An Introduction to E-Commerce Market in India

by Anirudh Chari

E-Commerce Market has evolved from a here-also to a dedicated platform to showcase, promote and sell products over the internet to an audience not limited by geography or store location
Broadband penetration witnesses sudden growth in most markets globally 3G networks by Mobile operators made operational

USPS Launches estamps

Backbone of e-commerce formed Google Launched its beta version

Amazon posts first ever profits Facebook launched for college students

Indian companies start to experiment, new entrepreneurs start online businesses Even traditional players such as utsav sarees, Chirag Din, etc. find success in ecommerce

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Netscape Launched SSL Encryption enabled Online Shopping

One of the first large companies to reach $1 mn in online sales

Ebay acquires PayPal for $1.5 mn

Acquires Youtube iTunes becomes the largest digital music retailer

New business models start emerging globally such as Groupon, etsy, Kaboodle, etc. largely oriented to facilitate online shopping Mobile commerce witnesses a spurt backed by growing number of MIDs

The roots for social ecommerce were laid

All views and opinions in this document are personal and / or have been gathered based on extensive research in the sector and personal interest. All data points have been collected through secondary research, informal industry contacts and I have not undertaken any additional work to establish the reliability of the sources or to evidence independence of the relevant source. Furthermore, collection of data for market assessment has been limited to such information as can be collected from resources on the published public domain and meetings with market participants. Wherever sufficient information was not avai lable in the public domain, suitable assumptions were made to extrapolate values for the same. Hence, would request any user reproducing the information to contact me before using the same,

The e-commerce market in India is currently in its nascent stage and is expected to grow at about 35% CAGR over the next 3-4 years
The e-commerce market in India is estimated to be valued at over INR 30,000 Crores and is forecasted to grow at around 35% CAGR over the next 3-4 years
The usage pattern, however, has remained quite uniform and skewed over the years with services continuing to dominate the overall market while others still lag behind. Online travel contributes to close to 80% of the total market Financial services market, such as online insurance payments and transactions through trading accounts, grew at an estimated 25% during the one-year period ending December, 2010 Comprising 8% of the e-commerce market, this sector is expected to grow by 34% by 2012
E-Commerce Market in India (in INR Crores)
50,000 40,000 31,598 19,688 20,000 10,000 0 CY 2007 Travel CY 2008 Non travel CY 2009 CY 2010 CY 2011 8,146 14,030

46,520

30,000

Total E-Commerce Industry

Source: IAMAI report on the E-commerce Market in India

Components of the E-Commerce Market in India

Other Online Services, 6%
Financial Services, 8% Digital Downloads, 2% e-tailng, 8%

Online retailing contributes to about 8% of the total market. It comprises of buying consumer items such as cameras, computers, home & kitchen appliances, flowers and toys, gifts online This category has grown from about INR 980 crores in year 2007 to over INR 1,500 in year 2009; and is currently valued at about INR 2,200 crores.

Online Travel, 76%

Source: IAMAI report on the E-commerce Market in India

All views and opinions in this document are personal and / or have been gathered based on extensive research in the sector and personal interest. All data points have been collected through secondary research, informal industry contacts and I have not undertaken any additional work to establish the reliability of the sources or to evidence independence of the relevant source. Furthermore, collection of data for market assessment has been limited to such information as can be collected from resources on the published public domain and meetings with market participants. Wherever sufficient information was not avai lable in the public domain, suitable assumptions were made to extrapolate values for the same. Hence, would request any user reproducing the information to contact me before using the same,

Backed by a advances in technology, i.e. internet penetration, security, evolving user experience management and cost competitiveness, the e-commerce market is only expected to grow
Critical mass of Internet users 100 million Internet users Mobile Internet is a big growth driver mobile installed base 6x to 8x bigger than PC installed base

Rising middle class with disposable income consumers that are spread across the country are computer literate and also have access to devices from where they can access the internet. Middle class is increasingly turning to e-commerce as the primary outlet for sophisticated consumer products and services
Payment gateways & logistics new breed of domestic logistics companies recognize the importance of reliable delivery and technology investment, and a number of new payment gateway companies such as CC Avenue have sprung up to service the growing e-commerce ecosystem. Alternative payment methods such as net-banking and cash on delivery are now mandatory offerings for leading e-commerce platforms

User Experience Customers prefer a trusted relationship with an e-commerce brand, and the conveniences and reliability of e-commerce businesses have to outweigh the benefits of traditional retail outlets

All views and opinions in this document are personal and / or have been gathered based on extensive research in the sector and personal interest. All data points have been collected through secondary research, informal industry contacts and I have not undertaken any additional work to establish the reliability of the sources or to evidence independence of the relevant source. Furthermore, collection of data for market assessment has been limited to such information as can be collected from resources on the published public domain and meetings with market participants. Wherever sufficient information was not avai lable in the public domain, suitable assumptions were made to extrapolate values for the same. Hence, would request any user reproducing the information to contact me before using the same,

Business models in the space have evolved across the spectrum, engulfing personalized time-share on every device
Business Models
Traditional E-Commerce E-Retailers Brands E-Retailers Stores 3rd Party Seller Platforms Emerging E-Commerce

Private Sales

Daily Deal Stores

Mobile Commerce

Push Deals

Penny Auctions

Service Providers

Infrastructure

Marketing Companies

Execution / Integration

Processing / Order Fulfillment

All views and opinions in this document are personal and / or have been gathered based on extensive research in the sector and personal interest. All data points have been collected through secondary research, informal industry contacts and I have not undertaken any additional work to establish the reliability of the sources or to evidence independence of the relevant source. Furthermore, collection of data for market assessment has been limited to such information as can be collected from resources on the published public domain and meetings with market participants. Wherever sufficient information was not avai lable in the public domain, suitable assumptions were made to extrapolate values for the same. Hence, would request any user reproducing the information to contact me before using the same,

with convergence as the theme today

E-Commerce models are converging as different marketplaces and disruptive business models are springing up and growing fast

amazons investment in living social

Groupon rejected offer by Google GSI Commerce acquisition of Ruelala

E-Commerce is no longer only an alternative distribution channel, but a way for brands and merchants to reach out to customers in a targeted manner
Convergence of e-commerce, distribution and services with full-service/marketing E-Commerce is converging with content and social to create strong audience relationships and enable sophisticated audience segmentation and targeting Higher content engagement, greater content stickiness Higher consumer yield and consumer lifetime value

Greater audience reach and segmentation through social mechanisms

All views and opinions in this document are personal and / or have been gathered based on extensive research in the sector and personal interest. All data points have been collected through secondary research, informal industry contacts and I have not undertaken any additional work to establish the reliability of the sources or to evidence independence of the relevant source. Furthermore, collection of data for market assessment has been limited to such information as can be collected from resources on the published public domain and meetings with market participants. Wherever sufficient information was not avai lable in the public domain, suitable assumptions were made to extrapolate values for the same. Hence, would request any user reproducing the information to contact me before using the same,

Friend Centric Social Shopping is fast evolving as a the next big wave, especially backed by the increasing socially connected user bases on social networking sites
They offer deep discounts up to 90% off local products, services and events. The sites are able to offer massive discounts because they rely on group buying offering local businesses a slew of new customers who all purchase the deal in bulk E.g.:Groupon, Snapdeal, etc. People tend to trust peer reviews over corporate advertising. These types of shopping sites usually have a list of products that are rated and reviewed by members of the site This is nothing new think Amazon but with the latest social shopping craze, these recommendation sites have really stepped it up: many offer discounts for reviewing a product or points for recommending a purchase to friends and family. Users log on to a site and either connect with their friends via Facebook or another social network, or invite their friends and family via email. They can then shop online at the same time, discussing products and getting each others opinion on services. E.g.: Wet Seal, DoTogether Amid a relatively new form of commerce comes an even newer way to leverage social technology for consumers: geo-location-based social shopping. Using a geo-location service like Foursquare or Facebook Places, this type of social shopping happens in brick-and-mortar stores. Upon entering, you are usually given some points or are directed to in-store deals from within the geo-location app on your smartphone. Users can also look up product information and interact with other shoppers, all via their smartphones. The points earned can be redeemed for gift certificates at that stores E.g.: Shopkick, myShopanion Users are rewarded based on their purchases and on visiting stores (virtual or brick & mortar) which can hence be redeemed for later buys. These are similar to credit card programs and more the users spend the faster they can accumulate the credits Another major trend in the social shopping experience is combining consumerism with charity. There are several websites and apps that allow users to somehow donate to charity when they shop. This donation is usually either added on as a percentage of the sale, or, more commonly, costs the consumer nothing and instead is given by a sponsor or corporate partner of the social shopping service
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Group Buying / Daily Deal

Reviews and Recommendations

Real-Time Online Shopping

Geo Location Based

Rewards Based Social Shopping

Charity-Based Shopping

All views and opinions in this document are personal and / or have been gathered based on extensive research in the sector and personal interest. All data points have been collected through secondary research, informal industry contacts and I have not undertaken any additional work to establish the reliability of the sources or to evidence independence of the relevant source. Furthermore, collection of data for market assessment has been limited to such information as can be collected from resources on the published public domain and meetings with market participants. Wherever sufficient information was not avai lable in the public domain, suitable assumptions were made to extrapolate values for the same. Hence, would request any user reproducing the information to contact me before using the same,

Hence, it is imperative for an E-Commerce company to develop the right set of capabilities to capture the vast opportunities in the space, including but not limited to managing a users experiences
Moving online store visitors up the relationship ladder provides significant opportunities for growth: Loyal customers have almost double visit to carts Loyal customers have almost triple conversion rate Loyal customers have 10% higher cart value

Towards mature decisions Loyal Decision Quality

Purchase Aware

Interested

Unaware

Maturity of Decision
Free Fall Stage Decisions are not consciously made Actions do not have consistancy Daily happenings direct business Key factor for success is luck Guess Work Stage Decisions are based on opinions Actions have limited consistancy Personal motivations direct business Key factor for success is experience Impromptu Stage Some decisions are based on facts Some Actions consistancy Facts direct some parts of business Key factor for success is focus Imformed Stage Decisions are based on absolute facts Actions have consistancy Facts direct business Key factor for success is accuracy

All views and opinions in this document are personal and / or have been gathered based on extensive research in the sector and personal interest. All data points have been collected through secondary research, informal industry contacts and I have not undertaken any additional work to establish the reliability of the sources or to evidence independence of the relevant source. Furthermore, collection of data for market assessment has been limited to such information as can be collected from resources on the published public domain and meetings with market participants. Wherever sufficient information was not avai lable in the public domain, suitable assumptions were made to extrapolate values for the same. Hence, would request any user reproducing the information to contact me before using the same,

and effectively using the data collected is imperative to business success

Focus Area Objective
Attract different types of visitors to site using alternative channels and approaches, providing differentiating value add

Sample KPIs
# of Visits per Month Unique Visitor Count per Month Advertising Cost per Visitor % of Visitors Bookmarked Site Page Rank of Homepage

Guidelines
Use search engine optimization using traffic Insights Utilize variety of acquisition Channels Customize acquisition approach by prospect Segment Provide additional reasons for visiting site Call to action for subscription on landing Page Make subscription fast and Convenient Provide immediate value add for Subscription Promote competitive value Propositions Use effective and alternative categories for items Pro-actively recommend Items Provide ability to search with alternate means Provide creative and instructive item views

Visits to the platform

Subscription of visitors

Subscriber / Visitor Ratio Motivate subscription at first Total Unique Subscriber Count sight, providing additional value Number of Subscriptions per Month add and good first impression % of Subscribers with Full Data Duration From Visit to Subscription Make items of interest easily accessible and pro-actively communicate relevant information on merchandise

Creating interest in items

# of Items Viewed per Visit # of Items Viewed per Subscriber % of Subscribers Viewing Items # of Categories Viewed per Subs. % of Items Not Viewed for Long Time % of Item Adds Abandoned % of Item Adds Removed % of Cart Value Proceeded to Checkout Average Item Time in Cart Average Time to Checkout
% of Check-outs Abandoned % of Potential Value Abandoned % of Abandoned Carts Purchased Later % of Abandonment to Competitor Site % of Subscribers with Abandoned Carts

Creating customer loyalty

Avoid abandonment of added items providing convenient transition to checkout and following up

Provide one click check-Out Make single item purchase faster Cross-sell before check-out Make added items accessible even if abandoned Site Provide convenience and speed in Checkout Remind and follow up abandoned Cart Motivate abandoned cart purchase with benefits Make cart available in next visit if abandoned

Ensure completion of check-out Reduce Cart with convenient processes and Abandonment cart follow-up

All views and opinions in this document are personal and / or have been gathered based on extensive research in the sector and personal interest. All data points have been collected through secondary research, informal industry contacts and I have not undertaken any additional work to establish the reliability of the sources or to evidence independence of the relevant source. Furthermore, collection of data for market assessment has been limited to such information as can be collected from resources on the published public domain and meetings with market participants. Wherever sufficient information was not avai lable in the public domain, suitable assumptions were made to extrapolate values for the same. Hence, would request any user reproducing the information to contact me before using the same,

and thereby, increasing sales, time spent and valuation of the platform
Focus Area
Streamline Payment processes

Objective

Sample KPIs
% of Payments Bounced % of Potential Value Bounced % of Bounced Payments Abandoned Payment Attempts per Purchase Number of Fraudulent Cases Identified

Guidelines
Provide alternative payment modes Ensure and promote payment Security Keep customers informed about payment Process Follow-up and recover failed Payments

Process payment securely and using alternative means

Promote revisit and repurchase

% of Subscribers with 2 Purchases Identify and motivate non % of Subscribers with >2 Purchases returning customers % of Subscribers with >1 Visit providing additional % of High Value Loyalists information and value add % of Subscribers with Returned Goods Identify and promote the social aspects of the ecommerce platform to increase sales and valuation Promote businesses as well as business for the members on the platform % of subscribers liking products % of subscribers recommending products % subscribers commenting on products % subscribers visiting other platforms from ours for comparison

Regularly provide new content and Offerings Pro-actively take actions for dormant Visitors Provide value add for repeat Business Recommend for cross and up-sales

Promote social aspects on the platform

Increase interactivity buyer seller, seller-seller and buyerbuyer

Develop a rating scale for products Enable users to share the products either on the same platform or other platforms Motivate users to become prosumers by providing additional value to them brand ambassador programs Provide sellers with information on consumers for targeted marketing Provide interaction session off-line to promote interactivity between buyers and sellers

% comments and replies on products % sellers responding to user queries # of comments on blogs and responses

Hence, E-Commerce performance management, through effective strategies and tactics across customer lifecycle is imperative
All views and opinions in this document are personal and / or have been gathered based on extensive research in the sector and personal interest. All data points have been collected through secondary research, informal industry contacts and I have not undertaken any additional work to establish the reliability of the sources or to evidence independence of the relevant source. Furthermore, collection of data for market assessment has been limited to such information as can be collected from resources on the published public domain and meetings with market participants. Wherever sufficient information was not avai lable in the public domain, suitable assumptions were made to extrapolate values for the same. Hence, would request any user reproducing the information to contact me before using the same,

The key success factors

The key success factors for a start-up ecommerce platform

`
Procurement and deciding on what to sell

How and when a product is delivered

User Interface Design

Key Success Factors

Product Recommend ation

Conversion Rate

Personalizati on and Product Recommend ation

All views and opinions in this document are personal and / or have been gathered based on extensive research in the sector and personal interest. All data points have been collected through secondary research, informal industry contacts and I have not undertaken any additional work to establish the reliability of the sources or to evidence independence of the relevant source. Furthermore, collection of data for market assessment has been limited to such information as can be collected from resources on the published public domain and meetings with market participants. Wherever sufficient information was not avai lable in the public domain, suitable assumptions were made to extrapolate values for the same. Hence, would request any user reproducing the information to contact me before using the same,

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A viewpoint on What to Sell Deciding on product categories that is amenable to be moved to the online space and thereby developing a niche for the e-commerce platform decides its success

While targeting a large user-base is important, developing a niche product portfolio is essential to developing a brand image. A new start-up can focus on one or a mix of the following to develop their own brand image in the market

Options

What it means to the e-commerce platform

Developing relations with large brands offering them scale and in turn seeking discounts that can be passed on to the consumers Constantly negotiating with the product / brand owner for better deals against larger volumes Constantly finding new brands to be showcased on the platform Maintaining product delivery time agreed with the customer as well as the product originator/aggregator Sourcing a niche portfolio of products from other geography/ market such that it is cost effective for the Dealing with regulatory nuances in the local market for the product

Luxury products at a unbelievable discounts

Niche products not available in users Maintaining product delivery time agreed with the customer as well as the product originator/aggregator the geography/market Making day-to-day products available convenience and price Linked to a larger cause
This can entail developing a large distribution network for delivering day-to-day products to the customers at given times Sourcing the products on time each time Negotiating based on volumes, product portfolio and exclusivity in the region of presence
Sourcing products that are linked to a larger cult or cause or aspiration in the domestic market All large retailers and aggregators can avail of this opportunity through tie-ups with regional logistics vendors to have an online presence as well as a means of value added service to the customers Products unavailable in the store can be added to wish-lists and sent to the customers to offer additional value and maintain loyalty

Large offline scale being exploited online

All views and opinions in this document are personal and / or have been gathered based on extensive research in the sector and personal interest. All data points have been collected through secondary research, informal industry contacts and I have not undertaken any additional work to establish the reliability of the sources or to evidence independence of the relevant source. Furthermore, collection of data for market assessment has been limited to such information as can be collected from resources on the published public domain and meetings with market participants. Wherever sufficient information was not avai lable in the public domain, suitable assumptions were made to extrapolate values for the same. Hence, would request any user reproducing the information to contact me before using the same,

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A viewpoint on User Interface Design entrepreneurs often get influenced by the complexities of their business and begin designing the experience for exceptions that only apply to 5-10% of visitor

While user experience is critical to success on all types of websites, it is especially critical for ecommerce websites given that visitors purchase decisions are linked to the aesthetics to the website. A poor user experience will result in loss in sales
Below are some examples of what I consider are aesthetically designed user interfaces Other examples of well designed e-commerce websites include

1. DesignCode
2. Shoe Guru 3. J.Crew 4. Nestliving
Abercrombie & Fitch Crate & Barrel TOOBYDOO

5. Naked & Angry 6. Hard Graft

7. Hard Graft
8. Crate and Barrels 9. Armani Exchange 10. .
Apple Ann Taylor Russell & MacKenna

All views and opinions in this document are personal and / or have been gathered based on extensive research in the sector and personal interest. All data points have been collected through secondary research, informal industry contacts and I have not undertaken any additional work to establish the reliability of the sources or to evidence independence of the relevant source. Furthermore, collection of data for market assessment has been limited to such information as can be collected from resources on the published public domain and meetings with market participants. Wherever sufficient information was not avai lable in the public domain, suitable assumptions were made to extrapolate values for the same. Hence, would request any user reproducing the information to contact me before using the same,

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in other words, a shop should give an average user the feel special, pampered and motivated to buy, alongside subconsciously inducing trust

Identified below are some of the specific factors that are generally present on well-designed e-commerce websites
Design Aspect Why its important?
E-commerce sites often face considerable challenges with navigation because of the number of products that are presented on the site Large sites, such as those of department stores, have to be especially careful with navigation, because finding what the user wants will usually become increasingly difficult with more options One factor to consider is how the average visitor will attempt to find a particular product Sufficient user testing is extremely helpful for identifying potential navigational issues

Navigation Design for the dumbest and learned will appreciate!

A design that is extravagant for no legitimate reason will do more harm than good, it will draw attention to the design of the site Product should and away from the products overpower Design

The focus of design should be on the product rather than on making the website a piece of art

Focus on Checkout

If the checkout process involves too many steps or is confusing, shoppers will wind up abandoning their cart with items left unpurchased Ideally, check-out should involve a minimal amount of steps and should be as easy as possible for shoppers Processing time is another aspect that should be taken care When designing an e-commerce site its important to consider the style of the products that will be available on the site If the design style does not match well with the particular products that are for sale, there will be a disconnect that exists and visitors may have a hard time relating to products and determining if it is right for them. Showcase the popular products rather than forcing products on to the shoppers A number of sites are using a large area on the homepage that they can use to promote current sales, new product lines, or whatever will generate interest On theses sites, this area will often be updated frequently, or it may include some type of slideshow.

Design to match the product Showcase what is relevant

Promote related products Photos who wants to see unclear photos?

Promoting the right products that buyers are likely to be interested in is key regardless of the approach that is used Selling online is different than selling in a physical store because the buyer cannot touch the product or see it in person before making a buying decision Providing quality photos that accurately portray the product can help to overcome this challenge and can make the buying decision easier on visitors
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All views and opinions in this document are personal and / or have been gathered based on extensive research in the sector and personal interest. All data points have been collected through secondary research, informal industry contacts and I have not undertaken any additional work to establish the reliability of the sources or to evidence independence of the relevant source. Furthermore, collection of data for market assessment has been limited to such information as can be collected from resources on the published public domain and meetings with market participants. Wherever sufficient information was not avai lable in the public domain, suitable assumptions were made to extrapolate values for the same. Hence, would request any user reproducing the information to contact me before using the same,

3
1

A viewpoint on Increasing Conversion Rate traffic is not the best metric to judge an ecommerce platform, instead, conversion rate is the metric new entrepreneurs should worry about

In the virtual world - online conversions can come in many forms. If youre selling a product online conversion happens when a visitor makes a purchase and becomes an active customer, and if youre offering a service your conversion might be getting visitors to phone-in
Unless the USPs are copied across the site, a they might never be seen so make sure your USPs are visible across the site

2 Flaunt your USP Be open to criticism

Agility to price variations

Constantly look at additional communication channels such as online chat, Voice Over IP providers such as Skype and online feedback forms to ensure you cater for enough visitors as open communication can help increase your credibility

4 Mirror Your Offers on all channels

5 Widen Product Portfolio

6 Widen Portfolio of offers

80% of customers research before committing to buy hence while comparing and adjusting your prices, look at the overall price to the customer also taking into account any shipping fees and taxes
Employ multi-channel coherent marketing to promote your products and services Always be on the lookout for new opportunities and closely follow customer trends and taste Analyze, Analyze and Analyze

To become an appealing proposition, consider catering to as many customer groups as possible by diversifying your product offers

All views and opinions in this document are personal and / or have been gathered based on extensive research in the sector and personal interest. All data points have been collected through secondary research, informal industry contacts and I have not undertaken any additional work to establish the reliability of the sources or to evidence independence of the relevant source. Furthermore, collection of data for market assessment has been limited to such information as can be collected from resources on the published public domain and meetings with market participants. Wherever sufficient information was not avai lable in the public domain, suitable assumptions were made to extrapolate values for the same. Hence, would request any user reproducing the information to contact me before using the same,

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A viewpoint on Personalization and Product Recommendation Move away from a product centric model to a customer centric model

Converse with your customer

to understand their needs

their aspirations

and trust on the backend numbers

to reward them

but dont force your thoughts onto your customers, let them choose what they want

All views and opinions in this document are personal and / or have been gathered based on extensive research in the sector and personal interest. All data points have been collected through secondary research, informal industry contacts and I have not undertaken any additional work to establish the reliability of the sources or to evidence independence of the relevant source. Furthermore, collection of data for market assessment has been limited to such information as can be collected from resources on the published public domain and meetings with market participants. Wherever sufficient information was not avai lable in the public domain, suitable assumptions were made to extrapolate values for the same. Hence, would request any user reproducing the information to contact me before using the same,

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A viewpoint on Product Recommendation give the users the power to identify, recommend and vote
Capturing and utilizing the wisdom of the masses to pro-actively cater to their needs.

aggregate wisdom
Design Aspect Top Rated Products Why its important?

Visitors are recommended products based upon the ratings received from other customers. The products that receive highest aggregated ratings in any given category or sub category start appearing as recommendations for visitors when they visit those categories or subcategories Some e-tailers have actually started adding more predictive attributes in the ratings, to help other individuals make better decisions. A highly advanced algorithm does statistical match across different product combinations and the recommendations are made purely based upon the affinities across various products The good thing about collaborative filtering is that it minimizes the level of manual involvement from category managers and automatically finds patterns of product combinations based upon aggregate purchase behavior This is what powers People who purchased this product also purchased. type of recommendations at Amazon Although these type of recommendations require a relatively high implementation cost, they minimize the need for setting up manual business rules and can run on a Auto pilot mode to some extent Though the biggest downside with collaborative filtering recommendations is that they tend to produce Averaging effects which causes the overall most popular items to be recommended more often which means that they will be consumed and rated more frequently as a result Although it is good to see statistically relevant recommendations based upon a democratic way of collecting insights, humans by nature would take recommendations more seriously if they are coming either from experts in the category or from other individuals who have similar tastes For example, a serious audiophile visiting bestbuy.com may not be interested in the best selling home theater systems on the site The true power of online recommendations is where customers are able to get advice and recommendations from others like them who they can trust more than the average crowd

Collaborative filtering

Experts voice Humans need a human touch

All views and opinions in this document are personal and / or have been gathered based on extensive research in the sector and personal interest. All data points have been collected through secondary research, informal industry contacts and I have not undertaken any additional work to establish the reliability of the sources or to evidence independence of the relevant source. Furthermore, collection of data for market assessment has been limited to such information as can be collected from resources on the published public domain and meetings with market participants. Wherever sufficient information was not avai lable in the public domain, suitable assumptions were made to extrapolate values for the same. Hence, would request any user reproducing the information to contact me before using the same,

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A viewpoint on Securing the Payment Channel Assurance and trust are key to repeat purchases

All online retailers are concerned about minimizing charge-backs and payment fraud. This is one of those costs that can be minimized if appropriate and proactive steps are taken
Unless the USPs are copied across the site, a they might never be seen so make sure your USPs are visible across the site

An e-commerce platform faces the following security threats

3 Securing connections with your users Securing the payment channel

Constantly look at additional communication channels such as online chat, Voice Over IP providers such as Skype and online feedback forms to ensure you cater for enough visitors as open communication can help increase your credibility

Securing your own servers

80% of customers research before committing to buy hence while comparing and adjusting your prices, look at the overall price to the customer also taking into account any shipping fees and taxes
Employ multi-channel coherent marketing to promote your products and services Always be on the lookout for new opportunities and closely follow customer trends and taste Analyze, Analyze and Analyze

To become an appealing proposition, consider catering to as many customer groups as possible by diversifying your product offers

All views and opinions in this document are personal and / or have been gathered based on extensive research in the sector and personal interest. All data points have been collected through secondary research, informal industry contacts and I have not undertaken any additional work to establish the reliability of the sources or to evidence independence of the relevant source. Furthermore, collection of data for market assessment has been limited to such information as can be collected from resources on the published public domain and meetings with market participants. Wherever sufficient information was not avai lable in the public domain, suitable assumptions were made to extrapolate values for the same. Hence, would request any user reproducing the information to contact me before using the same,

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A viewpoint on Delivery How and when a product is delivered can decide the fate of a platform

A developed and integrated logistics set-up is key to assuring and ensuring repeat business. Differentiation in terms of product packaging and delivery provide the users the assurance
Challenges ahead an e-commerce start-up

Giving the user the option to set delivery date and time can be make customers feel special

1
Options on informed delivery

2 Packaging

3
On-time delivery
How a package is received at the door-step and how the customer is greeted has a long term impact on sales People dont like to wait, hence delivering the product on-time in the best condition possible will influence loyalty as well as increase customer base Customer is king and why should the customer pay for a damaged product? INSURE the product that is sent to the customer and tell them that you are doing them a favor,

4 Insurance on products

5 Return Policy

6 Manage Costs

Who wants a product that doesnt look and feel like, what it seemed on the platform? Give the users the option to return the product in case they dont like it. This way a consumers confidence on the platform increases All the above cost money, and hence it becomes integral to identify the best suited solution to the problem at hand

All views and opinions in this document are personal and / or have been gathered based on extensive research in the sector and personal interest. All data points have been collected through secondary research, informal industry contacts and I have not undertaken any additional work to establish the reliability of the sources or to evidence independence of the relevant source. Furthermore, collection of data for market assessment has been limited to such information as can be collected from resources on the published public domain and meetings with market participants. Wherever sufficient information was not avai lable in the public domain, suitable assumptions were made to extrapolate values for the same. Hence, would request any user reproducing the information to contact me before using the same,

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Anirudh Chari
Working as a management consultant, for over 4 years I have had the opportunity to work on several projects for Indian and International clients in the areas of Strategy Formulation, Validation & Implementation, Business Planning, Entry & Expansion Strategy, Feasibility studies & Location Advisory and Market Assessment. This entailed, advising several companies across sectors, such as, Telecom, Media & Entertainment, Mobile Value Added Services, Information Technology, Infrastructure & Financial Services, Real Estate, Manufacturing, etc.
My technical background & my management degree from IE Business School have not only provided me leverage while assisting my clients during project delivery, but also while pitching for new assignments and cross selling the services of the firm.

anirudh.chari@gmail.com anirudh_chari@yahoo.com
+91 91360 11000 +91 99102 61161 a.chari

I have also been involved in a few start-ups and entrepreneurial ventures over the past years that failed. The most recent venture was an online commerce platform with a unique social value proposition. The other ventures have been in the power sector and second-hand auto retailing.