This is an interesting question!
To start with, I would concur that India is all set for eCommerce as the potential is just terrific. We have had good success so far. Practically from Bride to Jobs to Insurance is now available Online. However, the mind-set of demographics above age 50 could be a challenge still, but that is changing on a daily basis for sure.
Having said that, I shall be honest that, there are very few (hand full only) eBusinesses in India which could fall into an eCommerce category in Toto.
According to my definition, the transaction could be classified into eCommerce only and only when there is no human intervention. What we are seeing in India vis-a-vis United States (as I stay here) is that, we are using Online for Branding and to generate leads. Call-Center (offline) is used to close the transactions. Even Sulekha.com is a successful portal but most of the stuff is sold on phone. Nakuri.com / Shadi.com are other successful portals in India, but can we really call it an eCommerce story?
Perhaps exception being is IRCTC / Travel Portals / Movie tickets and InsuranceMall.in . I am sure, there are others too, which I would have missed out inadvertently, but the list can’t be more than 10 genuine end-to-end eCommerce sites in India.
It is very tempting to close a sale through call center or by using feet on street, but that would never solve our challenge of selling Products Online. We have seen many funding but none has gone into a genuine eCommerce start-up in India, after the wave of Travel Portals including MMT / Yaatra / TravelGuru and Cleartrip.
To answer the question, will consumers buy Branded stuff online and I would say yes, but it depends.
If one is in position to create a Comparison Shopping and one is able to crack the value proposition then for sure, consumers will buy online, as long as the product is into Retail segment.
The challenge is to create true value proposition backed by solid technology and reliable payment gateway for consumers. If yes, then you are home. Look at what we did with Insurance, perhaps the toughest & most regulated financial services in India. We defied all pundits of eCommerce as well as Nay Sayers by launching India’s first Compare and BuyNow Insurance Portal – http://www.insurancemall.in/ . So, if we can do it, why not others ?
With Broadband penetrating Indian cities every day and computers reaching every household in urban as well as the rural areas, the sky is the limit. Today consumers want option and convenience which is the forte of Online Companies, so I am bullish about the future of eCommerce in India. If you want to bet on any company, this is the time as valuations of Start-up eBusiness companies are still far low compared to United States.
Cheers !!!
Manish K. Jaiswal
manish@bonsaiinternational.com
CEO – http://www.insurancemall.in/
Link - http://www.buynowindia.com/newsandreviews/index.php/MKJ/
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