Online Shopping and me.....
Like many other skeptics, I too wasn’t sure of the success of
online shopping. It was way back when I was undergoing my grads that
ecommerce was a much heard about term, and was often referred to as the next generation "in-thing".
I won’t lie I had my reservations, even though at that point in time I was
myself learning about html and how to code websites.
But as they say, any novel idea, when implemented with
sincerity and passion provides wonderful results, and today we are in the midst
of an era where online shopping websites are mushrooming by the day.
I used to live in a tier 2 city in Uttar Pradesh, and was introduced to Snapdeal by a friend. Being the curious kind that I am, I was eager to comprehend their business model, how does their business function, how can
they make profits by providing subsidized products and services to people, and
why on earth would businesses give away their profit margins to them. I must say it intrigued me a lot, since it was indeed a unique concept.
And, as it was meant to be Snapdeal became a success to behold,
inspiring a lot of replicas in the market.As for me,I did try a few
vouchers, once a while but that was about it.
Come 2012, and you are a witness to blaring TV ads of
various online shopping sites, claiming their products, to be at times cheaper than what
their retail counterparts offer at the physical outlets, and what more could skeptics like me ask for,
they offer "Cash on Delivery", with some of them even providing an
option to try and then pick goods of your choice,at the comfort of your home!!!!
Exciting as it may sound, I picked up my laptop, logged on
to these sites, and even filled my cart with goods, zapped with the amount of
money I could spend in a jiffy over products, I at times badly needed, to
products I could easily do away with. It just increased my urge to shop, but as they say, a woman is known not by her shopping skills but by her window shopping
skills.
And people!!! I turned
out to be the biggest window shopper or, should I say online window shopper of all times, filling my cart and then
emptying it at one go, this trend continued for quite some time, before I gathered
the courage to give it a plunge, thanks, to the Cash on Delivery option.
Fair enough!! I am not risking anything, no investment made,
if I like the products ordered fine, or else I would have them sent back right
away, after all they are giving a guarantee, and they will have to oblige, I
hope this is no photography gimmick, is
it really the actual photograph of the product....
With these perplexing thoughts, I proceeded with my selection
of clothes. Nevertheless, I made a decent amount of purchase of discounted
items, at prices I couldn’t even think of getting in a retail shop!!, and to my surprise,
I liked the stuff as well, contrary to my nature of doing innumerable comparisons and analysis, much to the wrath and
frustration of my fellow shoppers.
At last, the purchase was made, and I was anxiously waiting for my
packet to arrive.Surprisingly enough, I kept logging and checking the progress of my courier,
like an anxious 3 year old waiting for her birthday present.
Finally, my packet arrived, and to my delight it was delivered
3 days prior to its scheduled arrival. Wow!!!, what a relief!!, what a company!!, they
do not only deliver what they promise, they deliver it before time, nice
strategy, promise less and deliver more, a management lesson very well-known
but seldom applied.
Like an excited kid, I opened the packet, and what a delight
of a sight it was to see,the goods to be exactly what had
been depicted in the website,contrary to my doubt.
A success indeed!!!!…. It’s not that tough to order goods online, and they
do deliver what they promise after all, they have their reputation at stake. However, there was a minor problem, the very same day I was diagnosed positive for pregnancy, and
unfortunately, they had to be returned back, needed a bigger size, keeping the
future in mind.
Now, getting an
exchange will be another story, let’s see how they would fare, after all
their after sales services are also supposed to be at par…………...
This post is a part of the contest at <a title="BlogAdda.com" href="http://www.blogadda.com" target="_blank">BlogAdda.com </a>in association with <a title="Snapdeal.com" href="http://www.snapdeal.com" target="_blank">Snapdeal.com</a>
very well written! Just before reading your blog.. I was going through few online shopping sites.. its addictive!! And yes even I am surprised at the marketing agility, service and quality of these companies. few years back I had tried my hands on online shopping.. it was a nightmare..felt completely cheated. Things have changed dramatically since then ..
ReplyDeleteThanks,Shweta, rightly said,the online shopping companies have come a long way,they are much in sync with their businesses now.
ReplyDelete