🤖 Alexa on wheels?
India's consumer spending is rising, Amazon hosts its annual fall event, Capital Float raises $50M, and some more updates.
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First up,
Market Recap 📈
Indian benchmark indices reported a sharp drop as financial stocks, media, and metal, saw selling pressure ahead of F&O expiry. US equities were mixed as gains in utilities, consumer goods, and healthcare sectors drove shares prices up while losses in tech and oil & gas sectors pulled them down.
Sensex: 59,126.36 (-0.48%) ↓
Nifty 50: 17,618.15 (-0.53%) ↓
Dow Jones: 34,390.72 (+0.26%) ↑
Nasdaq 100: 14,752.89 (-0.12%) ↓
Bitcoin: $42.941.67
Top Stories 📰
1. India's consumer spending is on the rise 🛒
New data suggests an increase in sales of consumer goods, right from vegetables and edible oils to refrigerators and smartphones, raising corporate expectations of the nation's big festive shopping season.
The uptick comes after the sector reversed its trend from last month, rising 1.1% from the previous drop of 14.5% for items like daily groceries and essentials. Commodities stored by kiranas in anticipation of the strong festive demand was instrumental in leading this growth.
Other categories also experienced similar growth:
Home appliances rose 5-8% since last month.
Overall, FMCG sales advanced 29.7% YoY.
Smartphones volume increased 4-5% YoY, as costs are expected to rise 15-20% this month.
The soaring demand in FMCGs was mainly due to restaurants and hotels as September is when they usually overstock for the festive season, which can last for around two months.
Meanwhile, packaged food and personal care categories experienced a 5% and 7% drop, respectively. Although, they're expected to reverse their losses as social interactions during the holiday season would boost revenue.
Why it matters? Despite massive price hikes in electronics and smartphones, consumer spending is on the rise mainly due to strong macroeconomic indicators, low infection rates and good consumer sentiment. As Amazon and Flipkart prepare for their big festive season, companies are optimistic about their sales numbers for the coming months.
2. Amazon's fall hardware event 2021 🛍️
On Tuesday, Amazon held its annual fall hardware event, unveiling several new products just as we approach the busy holiday shopping season.
Here's what they announced so far:
Astro: An Alexa-powered robot that combines AI, computer vision, and Ring technologies to act as your digital dog on wheels. Astro has three primary functions: provide home security, check-in on pets and loved ones, and offer Alexa functionality on the go.
Halo View: A fitness tracker that debuted last year is now getting a host of updates, including features such as a studio workout service, Halo Fitness, and Halo Nutrition. The new model also comes with a new colour screen, with customizable bands, that the company plans to ship before the holidays this year.
Echo Show 15: A new addition to the 'Echo Show' family, Echo Show 15 is a device that can be mounted on a wall or placed anywhere around the home. It's designed to control smart-home devices such as Ring security cameras, lights or appliances.
New Ring Home Security System: Last year, Amazon launched 'Always Home Cam'—an autonomous indoor camera that flies around the home. Now, it's making the device available on an 'invitation basis only' along with other services such as Ring Alarm Pro and Ring Virtual Security Guard.
Glow: A new teleconferencing display designed for kids aimed to make video calls more interactive and engaging. It will also support games like 'Tangram Bits' to allow kids to solve puzzles on the touch-sensitive projected surface.
Other devices: Amazon also launched Blink Video Doorbell, Alexa Together, and a Smart Thermostat—an Alexa-powered thermostat device for as cheap as $59.99 to compete with Nest and Ecobee.
Why it matters? The devices launched during this event are usually among the top sellers during Amazon's Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. While they don't account for a majority of Amazon’s revenue, they provide a great way for Amazon to make people use its services.
Deal Street 🤑
Facebook announces plans to 'responsibly' build the metaverse
This week, Facebook unveiled a $50 million ‘XR Programs and Research Fund,’ which will focus on building the metaverse—a virtual world where people can interact with each other as avatars. In its blog post, the social media giant said that the project is the “next computing platform,” adding that it will work alongside policymakers, researchers, and industry partners to construct it. Facebook also hinted at decentralization, saying that it won't be built by one entity alone and will continue to exist even if they don't. The metaverse project already includes platforms such as Decentraland and The Sandbox powered by blockchain technology. The California-based firm is currently developing its biggest metaverse program called Horizon, existing on the beta Oculus app that allows people to conduct VR meetings.Capital Float raises $50 million
Buy now pay later startup Capital Float has raised $50 million in an equity funding round led by Lightrock India. Existing investors, such as Ribbit Capital and Sequoia Capital India, and new investors, including Nubank founder David Velez and Cred founder Kunal Shah, participated in the funding round. Capital Float is a lending partner, reaching out to customers who want to checkout using the BNPL option on popular online platforms such as Amazon India, Unacademy, MakeMyTrip, Spicejet, and Boat, among others. The Amazon-backed startup has more than 2.5 million customers, raking in Rs 2,000 crore-worth online purchases every year. The company plans to use the fresh capital for scaling its BNPL platforms and expanding its partner ecosystem.
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