E-commerce in India

 

Today, we travel to India, where millions of people are sitting at their computers, just waiting to buy something new. Also, we’ll go to California to hear about industrial robots and American workers.

If you have a product to sell on the Internet, look to India. “E-commerce” there has increased 400 percent in the past five years. Onka Dekker tells about spending money with the touch of a button.

India now has about 20 million people who buy things over the Internet. Many of these customers are young people who have busy lives and knowledge of technology. Most also have good jobs that pay well.

Kunar Bahl helped create a business called “Snapdeal.com.” He sells coupons¹, discount cards, and now many other products that people traditionally found only in stores. He understands the power of “online” shopping.

“What we thought we would do in sales in three months, we did in one week, in the first week.” 

Snapdeal went online three years ago. Kunar Bahl hopes his sales will hit one billions dollars by 2015.

But selling things on the Internet is not always easy.

Many companies are forced to cut prices and pay shipping² costs if they hope to compete. This means less profit for each product sold.

Together, Indians spend 500 billion dollars a year on retail³ purchases. Internet sales are responsible for only a small part of that. But sales are expected to grow 17 percent each year.

Rahul Jagtiani is pleased with the success of his company’s website, “plushplaza.com”. His family sells gifts and things for the home.  At first, he was concerned that buyers would miss being able to touch the products, but “If products are showcased well, and the photography is good, and your integrity⁴ is good, we can bridge that gap⁵. It’s been pretty good so far.”

Business research companies estimate⁶ that two thirds of India’s 1.2 billion people are under the age of 35. That population group is expected to lift Internet sales from 10 billion dollars now to 70 billion dollars by 2020.

The tide is changing. Or, at least, it may be. For many years, the United States has been losing jobs to China and other places where workers get low pay. But for now, America’s manufacturing⁷ industry is growing again.

Sunit Saxena is the chief of Altierre Digital Retail in San Jose, California. His business makes store signs that can be changed by a computer.  He recently moved his production operation back to the United States from China.

“Just like everyone else we started in China because the cost of labor⁸ was low, but then as we went further down this path, they started raising the rates on us in China.” 

Altierre emplys about 60 workers, fewer than it had in China. They are paid about 10 dollars an hour.  The workers use new robots. These electronic devices⁹ have helped to double the amount of products his company makes. Altierre plans to increase this automatic¹¹ process, but not in an effort to cut jobs. Instead, it hopes to employ more people with greater skills. Earthbound Farm of California is one of the largest producers of organic¹², or naturally grown, foods in the United States. It now uses robots to pack its products. Each of the machines can do the work of four people. But company Vice¹⁰ President Will Daniels says no one has lost his job.

“Instead of replacing those workers, we are actually providing them with a higher skill set. Those folks who were working on the line packing that product, where our robots are, for example, are now actually operating the machines.” 

Most of the time, robots are used to do the same kind of work again and again. But some companies are working to build machines that can recognize and choose between objects of different sizes and shapes. These robots might be used to load trucks or ships.

Is that a good thing, or a bad sign for American workers? A number of manufacturing officials think that more people, with greater skills and knowledge, will still be needed in the future.

And that’s all the time we have for this “As It Is”program. Please remember to write to us and let us know what you think of the show, and what you would like us to talk about in the future. And join us at the beginning of the hour Universal Time for the latest world news.

1 coupons   

n.礼券( coupon的名词复数 )；优惠券；订货单；参赛表

参考例句：

• The company gives away free coupons for drinks or other items. 公司为饮料或其它项目发放免费赠券。 来自辞典例句
• Do you have any coupons? 你们有优惠卡吗？ 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语

2 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

3 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

4 integrity   

n.正直，诚实，诚恳，完整，完全，完善

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• He is a man of the highest integrity.他是个极其正直的人。

5 gap   

n.缺口；间隔；差距；不足，缺陷

参考例句：

• We must see that there is no gap in our defence.我们必须确保我们的防御没有漏洞。
• There is a gap of five miles between towns.镇与镇之间相隔五英里。

6 estimate   

n.估计，估量；评价，看法；vt.估计，估量

参考例句：

• We estimate the cost to be five thousand dollars.我们估计费用为5000美元。
• The lowest estimate would put the worth of the jewel at ＄200.按最低的评估这块宝石也值200美元。

7 manufacturing   

n.制造业，工业adj.制造业的，制造的v.（大规模）制造( manufacture的现在分词 )；捏造；加工；粗制滥造（文学作品）

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Manufacturing processes may be affected by the functionality of the product. 生产过程可能要受到产品设计目的的影响。

8 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

9 devices   

n.设备；装置( device的名词复数 )；花招；（为实现某种目的的）计划；手段

参考例句：

• electrical labour-saving devices around the home 节省劳力的各种家用电器
• modern labour-saving devices such as washing machines and dishwashers 诸如洗衣机和洗碗机之类的现代化省力设备

10 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

11 automatic   

adj.自动的；不经思考的，习惯性的；当然的

参考例句：

• Breathing is an automatic function of the body.呼吸是身体的一种无意识的功能。
• Modern trains have automatic doors.现代火车装有自动门。

12 organic   

adj.有机的，有机物的；有组织的

参考例句：

• Organic farming is expanding everywhere.有机农业正在各地迅速发展起来。
• The organic fertilizer shall keep the soil in good heart.这有机肥一定会使土壤保持肥沃。