Order Online and Pick in store – A starting point for Indian retailers to start e Commerce
Is the Indian consumers still not matured for e Commerce and m Commerce retailing ? Well, the debate continues as the more traditional players still have a mindset that the Indian consumer is not ready but the people in second school of thought, believes they are ready.
It is definitely true to a certain extent, that Indian customer is willing to indulge for guaranteed supply like e-tickets, movie tickets etc. But he is wary, when it comes to delivery of products, as retailers have no clear policy and guarantee mechanism regarding fulfillment.
This can be resolved, if the retailers offer consumer with option of ordering it online and picking his packed items in stores would help to overcome this initial block in the mindset and would give them the needed confidence. Already this has started working, as consumers have the choice to buy on line and pick at the store using tenders like m-coupons etc.
As a consumer, this saves me time and gives me the convenience of filling my cart without the hassles of moving around in a crowed store, at my convenient time, may be in the night when the store is not even open. It saves me the time of waiting in queue at the billing counter.
The Indian consumer is a smart consumer and is ready to adopt new channel looking for more convenience, if he is given a safe try. The option of Order Online and Pick in store has all.
Indian retailers need to change their attitude to succeed, Indian consumer is ready to take risk once and give opportunity to online retailer.
e-Commerce Industry Opposes New Indian Online Security Rules
A decision by India’s central bank to mandate another level of authentication for card use for online transactions will deter such transactions in the country, according to an association of India’s e-commerce industry. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) told banks in February that it would require that online credit and debit card transactions have an additional level of authentication using information that is not visible on the card. The new rules come into force on Aug. 1.
To make a transaction, a user is currently required to enter his name, card number, card expiry date and card verification value (CVV), the three digits printed on the signature strip on the back of the card. Banks are also required to have a system of online alerts to the card holder for online card transactions for a value of 5,000 Indian rupees (US$102) or above, the RBI said.
The addition of a new security password will add a new layer of complexity for people wanting to do business online, Mehul Gupta, associate vice president of IAMAI (Internet & Mobile Association of India) said on Wednesday. Card holders have not been informed by their banks about the requirement for another level of authentication, which will lead to fewer transactions getting completed online once the new rules come into force, Gupta said.
Customers are already finding it difficult to complete transactions, because of the poor Internet connectivity in India, and the inadequate infrastructure of payment gateways, IAMAI said in a paper. Additional authentication requirements will result in a high failure rate of transactions, and increase customer inconvenience, IAMAI added.
Online card fraud accounts for only 0.16 percent of the country’s 92 billion rupees e-commerce industry in India, according to IAMAI estimates. Most of that fraud is through cards that were not issued in India, and which are not covered under the new rules, Gupta said.
IAMAI has asked the RBI to delay implementation of its order, to give time to merchants and banks to improve their capabilities to handle the new authentication mechanism, and also to give customers sufficient time to get acquainted with it.
"Online card fraud, given its current miniscule scale, should ideally be seen as a business risk that merchants are free to take or not to take," IAMAI said. In the e-commerce environment in India, the risk arising from non-payment or fraud is borne by the merchant site and not the banks or the card companies, it added.
Article Source: www.networkworld.com
E-Commerce Industry in India
E-commerce industry has touched 9210 crore, online classifieds: 820 crores, online travel: 7000 crores (30% jump from Rs 7,080 crore in ’07) as per the survey conducted by the IAMAI and IMRB
- Online Travel Industry: growth rate of 30% to Rs 7,000 crore by end FY08 (from 5500 crores in ‘07)
- Online Classifieds: reached Rs 820 crore by end FY08
- Online retailing/auction (eTailing): Rs 1,105 crore industries by end FY08 (from Rs 850 crore in FY07.
- Digital downloads (i.e. downloading from Internet to mobiles using wap phones or web) and paid content (research/exclusive videos/articles etc) for the rest of 285 crores.
Source: IAMAI and IMRB Analysis Report
The major triggers of e-commerce in India were:
- Saves time and efforts
- Convenience of shopping at home
- Wide variety / range of products are available
- Good discounts / lower prices
- Get detailed information of the product
- You can compare various models / brands
Some of the major barriers at present were:
- Not sure of product quality
- Cannot bargain/Negotiate
- Not sure of security of transactions / Credit card misuse
- Need to touch and feel the product
- Significant discounts are not there
- Have to wait for delivery
Article Source: www.pluggd.in
About Smart e-Commerce
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