Specialised online stores hottest e-commerce start-ups: Survey

The study was conducted jointly by leading infotech magazine Dataquest, online research company JuxtConsult and business solution provider firm SapientNitro. The 20 companies selected for the survey included 20north.com, 99labels.com, Bindaasbargain.com, Buytheprice.com, Caratlane.com, Dealsandyou.com, Fashionandyou.com, Flipkart.com, Indiangiftsportal.com, Infibeam.com, Inkfruit.com and Magazinemall.in.

The selection depended on three broad parameters -- business model, user experience and traction.The report did not rank the companies.

According to the report, the business model of these companies is far more robust than the companies set up in the first phase of e-commerce ten years ago. Many of these sites have adapted models better suited to Indian needs.

The companies have emphasised on factors such as payment on delivery, creating your own designs for T-shirts and other services.The online stores also paid attention to enhancing user experience by incorporating features like returning products that do not meet expectations and working with multiple logistics partners to reach to different parts of the country.

"While we are seeing Indian e-commerce start-ups replicate the same models that have been successful in developed markets like the United States, they have adapted the models to suit Indian needs," Dataquest editor Shyamanuja Das said.

In order to ensure that the report has names of Indian e-commerce start-ups, Dataquest excluded categories like brand-owned sites, non-Indian companies selling in India like eBay and Tradus and media sites whose primary revenue is not e-commerce, like Indiatimes shopping.

The report considered only those companies which started on or after Jan 1, 2007.