Percent Archives - Triadoro

India Tablet Sales Declined 16 Percent in March Quarter: CMR

HIGHLIGHTS

Sales of tablet PCs fell by 16 percent year-on-year, says CMR report
tablet shipments in the March quarter were also down by 6 percent
Datawind continued to hold the top spot with 34 percent market share

Sales of tablet PCs fell by 16 percent year-on-year to around 7.6 lakh units during January-March, hurt by lack of any promotional activity by device makers, says a report.

The tablet shipments in the March quarter were also down by 6 percent compared to the previous October-December quarter, the report by research firm CMR said.

Datawind continued to hold the top spot with 34 percent market share, followed iBall with 16 percent share, the report said. Samsung had 15 percent share while homegrown Micromax had 8 percent share.

“The continuous decline in the tablet space could be attributed to the lack of promotional activities in the space.

Aadhaar has, of course, provided a lot of impetus to the market (as it increases orders from government sector),” CMR Lead-Analyst (Tablets) Menka Kumari said.

However, at the same time, B2C consumption entirely depends on the promotional activities and some exciting features, she added.

CMR said upcoming GST regime is also going to affect the tablet market, but the magnitude can be gauged only later as a lot of clarity is expected to come on the implementation front.

4G tablets segment will constitute 50 percent of the market by the end of this year, the report added.

According to CMR’s “India Quarterly Tablet PC Market Review-1Q 2017” report, Android-based tablets have already captured the majority of the market while Windows-based tablets have seen continuous decline in India.

“The smartphone market has moved towards 4G and the tablets segment would also follow the same trend. The demand for SIM-enabled devices will continue to grow while Wi-Fi enabled devices will continue to see demand from the student community,” said Menka Kumari, Lead Analyst, Tablets, CMR, in a statement.

4G and 3G-based tablets witnessed sequential increase of 15 percent and 31 percent in terms of units shipped.

Alternatively, 2G and Wi-Fi based tablets saw a sharp decline of 62 percent and 33 percent, respectively, as compared to the previous quarter, the findings showed.

The tablet market within the price category of Rs. 10,000-Rs. 20,000 and less than Rs. 5,000 witnessed 48 percent and four percent sequential growth, respectively, during the quarter.

On the other hand, the price category of Rs. 20,000-30,000 saw a sharp 61 percent sequential decline, the report added.

Written with inputs from PTI and IANS

[“Source-ndtv”]

Paytm to Charge 2 Percent Fee on Adding Money to Wallet Using Credit Cards

HIGHLIGHTS

Paytm found that some credit card users were abusing that 0-fee transfers
To combat this, Paytm is charging all CC deposits a 2% transfer fee
It is refunding this money in the form of a coupon you can use on Paytm

On Wednesday, wallet company Paytm announced that it will be charging a 2 percent deposit fee from credit card users going forward. According to Paytm, this was being done to combat misuse of its zero-fee transfers, explaining that savvy users were rotating their cash through the wallet to earn essentially “free” money in the form of reward points. Paytm said that to ensure that genuine users don’t lose money, it will return the 2 percent charge in the form of coupons that can be used on Paytm.

Later, its founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma clarified that the coupons can also be used on third-party sites to pay Swiggy or Uber, although this mechanism has not been activated yet.

As noted in the post announcing this decision, since November, Paytm has been allowing users to take cash out of the wallet to their bank accounts at no charge. Typically, cashing out has attracted a fee from wallets. At the same time, Paytm and other wallets haven’t charged fees for depositing cash into their systems. This meant that credit card users could fill up their Paytm wallets using the card, then transfer that money back to their bank accounts, at no charge. “They were not only getting free loyalty points which effectively is free cash but also getting access to free credit,” Paytm noted.

This would be subsidised by Paytm’s own costs, as the company pointed out.

Incidentally, Paytm pays fee to card networks or banks whenever you use any payment instrument like any other online commerce company. Paytm pays a hefty charges when you use your credit card to card networks and issuing banks. If user simply adds money and takes to bank, we lose money. Our revenue model requires users to spend money within our network and we make money from the margins available to us on various products/services we offer.

For this reason, Paytm is now charging a 2 percent deposit fee from credit card users, and refunding them the same in the form of a coupon that can be used on the Paytm app. As we mentioned, on Twitter, Sharma has clarified that the coupons can work on third-party sites as well, and added that you will be able to use these with apps such as Swiggy, Uber, although the FAQ on the page currently still states that it can only be used on the Paytm app.

There are a couple of other caveats listed on the FAQ page. For one, these refund coupons will only be given when the amount you’re filling up is more than Rs. 250. If your transaction is lower than that, you will not get a coupon. Also, you will get a fresh coupon every time you top-up Paytm using a credit card, these coupons can not be clubbed, and have to be applied manually and individually. Also, these coupons can only be used in a single transaction. Also, the coupon isn’t applied as a discount on the transaction – it gives you an instant cashback to your Paytm wallet.

The coupons can also be used for bill payments, recharges, and so on, these are not limited to shopping on Paytm Mall. The vouchers will expire on December 31, 2017, but the FAQ mentions that this can be extended on request.

These charges are only being applied on credit card users, so if you’re using a debit card, net banking, or UPI/ IMPS payments, then you are not affected by this move.

Disclosure: Paytm’s parent company One97 is an investor in Gadgets 360.

Tags: Paytm, paytm wallet, cashbacks, Transaction fees, Credit cards, Loyalty points

[“Source-Gadgets”]

45 Percent of Online Entrepreneurs Don’t Know What SEO Means? (Infographic)

The importance of search engine optimization (SEO) to boost online business cannot be stressed enough. But according to one source, a large percentage of small businesses still don’t know what SEO even means.

According to a new study by Weebly, a DIY website building company, about 45 percent of small businesses aren’t sure what SEO means. Almost all (98 percent) of them, however, think getting found on Google is important.

Small Businesses Are Making Email Marketing Mistakes

What’s also alarming is the common email marketing mistakes businesses seem to be making in large numbers.

For example, 87 percent of businesses understand personal accounts are less professional. Despite this, 79 percent still send emails from their own personal accounts.

Small Businesses Are Worried

Not surprisingly, small businesses are worried.

The report has found changes in the economy are the biggest source of that worry. It’s followed by concerns over growing their business and keeping up with technology.

What’s more, 33 percent of small businesses participating in the study think finding 10 new customers is harder than solving a Rubik’s Cube blindfolded.

For the study, Weebly commissioned Wakefield Research to conduct an online survey of 500 online entrepreneurs who started their business within the past two years.

San Francisco-based Weebly was founded in 2007. See more data pulled from the study in the infographic below.

Images: Weebly

[“source-smallbiztrends”]

Uber Hikes Fares Up to 15 Percent in Delhi-NCR

HIGHLIGHTS
Uber has increased ride time charge to Rs. 1.5 per minute
The ride time charges for UberPOOL & UberX have been increased
Uber charges Rs. 6 per km for up to 20km
Transportation app Uber has hiked fares of its entry-level offering ‘UberGO’ by up to 15 percent in Delhi-NCR.

The US-based firm has increased ride time charge to Rs. 1.5 per minute from Re. 1 earlier.

Uber charges Rs. 6 per km for up to 20km and Rs. 12 per km thereafter, with a minimum fare of Rs. 60 for UberGO.

The ride time charges – calculated on the basis of total time of the ride – for ‘UberPOOL’ and ‘UberX’ have also been hiked to Rs. 1.5 per minute.
When contacted, an Uber spokesperson said: “Starting January 5, 2017, we have made some changes to our pricing structure in Delhi NCR in order to serve the city better.” The prices are expected to go up by 10-15 percent, the spokesperson added.

Last year, Uber had introduced ‘upfront fare’ under which the company calculates and shows rates depending on expected time and distance of travel and local traffic. The fares fluctuate due to demand.

Affordable pricing has been one of the important factors driving the uptake of on-demand taxi services in the country.

For the latest coverage from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, visit our CES 2017 hub.
Tags: Uber, Uber Delhi, Uber India, Apps

[“source-smallbiztrends”]