Meesho partners with Cashfree Payments to provide Instant Refunds to customers

  Meesho, India’s fastest growing internet commerce company, today announced its partnership with Cashfree Payments, India’s leading payments and API banking solutions company, to enable instant refunds for all Cash on Delivery (COD) orders placed via Meesho’s platform. This integration of Cashfree Payments is set to enhance the shopping experience of all Meesho users while also minimizing the need for manual intervention in certain orders.

 

Traditionally, in India, COD has been the preferred mode of payment especially for users from tier-II+ markets. Reducing the overall turnaround time taken to process refund payouts will enhance customer experience and also increase their trust towards online transactions. Through this partnership, Meesho aims to successfully process each refund payout in under 2 hours and eliminate drops in the payout funnel caused by technical failures or bank downtime. This entire refund process is automated by Cashfree Payments’ bulk disbursal offering ‘Payouts’. Further, the integration with Cashfree Payments will automate supplier payouts and also enable payout via UPI.

 

Commenting on the partnership, Kirti Varun Avasarala, Chief Product Officer, Meesho said, “In India, Cash on Delivery (COD) continues to be a preferred payment mode. We’ve noticed that any unexpected delay or hassle caused in processing refunds can cause inconvenience and lead to trust deficit. Meesho’s aims to become the preferred shopping destination for the next billion Indian consumers and our partnership with Cashfree Payments will address a very important aspect in the users’ journey and help us move closer to this goal.”

 

Reeju Datta, Co-Founder, Cashfree Payments said, “We are glad to collaborate with Meesho in solving the problem of slow refunds, especially in case of COD orders. Our bulk disbursal product, ‘Payouts’ will help Meesho delight its customers with faster refunds by crediting the refund amount to the customer's bank account in under 2 hours by automating the process. Queries around delayed refunds are a major source of customer tickets for e-commerce businesses, and we look forward to help Meesho reduce such queries to nil.”

 

According to a recent report by data.ai (formerly App Annie), Meesho was the most downloaded e-commerce app in the world last year. Over the course of 2022, the company will continue to fuel the discoverability of hyperlocal businesses and products, make e-commerce accessible to value conscious customers and innovate to become the preferred e-commerce destination for the next billion users in the country. Meesho also aims to reach 100 million monthly transacting users by December 2022 and increase its roster to over 50 million products.

GOVO introduces new variants to GOBUDS and GOKIXX series

 Further expanding their audio products portfolio, GOVO has announced the launch of the all-new GOBUDS 901, GOBUDS 902 under the truly wireless category and the GOKIXX 651 in the neckband category.

The variants are currently available for purchase on their website (https://www.govo.life/), with GOBUDS 902 as Amazon specials, GOKIXX 651 on Flipkart. GOVO range of products are made available in other leading e-commerce marketplaces like Snapdeal, TataCliq, Nykaa, Nykaa Fashion, and more as GOBUDS, GOCRUSH, GOKIXX and GOBASS variants.

The GOBUDS 901 and GOBUDS 902 each have a unique and elegant design, an ergonomic fit for continuous linear usage, rich sound with dynamic driver for deep BASS and True audio. They come with Bluetooth 5.0 with up to 30ft of seamless connectivity and a long battery life with up to 20h of nonstop music with Type C Input.

Priced at Rs.2299 and 2499, they are great for listening to music, a companion while working out, or to use while traveling and gaming. In addition, the devices are voice assistant enabled with Siri and Google Assistant support, have super touch control and malfunction touch controls for ease of use, and come in a premium Aluminum metallic curvy case making it a one-of-a-kind offering.

 The GOKIXX 651 neckband has a CNC, CD Texture, magnetic earbuds, metallic polished finish and is built with medical grade Silicon. It comes with HD RICH Sound, Sound Engineered though Listen USA devices and functions on fast charge for 10min for 10h of seamless music, and all day & night battery up to 20 hours. In addition, the neckband offers Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity, Passive Noise Cancellation, water & sweat resistance IPX5 and comes with in-built voice assistant support making it a great partner for your personal audio needs.

REVENANT ESPORTS OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCES MAIDEN APEX LEGENDS TEAM

Revenant Esports has announced that they are announcing their first-ever Apex Legends team. The team will sit alongside their current teams - Battlegrounds Mobile India, Free Fire, Valorant, Wild Rift EU & Call of Duty Mobile.

 

Revenant Esports will be the only organization from India to be playing the ALGC Playoffs in Sweden against world-class organizations like G2 Esports, Cloud9, TSM & 100 Thieves to name a few.

 

The roster will be seen representing Revenant Esports in the Apex Legends Global Series Split 2 Playoffs in Sweden, on the 29th April to 1st May, 2022.

 

The roster currently consists of Muhammad Iqbal Salis “BellkunX_” Kadafi, Muhammad Zidan “MeXiousx” Syahada, Muhammad “laheemx_” Ilham and coached by Apex Legends veteran player Hasan Ali “FATTMONSTER” Naqvi.

 

Rohit N Jagasia, Founder & CEO of Revenant Esports said “Apex Legends via the Apex Legends Global Series has managed to build a solid viewership in the past couple of months and has been ranked in the top 5 most viewed constantly on Twitch. There is a massive potential for the Apex Legends esports scene to continue to grow with our new signings, and we are highly ambitious to make Revenant a global organization.”

 

The company strongly believes that this is the right time to enter the Apex Legends Competitive scene since it’s a highly successful video game with thriving competitive scene with the Apex Legends Global Series.

 

The entry of Revenant Esports into this brand new title has caught everyone’s attention from the South Asian Esports Industry.

 

Hasan Ali “FATTMONSTER” Naqvi added, “ We are so excited to have joined Revenant Esports. Being one of the fastest growing organizations in India and along the entire onboarding process, Rohit & the team gave us a lot of confidence that we have found a comfortable home here at Revenant Esports from being Free Agents. Being the only Indian organization competing at the ALGS Split 2 Playoff in Stockholm makes me very proud since I am also the only Indian Coach / Player at the event. Our players from Indonesia are very excited to have joined Revenant Esports as well & are looking forward to the exciting future. We are hoping to bring the trophy home from Stockholm.”

  

Apple’s ‘made in India’ iPhone 13 now selling at lowest price ever: Check details

A brand new 128GB (Product) RED iPhone 13 is available for as low as Rs 71,990 in India. Those keeping track would probably know, this is the lowest price ever for Apple’s latest gen iPhone, the same iPhone that is now also made in India. The “deal” is only available on Amazon India, though, at the time of writing. Also, for any other colour variant, the price will revert to Rs 74,990, the price the iPhone 13 currently commands on e-retail stores including Amazon and Flipkart. Note that Apple still sells the iPhone 13 at a base price of Rs 79,990 officially.

You can get the 128GB (Product) RED iPhone 13 even cheaper on Amazon India if you opt for exchange. While generally nonsensical, know that Amazon will give you up to Rs 12,500 off in return of an eligible device. The real deal, though, is the bank offer because that’s sure shot guarantee to get you a good discount. HDFC Bank credit card transactions are currently eligible for Rs 5,000 “instant” discount which means if you make the purchase using HDFC Bank credit card, you can get the 128GB (Product) RED iPhone 13 for just Rs 66,990. That’s cheaper than a OnePlus 10 Pro 5G.

Apple recently started assembling the iPhone 13 in India with its manufacturing partner Foxconn at its plant in southern Tamil Nadu state. While it does not guarantee any immediate relaxation in prices, it does ensure adequate stocks in a time of global supply crisis. The fact that Apple makes more iPhone models today than ever also means there’s a good chance one of those models could land a good discount or offer sooner rather than later, especially online. iPhones are still largely aspirational but some of these things are changing the landscape even as Apple looks at India’s as a key market for growth.

The 128GB (Product) RED iPhone 13 discount seems an Amazon exclusive for now. Flipkart doesn’t have it. As and when it does, or if Amazon springs in a surprise by selling any of the iPhones this cheap, again, we will surely update you. So, stay tuned for more.

Source: Apple’s ‘made in India’ iPhone 13 now selling at lowest price ever: Check details (msn.com)

Jabra and Lenovo collaborate on integrated video conferencing meeting room solution

 Jabra has teamed up with Lenovo to offer an end-customer solution delivering intuitive, fast and seamless video conferencing solutions for meeting rooms at the touch of a button.

The solution includes Jabra’s innovative 180° panoramic 4K plug-and-play video solution PanaCast 50 and Lenovo’s ThinkSmart Hub. This is made up of ThinkSmart Hub, which is optimised for business productivity and collaboration, as well as being pre-loaded with Microsoft Teams Rooms to help employees connect and share wherever they are, and the ThinkSmart Hub, 10-point touch HD display that allows users to initiate and control meetings, as well as share content and work with colleagues working remotely.

 

Initially available in the EMEA region, the Jabra PanaCast 50 & Lenovo ThinkSmart Hub brings together the best technology from two of the biggest names in digital collaboration and creates a new standard in meeting room set-ups. Video conferencing and collaboration will be effortless courtesy of the most superior video and audio equipment in one, easy-to-use package.

 

A new standard in video conferencing solutions

This suite of products promises to deliver a new standard in video conferencing and is the ideal solution for flexible working and the modern meeting room. Users can collaborate with their team at the touch of a button, whether they’re working from home, the office or anywhere else in between.

 

The Jabra PanaCast 50 is engineered to be the world’s first new-normal-ready intelligent video bar. Its 180° field of view allows for social distancing in meeting rooms so you no longer have to worry about huddling closely in confined spaces. Also, it effectively takes on the role of the ‘director’ of your meeting – intelligently adjusting the video stream to follow the action in the meeting.

 

Lenovo’s purpose built ThinkSmart Hub is powered by an 8^th Generation Intel^® Core™ i5-8365U vPro® processor and delivers connectivity to support any meeting room configuration. Its understated yet stylish design means it can be placed discreetly, and it has ports to support multiple audio and visual accessories, and integrated cable management.

 

Its easy-to-use Microsoft Teams interface makes it ideal for meetings and collaboration. Users can easily initiate and control meetings as well as share content, making it easy to collaborate with colleagues wherever they are working. It even has Integrated Infrared sensors that detect when participants enter the room and automatically turns the system on and off.

 

Joel Hamon, President EMEA & CALA at Jabra: “We are thrilled to be collaborating with Lenovo and the launch of the Jabra PanaCast 50 & Lenovo ThinkSmart hub solutions is an exciting step in delivering intelligent and secure meeting room solutions. With hybrid working the new normal, businesses everywhere are thinking about how best to collaborate and offer the most advanced meeting room set-ups with minimal technical input required. We are confident that this solution will help businesses take their conferencing and collaboration capabilities to new heights.” 

 

Andrea Recupero, Head of EMEA Smart Collaboration at Lenovo: “We are very excited about the features and capabilities of our ThinkSmart Hub solution in conjunction with Jabra’s PanaCast 50 as this will further drive transformation towards smarter working environments. It is crucial that customers have access to technology that empowers greater agility, creativity and engagement. With video conferencing at an all-time high, we continue to strive to deliver solutions that enable improved collaboration around the world.”

 

Availability

The Jabra PanaCast and Lenovo ThinkSmart Hub solution will be available in EMEA from select distributors

Battlegrounds Mobile India’ will bring India’s top teams to compete for ₹20,00,000 prize pool

 Gaming and esports company, Penta Esports, has announced the ‘Penta Invitational - Battlegrounds Mobile India’, presented by Loco. The tournament will have a massive prize pool of ₹20,00,000. 24 top BGMI teams from India have been invited to take part in this event. The tournament will be broadcast live on Penta Esports’ channels on Loco, YouTube and Facebook from 26^th April to 25^th May.

Says Penta Esports co-founder and head of esports Kiran Noojibail, “The ‘Penta Invitational - Battlegrounds Mobile India’ will witness an intense competition between the top BGMI teams of the country. We’re absolutely excited and elated to be able to bring this opportunity to the teams, players and viewers alike. We’re sure it’s going to be amazing!”

The 24 invited teams who will be playing in the tournament are, Godlike Esports, Reckoning Esports, Enigma Gaming, Team XO, Global Esports, Chemin Esports, TSM, 7sea Esports, Team 8bit, Hyderabad Hydras, Team Enigma Forever, Skylightz Gaming, Orangutan, OR Esports, Team iNSANE Esports, Revenge Esports, Team Celtz, Team Blind, Entity gaming, Nigma Galaxy, Rivalry Esports, Marcos Gaming, Revenant Esports and Hydra Esports.

The complete details of the tournament are available on Penta Esports’ platform, pentaesports.com. The platform is a one stop destination for all things esports, including match schedules, match results, VODs of tournaments and leagues, content, news, announcements and much more.

Founded by industry veterans Anurag Khurana, Kiran Noojibail and Akshay Paul, Penta Esports aims to disrupt the ecosystem in India with a holistic approach towards the sector, including leagues, tournaments, content and much more.

Comet, Tyroo's Gaming Vertical is all set to help brands tp the Uncharted Territory of Gaming and Metaverse

 Tyroo, a leading ad tech platform has launched its new gaming vertical, Comet in APAC. Taking the unique opportunity of the Metaverse, gaming is set to be the next big brand space for businesses to shape consumer experiences. With 11% of regular social media users and 56% of influencers already believing they actively participate in the Metaverse, the Indian Domestic market expects a growth of more than 1500 CR in 2023. Additionally, E-sports consumption accounts for 26% of the global internet consumption at present, creating multifaceted revenue opportunities for gaming in the metaverse.

 

With Comet, Tyroo initiates its journey into the vast metaverse of opportunities that lies ahead. The brand seeks to curate customer-centric experiences through in-game offerings, e-sports solutions, and creating Metaverse IPs for brands. The company’s efforts are well-guided, with 41% of regular social media users indicating that they believe social media is going to be soon replaced by Metaverse. Additionally, 38% of gamers into Roblox and Fortnite, enter these worlds to socialize along with gaming. Thus, with highly augmented online gaming, live entertainment, and social media interactions the global Metaverse revenue opportunity could approach $800 billion in 2024.

 

Siddharth Puri, CEO Tyroo says, “Comet comes at a time when the synergy between consumer experiences and brands is at its prime. While Gen X & Millennials shift from social media (a well-tapped space by brands), Gen Z is a generation that socializes via virtual activities and augmented reality. If anything, the last two years has accentuated this effect, and presents a key moment of integration for all generations into this space of opportunities. We believe Comet will emerge as a unique business solution, for brands across verticals to make a play at capturing the extremely engaged audiences of the world of gaming and esports. This opportunity will help brands to access the Multiplayer world through AAA titles, shape experiences powered by augmented reality, boost creator productivity via NFT/shopping goods of the Web 3.0 and community building via interactive ownership of assets.”

 

“Tyroo Comet is set to bring this market together under a single umbrella. The unique deliverable from Comet includes technology that will enable greater transparency, measurability, and accountability pertinent to brands quickly moving into this space.  We will tap into the gaming ecosystem that’s at the forefront of the virtual world and seek to on-board early adopters of Web 3: Genz, Web3:0, uber savvy audiences who are already present in several gaming universes.” Adds Akshay Mathur, CRO Tyroo.  Additionally, with a unique focus on APAC audiences, Tyroo seeks to foster an open decentralized environment to celebrate, engage, and create larger-than-life social experiences using Virtual Worlds. The brand also plans to introduce some top AAA labels to the advertiser community through partnerships.

 

India is currently home to over 430 million mobile gamers and the number is estimated to grow to 650 million by 2025. Additionally, Tier-III cities have joined the bandwagon resulting in 100 - 200 % growth. As most gaming companies in the country struggle to reach a target audience that’s unique to their domain and tap into the Gen Z consumer base with sufficient sustainable purchasing power, Comet seeks to leverage this unique market opportunity and bring together consumers from various walks of life, like housewives, mothers, senior executives, irrespective of their age, gender, location, etc initiating communication between brands and consumers. Tyroo’s funnel focuses on mobile gaming even at its preliminary stage encompasses e-sports, game streaming, content creation, and ends up in a confluence of commerce.

 

Using a decentralized ecosystem for bespoke brand activation and a robust e-sports calendar, Comet leverages a market of 450 million + high-engaged gamers across APAC and relevant cross-border channels. Comet’s ecosystem brings for scalable e-sports inventory access via IP creation for AAA titles such as BGMI, Fortnite, etc., a method for measuring CPM based outcomes, and full-cycle operations management (end-to-end tournament operations, influencer management, etc.).

 

As per research, In a world where 9 in 10 Gen Z’s play games, and 29% of global internet users are Mobile only gamers, 28 % are casual gamers, and 26% are e-sporters, Comet’s opportunities are highly promising. Tyroo seeks to build a multi-market offering across APAC and create a unique opportunity to boost business synergy. Assisted by considerable traffic through engaging virtual social experiences like music, technology, gaming, playing, sports, etc., Tyroo’s COMET is streaking across a bright horizon!