If you've missed the biggest online shopping festival of the year, don't be disappointed. The success of the 'global online shopping festival' held this week, means we are in store for more such dotcom shopping sprees. But will these attempts at boosting sales on the back of deep discounts, do the 10 billion dollar Indian ecommerce sector more harm than good? Farah Bookwala of CNBC-TV18 finds out.
The date 12/12/12 found a lot of shopaholics screaming with delight, given that more than 50 ecommerce sites were offering discounts of upto 70% on apparel, electronic gadgets and traveling during a 24-hour period. Wednesday's 'Global Online Shopping Festival' or GOSF was India's own version of Cyber Monday and Black Friday. And it was clearly a hit.
Also read: Online discounts: Real deal or illusion?
Out of 400,000 visitors to Google India, which organised the fest, more than 350,000 or 88% actually made online purchases. When compared to the 160, 000 - 180,000 transactions made across ecommerce sites each day, this is a 100% jump.
Companies such as Myntra, Jabong and Snapdeal saw a 50-120% spike in sales and a 75% increase in traffic.
This encouraging response means festivals like GOSF are surely here to stay. Global online marketplace Ebay says that post GOSF, three partners have approached them to hold similar sales.
Deepa Thomas, head - partnerships, Ebay India says, "These are campaigns that are important. These are ways to get ecommerce awareness higher and it doesn't just help consumers. It also helps brand and retailers who are important partners for us to bring the best choice to those customers."
However, not everyone is convinced. Some say these festivals lead to predatory pricing among e-commerce companies, which does not bode well for the sector's health and sustainability.
Ankur Bisen, senior vp, Technopak, "There is only that much you can do with pricing. Beyond pricing, you have to offer something that is differentiated, something that is unique, creates stickiness with the consumer. Right now, people are coming online with the mindset of cheaper goods. This is not sustainable"
Experts say ecommerce companies must expand their distribution network in tier 2-4 cities where the internet boom is fueling demand for new products. Further, better after-sales service and innovating on their offerings will build consumer loyalty.
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