Happy Thursday!
India has the lowest density of liquor shops in the non-Islamic world. And when the government decided to reopen liquor vends following a 40-day shutdown, there was chaos, to say the least.
Liquor retail outlets across the country have always attracted massive crowds. Before India went into lockdown, a few companies that had tried their luck with home delivery of alcoholic beverages were pulled up by state governments.
In a country where online delivery of alcohol has always been frowned upon, things may finally be changing for the better. Swiggy and Zomato on Thursday introduced doorstep delivery of alcohol in Jharkhand’s Ranchi, days after the state government roped in the two food delivery platforms to ease overcrowding outside liquor shops.
Take a swig!
Swiggy, which began home delivery of alcoholic beverages through a new ‘Wine Shops’ category on its app, said it plans to expand the service to other cities in the state within a week. Rival Zomato said the latest feature will go live in Ranchi later today, and seven other cities in Jharkhand over the next couple of days.
Why it matters
This comes weeks after the government’s move to allow sale of liquor during the countrywide lockdown led to long queues and overcrowding outside wine shops. To ensure the delivery of alcohol in compliance with applicable laws, Swiggy has introduced measures such as mandatory age verification and user authentication to fulfil orders.
Customers can complete their instant age verification by uploading a picture of their valid government ID, followed by a selfie. Additionally, all orders will carry an OTP which needs to be provided by the customer at the time of delivery. This is being done to put a cap on the quantity which is being ordered. Read more.
New entrant in food delivery
Amazon will now offer online food delivery with Amazon Food in select pin codes of Bengaluru. The service is live in parts of Bellandur, Haralur, Marathalli and Whitefield, according to the app.
The new service from the Jeff Bezos-led online retail giant comes at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic is bleeding the two largest players in the segment. Order volumes for Zomato and Swiggy have tumbled nearly 70% over the past two months, as customers remained sceptical about ordering in and top restaurants shut shop. Both the companies have laid off hundreds of employees to cut costs.
While Zomato has fired over 500 people and temporarily cut salaries of the rest, Swiggy said it will let go of 1,100 workers as nobody knows how long the uncertainty will last. It has even shut down its cloud kitchen businesses.
Infographic Insight
Since mid-last year, Amazon has been luring eateries with competitive commissions as a part of its larger plan to build a comprehensive product portfolio – from grocery and food to electronics and household products. Read more.
Money Money Money
As the Covid-19 pandemic hits the job market, people are actively seeking ways to make some money online, prompting social media influencers to create content around the theme. These influencers are sharing detailed tutorials on short- and long-term money-making avenues, including content writing, blogging, gaming, affiliate or referral marketing, participation in paid surveys, apps review, and teaching courses online.
Side hustle
Facebook-owned photo and video-sharing platform, Instagram, has seen a 100% month-on-month increase in the number of posts with hashtags related to this category — like #PassiveIncomeStreams and #PassiveIncomeOnline — ever since the pandemic began to take a toll on employment opportunities across the world. Read the story here.
Back at work
The workplace doesn’t look the same as employees have started returning to offices – workstations have donned a new look, there are new work etiquettes and the work wear has an added face gear.
What’s changed?
From numbering chairs to prevent accidental exchanges, converting corridors and walkways to ‘one-ways’ and encouraging use of alternate stalls and washbasins in washrooms, to having quarantine rooms and standby ambulance, companies are leaving no stone unturned to create a decluttered and ‘socially-distanced’ workplace as the cost of a small slip-up could be huge in the time of Covid-19. Read more.
New $300-million fund
ADQ, the state-owned holding company for Abu Dhabi’s non-oil sectors, has launched a $300 million (1.1 billion dirhams) venture capital fund, which will look to make early-stage investments across India and Southeast Asia.
Details
The Alpha Wave Incubation (AWI) Fund will be located at Abu Dhabi Global Market, the international financial centre in the United Arab Emirates’ capital, and will be managed by New York-based investment firm Falcon Edge Capital.
Falcon Edge has been an active investor in India, historically placing growth and late-stage bets in Asia’s third-largest economy, including in homegrown ride-hailing major Ola, dockless scooter app Bounce, news platform DailyHunt, and managed real estate company Stanza Living, among others. Read more.
Leave a Reply