Bain & Co. and Flipkart report: India’s e-commerce userbase is expected to grow 25%-30% annually for the next five years and pass the US’ number in two years (Pranav Balakrishnan/The Economic Times)

Financial Times:
Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy says the company will cut back on dealmaking and hiring as losses mount, amid fierce competition from Amazon and Reliance  —  CEO Krishnamurthy insists country’s ecommerce sector remains ‘vibrant’  —  Flipkart’s chief executive says the Walmart-owned ecommerce group …

Olivia Poh / Bloomberg:
Google, Temasek, and Bain report: Southeast Asia online spending will rise ~20% in 2022 to $200B, down from 38% in 2021, as digital adoption growth normalizes  —  Growth in Southeast Asia’s internet economy is slowing after years of expansion, showing that even emerging digital markets aren’t immune to economic headwinds.

Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft says Xbox Game Pass is profitable and accounts for ~15% of Xbox content and services revenue, after revealing PC Game Pass subscriptions rose 159% YoY  —  Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has revealed that the company’s Xbox Game Pass subscription service is already profitable.

Shen Lu / Wall Street Journal:
As Chinese consumers become thrifty amid an economic slowdown, Insider Intelligence forecasts just 9.1% increase in e-commerce sales in 2022, lowest since 2008  —  Consumers cut back on apparel, cosmetics, while spending more on food, wellness and pet care  —  China Wrestles With Protests, Discontent Amid a Slowing Economy

Pranav Dixit / BuzzFeed News:
Some laid-off tech workers on H-1B visas from Meta, Shopify, Twitter, and other tech companies say they didn’t get adequate immigration support from companies  —  Some former tech employees on work visas in the US are experiencing an existential crisis: “Is it worth staying here for a job and country that doesn’t care about you?”

The Economic Times:
A survey of ~4,000 Indian gig workers on Swiggy, Zomato, Uber, Amazon, and others: 42% say their income is flat, 47% have no insurance, and 51% can’t save money  —  Gig workers in India are young, financially stressed, and largely uninsured, according to a new report.