India’s second largest business newspaper, Mint, interviewed Jay Lee, senior vice president and managing director of eBay for the Asia Pacific region about the imminent revolution in computing and communications in India.
Mobile computing (led by tablets costing less than $100 and smartphones that are less than $30) will transform Indian society and the marketplace, Jay predicted, as it has in the U.S. Jay also discussed trends in cross-border trade and the buying power of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) market.
Notable quotes from the interview:
“It is no longer a theory or an idea—Moore’s Law (an observation by Intel Corp. co-founder Gordon Moore that computing power doubles every 18 months) is coming to effect in India. We will have hundreds of millions of mobile users in India.”
“While you waited five years for a major trend to come over from U.S.-Silicon Valley to India, the wait is a mere six months now.”
“When you are shopping on your mobile device, you can search, for example, for an iPad and a map will appear with all the places near you selling iPads, and you can get the price points and the reviews—all this while you simultaneously get the prices on eBay.”
“With the advent of new technology, we will see group shopping where my friends can virtually join me in shopping. Technology can allow me to superimpose clothing and friends can comment through Facebook…. It is already happening in pockets; we are experimenting with technology to superimpose shoes, sunglasses, etc.”
“If our experience elsewhere is an indication, we will bring on eBay all the things that users could never imagine buying online. I know many people don’t think of buying perishable fish on an auction site, but they will be able to do so in the near future.”
“Whereas before we saw the developing countries’ sellers make money selling in the developed markets—that is still happening and is primary part of our business—it was surprising to discover that small and medium-size businesses in emerging markets, too, are increasingly buying more goods from developed markets.”