Japanese e-tailer Rakuten defers India entry citing uncertainty

Japenese e-tailer, Rakuten, may have put on hold its plans to launch operations in India. Massive layoffs in Snapdeal and the shutdown of homestay aggregator Stayzilla are likely reasons for the delay, according to a report in the Financial Express. Rakuten has also held back due to a possible entry of Chinese online shopping major Alibaba. It had earlier planned to foray into India by the end of 2016.Rakuten is still unsure whether it wants to venture into the country due to concerns about the slowdown in growth in India's e-commerce market. According to to RedSeer Consulting, the Indian e-commerce industry grew by a meagre 12 percent in 2016 compared to 180 percent in 2015.For the industry to touch the USD 80 billion mark by 2020, it will have to clock a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 45 percent.The company has been planning to enter the country as a regular B2C online shopping website. It is also considering entering with a cash back set up.The Japanese e-commerce player had opened the Rakuten India Development and Operations Centre (RIDOC) in Bengaluru in 2014. The company had then appointed the founder of Indian e-tailer Infibeam, Sachin Dalal as the head of India operations.