e-commerce, a concept you are familiar with. It is booming, more and more users are becoming netizens and participating in the activity of online purchase and sales. Stakeholders are many and are not limited to end buyer and end seller only. There are many others inlcuding but not limited to web users, web searchers (probable customers), people and parties involved in supply chain, webmasters, web developers and designers, customer care, the delivery boy, manufacturing company, online payment gateways and banks etc.
When discussing e-commerce in Indian scenario it seems worth to talk about who benefits and about timeline. Timeline (here in current scenario) would mean when it all started, how it carried on and how will it proceed. It is important to take timeline into consideration to know how the changes has come over the time as it would set a base for main discussion, who benefits.
Keeping it short and brief for Timeline,
- people didn’t know the internet
- they didn’t have access to internet
- they didn’t have a CC
- they didn’t have an account on money management and processing sites like PP, GC and others
- they did not find everything online
- they were afraid of a fraud
- they had to shell out some extra dimes
- delivery wouldn’t be instantaneous
- won’t be able to bargain
- no seasonal discounts online
- damaged product. what about replacement.
- Didn’t like the product, return back or exchange not available.
- Product Quality, no guarantee.
- how is the product. No Idea. No Reviews. No one to tell
and the time has changed..
- more and more people engaging with internet
- better access and speed
- online shopping cards, wallets, accounts reachability has increased
- many more products have an online presence now both used and new
- frauds happen still, but security and awareness has increased as well
- products, services are available at same or less cost also
- delivery is faster now, delivery is free as well
- bargain power is not there but discounts, deals, coupons are available
- replacement and reutrn options available
- quality assurance improved (because of seller’s monitoring and rating)
- product showcase, user reviews and ratings available
- customer care support available for product details
- compare options available
- quick transactions
the beneficiaries
- the customer
- the consumer
- the seller
the other side
If there are beneficairies, then there are guys at other side of coin too, the traditional shopkeepers (decline in brick and mortar sales, ofcourse has happened for them).
is it right?
What is right is important as well. It is about the other side guys and the beneficiaries (the first side). Though noting seems to be wrong here. The first side is just trying to establish them as web guys and they are just providing better options online in certain ways from which a user/customer benefits. They have easy to search and navigation options, 3-d product view, quick and easy compare options, low prices and more. Low prices, I just mentioned that, the center of this discussion. People buy online as some products are available at better prices than offered by guys at the other side.
how it happens?
They say that supply chain now has less number of parties involved. Manufacturer, Distributor/e-commerce seller, Buyer; this is the reason for low prices. But in other Brick and Mortar cases as well similar chain may exist but prices are higher, comparatively. It is because there are costs associated with running a store, paying rent, paying to employees whereas in e-commerce case such costs are not added to products as they don’t incur these costs.
People go to brick and mortar places, they have a look out for various items, involve employees in getting details, get required information and then (sometimes) go to online sites to purchase items because they are available at cheap prices there.
some thoughts..
Shouldn’t some such online portals stop selling out. But then, how will a user gets other benefits (other than cheap prices) of online shopping. So, such online stores should be allowed to sell (or sell at cheaper prices) only if they receive a coupon number while user is ordering. This coupon will act as a discount for the user. Why the concept of coupon and what purpose it solves? With coupon user gets the discount so that price would be cheaper (same price to what is generally available by online stores). Coupons would be available with brick and mortar stores where a user has actually enquired about the product. The brick and mortar store just gives a coupon to that user if that user does not buy the item from his store. This coupon can be redeemed on online shops/stores (by buyer) to get the discount (as mentioned above) and this brick and mortar shop will now get some commission on this (it should get the commission because he has also served the actual buyer who has purchased the product from online store after enquiring about product from brick and mortar store).