Disney’s streaming platform Disney Plus has delayed its India launch via Hotstar owing to the postponement of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket season amid the spread of Coronavirus. Earlier this month, Hotstar had rolled out an update, which not only changed the app’s name to Disney+ Hotstar, but also added Disney+ shows to the […]
Archives for 2020
India plans e-commerce regulator, tighter controls under new policy: Sources
India wants to set up an e-commerce regulator and force companies such as Amazon to swiftly turn over information sought by authorities as part of a new policy being drafted, two sources familiar with the plan told Reuters. The new policy will be India’s latest effort to tighten control over e-commerce and is likely to […]
SoftBank seeks $10 billion to support Vision Fund companies
By Giles Turner, Gillian Tan and Peter Elstrom SoftBank Group is seeking to raise an additional $10 billion so its first Vision Fund can support portfolio companies battered by the coronavirus pandemic, according to people with knowledge of the matter. SoftBank is in talks with outside investors to provide $5 billion, which will be matched […]
Amazon halts grocery orders in US to restock amid surging demand
Image Credit: Kathy Willens Amazon said on Thursday it has halted its Prime Pantry delivery service in the United States to restock groceries, following a surge in online orders by shoppers worried about the coronavirus pandemic. “Amazon Pantry is not accepting new orders at this time while we work to fulfill open orders and restock […]
Remote work during coronavirus outbreak puts millions more on Microsoft Teams, Slack
Microsoft’s Teams chat and conferencing app gained more than 12 million daily users in one week, a 37.5% jump as more people worked from home during the coronavirus outbreak, the company said on Thursday. Teams had 44 million users as of March 18, Microsoft said, more than double the 20 million daily active users that […]
Fashion brands see a dip in online sales
Retail therapy has taken a backseat in the tough times of the coronavirus pandemic. For fashion and lifestyle brands, which are already witnessing a steep decline in offline sales due to closure of malls in several states, sales are not happening through the ecommerce channel either due to poor consumer sentiment. While ecommerce sales of […]
Govt talks to Facebook, Google, WhatsApp for virus info blitz
Illustration: Rahul Awasthi The government has roped in technology company Google and instant messaging platform WhatsApp, and is in talks with Facebook to run massive information outreach campaigns to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, three government officials told ET. The US-based search giant will send close to 300 million notifications a day to users containing information […]
Global HR leaders respond to coronavirus: 48% of employers require sick leave for COVID-19
A new Gartner survey reveals how businesses handle coronavirus-imposed time off, and the prediction is that up to 30% of employees will remain remote after the pandemic is over. Gartner conducted a survey of 800 HR execs to assess how companies are handling the pandemic. The survey, conducted on Tuesday, found that 88% of employers […]
Zomato forays into grocery delivery, in talks to partner with Grofers & BigBasket
Illustration: Rahul Awasthi Food-delivery and restaurant discovery app Zomato is jumping on to the grocery bandwagon as the category sees a major uptick amid the Covid-19 outbreak. ET has learnt that Zomato is in talks to partner with e-grocers, Grofers and BigBasket, to sell food products and essentials on its platform by facilitating their deliveries. […]
AICPA postpones ENGAGE 2020 due to coronavirus pandemic
Concerns about the coronavirus pandemic have prompted the postponement of ENGAGE 2020, one of the largest accounting and finance conferences in North America. ENGAGE was scheduled to be held June 7–11 in Las Vegas. Details on the timing and format of the rescheduled event are still being set, as the situation surrounding the outbreak is […]