In just 2 years, India may be home to second biggest user base for online shopping and is well poised to surpass the United States. The pandemic caused a boom in online retail in India. And now, it has the third-largest shopper base globally. Watch this explainer to understand the boom in India's retail market.

Explained | India's growing e-retail market and online shopping user base

Microsoft has made an announcement on Friday that it will be closing down all of its stores and moving its retail online. The tech giant will not shut the doors in four locations and will be transforming them into "experience centres."

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/covid-19-fortune-tencents-pony-ma-dethrones-alibabas-jack-ma-to-become-richest-in-china-308476" hreflang="en">COVID-19 fortune: Tencent's Pony Ma dethrones Alibaba's Jack Ma to become richest in China</a>

According to the statement released by Microsoft, over 80 stores will be closed due to the coronavirus pandemic and will not reopen as the tech giant enters "a new approach to retail."

"Microsoft will continue to invest in its digital storefronts on Microsoft.com, and stores in Xbox and Windows," the statement said.

The four locations, where these stores won't shutdown are London, New York, Sydney and at the company's Redmond, Washington headquarters.

Retail team members will "serve customers from Microsoft corporate facilities and remotely providing sales, training, and support," the company said.

The company will be setting $450 million to cover the costs of closing the locations. The total numbers of employees affected due to shutting down are not available.&nbsp;

"Our sales have grown online as our product portfolio has evolved to largely digital offerings, and our talented team has proven success serving customers beyond any physical location," said Microsoft corporate vice president David Porter.

Microsoft has made an announcement on Friday that it will be closing down all of its stores and moving its retail online. The tech giant will not shut the doors in four locations and will be transforming them into "experience centres.

Microsoft has made an announcement on Friday that it will be closing down all of its stores and moving its retail online. The tech giant will not shut the doors in four locations and will be transforming them into "experience centres." Also read: COVID-19 fortune: Tencent's Pony Ma dethrones Alibaba's Jack Ma to become richest in China According to the statement released by Microsoft, over 80 stores will be closed due to the coronavirus pandemic and will not reopen as the tech giant enters "a new approach to retail." "Microsoft will continue to invest in its digital storefronts on Microsoft.com, and stores in Xbox and Windows," the statement said. The four locations, where these stores won't shutdown are London, New York, Sydney and at the company's Redmond, Washington headquarters. Retail team members will "serve customers from Microsoft corporate facilities and remotely providing sales, training, and support," the company said. The company will be setting $450 million to cover the costs of closing the locations. The total numbers of employees affected due to shutting down are not available. "Our sales have grown online as our product portfolio has evolved to largely digital offerings, and our talented team has proven success serving customers beyond any physical location," said Microsoft corporate vice president David Porter.

Microsoft to shut down all 80 stores around the world; except four locations

Amazon.com Inc`s Australian arm began taking orders on Tuesday, ending speculation about the timing of its launch in the world`s No. 12 economy and likely dashing hopes of a holiday boost for struggling brick-and-mortar rivals.

The global retailer said it would offer free shipping nationwide for purchases over A$49 ($37.26), with millions of products available from clothes to sporting goods to consumer electronics.

The move establishes the $550 billion behemoth as an aggressive presence in the sluggish Australian retail sector, just as shopkeepers were hoping for a rush of sales over the important Christmas holiday season.

Amazon`s Australia country manager, Rocco Braeuniger, said in a statement the U.S. company would &quot;earn the trust&quot; of Australian shoppers and, over time, create &quot;thousands of new jobs&quot;.

Australia has long been home to Amazon-registered sellers, but until Tuesday they were limited to sending goods offshore because the Seattle conglomerate did not have a warehouse in the country of 24 million people. This also meant Australians had to wait longer times, and pay higher fees, for shipping.

The company has now set up a massive distribution warehouse on the outskirts of Melbourne city, on the country`s east coast where four-fifths of the population live, and the company hopes to cut delivery time to as little as a day.

Under the free delivery offer, Amazon said it estimated delivery times as short as three business days in the cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra - home to half the country`s population - while shipping to remote areas could take 10 days.

Shoppers could pay a fee for faster shipping times.

Amazon did not comment on any last-minute problems from an order-taking trial which began on Nov. 23.

It said it planned to offer its rapid-shipping subscription service, Prime, in mid-2018, in a sign it is unperturbed by the geographic challenge posed by one of the world`s most sparsely populated countries. Australia is the size of the mainland United States, with one-thirteenth its population.

Australian retail shares have fallen sharply since Amazon confirmed plans for the country in April. Shares of top department store operator Myer Holdings Ltd are down 30 percent since that time.

Myer has been shutting stores and ramping up online sales, and last month it halved its three-year target for growth in sales per square metre. Its online sales leapt 68 percent in the 13 weeks to Oct. 28, but remained only a tiny fraction of its total revenue.

Shares of No. 1 electronics retailer Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd are down 7 percent since April, while smaller JB HiFi are off by 6 percent amid fears of competition from Amazon.

($1 = 1.3149 Australian dollars)

Amazon.com Inc`s Australian arm began taking orders on Tuesday, ending speculation about the timing of its launch in the world`s No. 12 economy and likely dashing hopes of a holiday boost for struggling brick-and-mortar rivals. The global retailer said it would offer free shipping nationwide for purchases over A$49 ($37.26), with millions of products available from clothes to sporting goods to consumer electronics. The move establishes the $550 billion behemoth as an aggressive presence in the sluggish Australian retail sector, just as shopkeepers were hoping for a rush of sales over the important Christmas holiday season. Amazon`s Australia country manager, Rocco Braeuniger, said in a statement the U.S. company would "earn the trust" of Australian shoppers and, over time, create "thousands of new jobs". Australia has long been home to Amazon-registered sellers, but until Tuesday they were limited to sending goods offshore because the Seattle conglomerate did not have a warehouse in the country of 24 million people. This also meant Australians had to wait longer times, and pay higher fees, for shipping. The company has now set up a massive distribution warehouse on the outskirts of Melbourne city, on the country`s east coast where four-fifths of the population live, and the company hopes to cut delivery time to as little as a day. Under the free delivery offer, Amazon said it estimated delivery times as short as three business days in the cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra - home to half the country`s population - while shipping to remote areas could take 10 days. Shoppers could pay a fee for faster shipping times. Amazon did not comment on any last-minute problems from an order-taking trial which began on Nov. 23. It said it planned to offer its rapid-shipping subscription service, Prime, in mid-2018, in a sign it is unperturbed by the geographic challenge posed by one of the world`s most sparsely populated countries. Australia is the size of the mainland United States, with one-thirteenth its population. Australian retail shares have fallen sharply since Amazon confirmed plans for the country in April. Shares of top department store operator Myer Holdings Ltd are down 30 percent since that time. Myer has been shutting stores and ramping up online sales, and last month it halved its three-year target for growth in sales per square metre. Its online sales leapt 68 percent in the 13 weeks to Oct. 28, but remained only a tiny fraction of its total revenue. Shares of No. 1 electronics retailer Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd are down 7 percent since April, while smaller JB HiFi are off by 6 percent amid fears of competition from Amazon. ($1 = 1.3149 Australian dollars)

Amazon Australia goes live in time to ruin rivals' Christmas

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