Online shopping a BIG small-town fad
E-com firms getting nearly half their business from non-metro locations
Last Friday, Srikala K R finally brought home the convection microwave oven she had been eyeing for a long time.
Her purchase was delayed since the outlets near her home in Maddur, a small town between Bangalore and Mysore, didn't stock the particular model from a Korean electronics giant.
Then, a neighbour suggested online shopping. Srikala was apprehensive, unsure about the payment options available and whether the products sold were genuine to start with. It was only when the neighbour, who had herself shopped online, told her about facilities like replacement policy and warranties that she felt safe.
"The fact that I could make the payment post receiving the product encouraged me to buy online," said Srikala, who received the oven within four days of making the registration.
Srikala's case highlights the growing trend of small town folk making their purchases online, be it of microwave ovens, blenders, grinders, pen drives, keyboards, MP3 players, tablets, cell phones or four-litre refrigerators.
Not for nothing are e-commerce firms seeing significant traffic from smaller towns such as Moga, Sangrur, Barnala (all Punjab), Erode, Kangayampalayam (both Tamil Nadu), Siliguri, Abdalipur, Durgapur (all three West Bengal), Sonitpur (Assam), Bomdila (Arunachal Pradesh), Adala and Sajiyavadar (both Gujarat).
In fact, some of these firms have started getting as much as 40-60% of their business from these locations.
"There is a surge in online shopping. Right now, we are doing four transactions every minute and about 50% of our business is from towns like Barnala, Moga, Pondicherry, etc," said Manmohan Agarwal, CEO of Bigshoebazaar India, which runs an online shopping portal, Yebhi.
On its part, e-commerce firm Naaptol claims to be doing about 200,000 transactions every month, with non-metros accounting for around 60% of the business, according to Manu Agarwal, its founder and CEO.
The firms are seeing a healthy growth of 5-10% a month and expect demand and transactions to surge almost 4-5 times going forward.
Experts attribute this interest and increase from small towns to several factors, including low access to good products in such towns.
"There are instances when particular models are not easily available in non-urban centres," said Sandeep Momaravelly, head - marketing of e-commerce firm Snapdeal, which gets 35-40% of business from small towns.
Also, some areas are not serviced by major courier companies, so consumers have no way of getting the goods delivered at their doorsteps in a few days other than through online shopping, said Agarwal of Naaptol.
On their part, the e-commerce firms have started doling out product warranties, replacement and exchange policies in a bid to enhance credibility in consumer minds.
"We have a no-questions-asked return policy applicable within 15 days of a purchase if the consumer has some major issue with the product," said Krishna Motukuri, managing director of online shopping firm Tradus. As word spreads about the variety of products available and payment and replacement options, consumers become more confident about shopping online, he said.
Agarwal of Naaptol said they also provide the equated monthly instalment option on purchases apart from the cash on delivery option.
Moreover, when it comes to apparels, if there is a problem regarding the size, buyers can call the customer service and get it exchanged, said Agarwal of Bigshoebazaar.
Experts also point out that products being shipped go through quality checks and the firms take complete responsibility for products advertised and sold through their portals.
E-com firms getting nearly half their business from non-metro locations
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Last Friday, Srikala K R finally brought home the convection microwave oven she had been eyeing for a long time.
Her purchase was delayed since the outlets near her home in Maddur, a small town between Bangalore and Mysore, didn't stock the particular model from a Korean electronics giant.
Then, a neighbour suggested online shopping. Srikala was apprehensive, unsure about the payment options available and whether the products sold were genuine to start with. It was only when the neighbour, who had herself shopped online, told her about facilities like replacement policy and warranties that she felt safe.
"The fact that I could make the payment post receiving the product encouraged me to buy online," said Srikala, who received the oven within four days of making the registration.
Srikala's case highlights the growing trend of small town folk making their purchases online, be it of microwave ovens, blenders, grinders, pen drives, keyboards, MP3 players, tablets, cell phones or four-litre refrigerators.
Not for nothing are e-commerce firms seeing significant traffic from smaller towns such as Moga, Sangrur, Barnala (all Punjab), Erode, Kangayampalayam (both Tamil Nadu), Siliguri, Abdalipur, Durgapur (all three West Bengal), Sonitpur (Assam), Bomdila (Arunachal Pradesh), Adala and Sajiyavadar (both Gujarat).
In fact, some of these firms have started getting as much as 40-60% of their business from these locations.
"There is a surge in online shopping. Right now, we are doing four transactions every minute and about 50% of our business is from towns like Barnala, Moga, Pondicherry, etc," said Manmohan Agarwal, CEO of Bigshoebazaar India, which runs an online shopping portal, Yebhi.
On its part, e-commerce firm Naaptol claims to be doing about 200,000 transactions every month, with non-metros accounting for around 60% of the business, according to Manu Agarwal, its founder and CEO.
The firms are seeing a healthy growth of 5-10% a month and expect demand and transactions to surge almost 4-5 times going forward.
Experts attribute this interest and increase from small towns to several factors, including low access to good products in such towns.
"There are instances when particular models are not easily available in non-urban centres," said Sandeep Momaravelly, head - marketing of e-commerce firm Snapdeal, which gets 35-40% of business from small towns.
Also, some areas are not serviced by major courier companies, so consumers have no way of getting the goods delivered at their doorsteps in a few days other than through online shopping, said Agarwal of Naaptol.
On their part, the e-commerce firms have started doling out product warranties, replacement and exchange policies in a bid to enhance credibility in consumer minds.
"We have a no-questions-asked return policy applicable within 15 days of a purchase if the consumer has some major issue with the product," said Krishna Motukuri, managing director of online shopping firm Tradus. As word spreads about the variety of products available and payment and replacement options, consumers become more confident about shopping online, he said.
Agarwal of Naaptol said they also provide the equated monthly instalment option on purchases apart from the cash on delivery option.
Moreover, when it comes to apparels, if there is a problem regarding the size, buyers can call the customer service and get it exchanged, said Agarwal of Bigshoebazaar.
Experts also point out that products being shipped go through quality checks and the firms take complete responsibility for products advertised and sold through their portals.
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