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How e-stores are Winning Hearts in India
It is raining discounts and offers on all shopping websites. Online shopping is an activity wherein customers use Internet to order a product or a service at any moment of time and the product is delivered at their doorsteps.
Online stores have made shopping easy with the usage of mobile devices, tablets, or laptops that aid most of the online shopping apps. You can enjoy all the products and services just by a click from the comfort of your drawing room or while you are on the go. Online shopping is winning the hearts of shopaholics all over India.
Why would Anyone Shop Online?
Online shopping provides the flexibility to check the availability of different color, size, flexible delivery timings, and the comfort of multiple payment options such as online payments and cash on delivery.
In addition, some important advantages that give an upper hand to online shopping, are easy return and convenient free home deliveries.
E-stores are indeed, concerned over covering all your needs for every special event by providing sufficient merchandise and related commodities. They are making a customer’s life easy.
A good thing about online shopping is that it has given an easy platform for customers to compare the products on different sites and make the decision to choose a product at their own convenience rather than running from one store to another.
Shopping online has saved the customer of traffic and parking woes.
Challenges Faced by Offline Retailers
What about the traditional or regular way of shopping? Have you thought about those shops or retailers?
Many factory outlets and traditional retail stores, (often, now called offline retailers) are finding it difficult to withstand the competition from online stores, who are attracting the customers with heaps of discounts.
A major challenge faced by the offline stores is that the E-stores or online retailers are offering discounts on current fresh stock.
Traditional or offline retailers blame online stores for “more enquiries and less sales” at their stores. Some of the big retailers like Megamart and Arvind are in the process of remodeling their discount plans.
Some branded stores like The Loot who gave discounted deals to the customers have completely closed their operations; chain of garment stores COUPON was sold to Future group’s BRAND FACTORY.
A few years ago, ‘factory outlets’ were introduced as retail stores for dumping the irregular products and rejected pieces by retailers and manufacturers worked as a solution for costly brand affordability of customers.
Scope of E-commerce in India
In India, labor and logistics are cheaper than western countries. Therefore, e-commerce is the fastest money making industry.
Online shopping is not limited to garments, gadgets and furniture only. It is making its mark in groceries, daily needs and vegetables as well. With the increase in demand and opportunity, big e-tailers (retailers selling products through internet) like flip-kart and snap deal are venturing out in different commodities.
The global e-tail giant Amazon has been moving fast with investment of $2 billion for India. This year it launched Kirana Now, an express delivery platform in partnership with neighborhood stores.
With a large customer base, penetration of internet connectivity (through Smart phones) in remotest areas and growing popularity of online shopping are tempting many firms to get into e-tailing.
Challenges in e-tailing
The indispensable quality of e-retailing (or e-tailing) is in its ability to trump physical boundaries and reach customers in a different manner from the traditional brick-and-mortar stores to their very doorstep. All E-retailing models use technology and logistical solutions that facilitates in reaching the customer in an easier and faster way.
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Some issues, specific to e-retailing such as problems associated with incomplete addresses, cash-on-delivery and higher than expected product return rates have made e-retailers consider setting up their own intensive logistic businesses.
For example, Flipkart has set up several regional warehouses and is constantly increasing the supplier base across the country to achieve low transportation cost. Thus, ensuring proper, timely delivery and call for strengthening the logistics infrastructure.
As on date, it’s a growing market and there is place for everyone. E-commerce is poised for an exciting period of exploding growth in the coming years, but in time, we may see a shakeout and mergers and acquisitions and more game-changing business models.
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