged violations and share the remedies it proposes in the same trial.

Amazon will have to put up a strong defense against FTC’s alleged manipulative pricing strategies and monopolistic behavior in the e-commerce market. A review of these claims will form an important part of Amazon’s US antitrust lawsuit.

Commission Chair, Lina Khan is following the FTC antitrust lawsuit against Amazon keenly. Khan has been challenging the power of the giant online retailer for several years now. In 2017, she published an academic article arguing that Amazon’s practice and structure had escaped antitrust scrutiny despite posing anti-competitive threats.

The post Ecommerce Giant, Amazon Wins Partial Dismissal of Antitrust Case appeared first on Tech Research Online.

State of Sales

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