We have a population of over 100 million internet users and out of that users of good internet are few are far between. In such a circumstance, Flipkart created a portal that asked people to give their card details to them and trust them to send the goods bought.
In a country where caution is taught as the first step where money is concerned this was a huge step. Despite all odds, Flipkart succeeded. Today, it is a huge industry in itself growing at a fast pace in both horizontal and vertical direction. They have both a huge variety and discounts.
In my opinion, Flipkart is doing online what Big Bazaar did in retail.
Many other e-tailers have joined the race like infibeam, Jabong, Yebhi.com etc. Some focus on a particular vertical and other elsewhere. But for me, Flipkart is the pioneer.
Flipkart also added a dimension in a person’s life that did not exist before – the ease of window shopping.
Window shopping can be both a tedious and entertaining job. Looking for the right thing at the right price or maybe looking at something that is beyond your reach and sometimes you just aren’t interested in buying, all these are followed by window shopping.
Earlier it meant going from shop to shop and looking at the price and product. Time consuming and hectic come the words if you compare it to what a person does now.
You want a new mobile but are confused, no problem. Open flipkart, arrange the order as you please – popularity, new or price and you have the whole list.
Look at the product, read the reviews and soon you will have a comprehensive idea of the product. With the growing verticals in Flipkart, the things you can window shop are humongous. Also, if you think you can find a better pricing than in Flipkart, the option of buying it from a shop is also available.
Looking at the items cost nothing more than bandwidth and saves a lot of time for a person. The added advantage (at least to me) is that I do not have to see the prying eyes of the shopkeeper if I am having no plans to buy.
Similar to Flipkart, other services offer things like clothes and all that can be viewed and if you like a particular shade or colour can be bought online or offline. Though, offline, getting the same dress might be tricky.
I can think of a thousand things that a person makes up his mind after a lot of investigation – washing machine, fridge, televisions, phones and all these items can be researched on a single portal in a single go.
Comparisons can be made and of course as I mentioned earlier, the greatest advantage is of the reviews that is not present in the shop.
This is especially advantageous for books that can be viewed and their reviews and synopsis read with patience. Even people who are wary of online transactions and still trust the trusty old cash based system have option of Cash on Delivery.
People who altogether distrust internet shopping can also get the initial review and knowledge. All this sitting on your bed or your comfy sofa.
So, how many of you use it just for doing “window shopping” and not actual buying.
The post Flipkart – More of a Window Shopping portal… appeared first on India Business & Technology Hub.
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