JOIN USIf you want to look sharp and not burn a hole in your pocket, then online shopping, from the cool confines of your home, is your answer to hassle-free and pocket-friendly shopping.
Indeed, lured by websites and smartphone apps that make it easier than ever to navigate abundant choices, more and more shoppers are going online for their basic needs. A concept that enables its users to shop through the Internet while offering a ‘store-free’ sale for the trader, this decade old trend is growing exponentially in India with a 128 per cent growth in 2012 as compared to 2011. And no one is complaining!
Factors driving the online shopping decision not only includes discounted rates, as was believed earlier, but also convenience and access to a wider range of products which are usually hard to find otherwise, and need a lot of energy saturation and exploration.
But what is more interesting is the fact that the trend has shifted focus from mainstream corporate shopping websites to small entrepreneurs, usually one-person enterprise, operating a whole online store offering unique customised products according to the specifications of the consumer. These stores do not necessarily have a web-site of their own and trade through social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and more recently Instagram.
Deepa Lalwani, the Jaipur-based owner of Crimson Couture tells Metrolife how she started her own brand out of ‘sheer passion’ and the challenges she faces to make it a success. “I am an MBA who formed this brand because of my interest in clothes,” she says. “The basic challenge to this business is hundreds of similar traders offering similar products, so one has to keep track of competitive prices to stay relevant in the market,” she added.
“We didn’t follow a typical route: no loans, no investors and no big store but we wanted our customers to be knowledgeable customers. The brand emerged as an idea of two final year postgraduation students, not designers” says Shruti Khanna, co-owner of Johnny Donut with her husband.
Not only online shopping has given a platform to small merchants selling basic stuff such as clothes, accessories, ethnic jewellery, cute knick-knacks and home decor items, but has given recognition to artists who want to sell their work. Websites such as Happily Unmarried, iTokri, The Filmy Owl, PicGravy etc. offer customised products ranging from photographed magnets, handmade accessories and clothes to trendy beer glasses, travel tags and doodle work for your walls, funky pyjamas, laptop tote bags, colourful cushions with funny messages, painted glass items, lamp shades et al
.“The Filmy Owl is my alter ego and we aim to doodle quirky smiles across the universe, all the way to infinity,” says Angel Bedi, the name behind The Filmy Owl, one of the most popular trends among the 15-25 year olds. Bedi, a NIFT graduate, is adept at doodling and has embellished her range of items like coasters and cushions with interesting doodles.
But not just fresh and customised items, online shopping has also enabled users to shop for second hand products at cheap rates or sell their old stuff. Online mar-keting has indeed opened a world that at one point seemed, if not out of reach, difficult to traverse, enabling a user to book tickets online, search and compare products such as phones and cars online and get the best deal.
Given the trends it is expected that online shopping would double by the year 2016 in the urban cities. Reportedly, 25 per cent of travel and tourism related sales adhere to digitally driven consumers in the country. Digital technology is not only influencing the urban tier I society today but also spreading its roots into the tier II and tier III cities. Today approximately 34 per cent of the total internet users are from small towns while nearly 25 per cent are from the rural areas.