Even though online buying is not so much in India as compared to the other countries in this world, it wont be long before we catch up to this and move ahead. Where earlier it was the technology that was the concern in online sopping and time taken to checkout, now that has also passed and it is now the trust between the consumers and the shopping sites that is currently worked on.
With Amazon set to enter India, our Indian Amazon sites such as flipkart.com (which i have used and am happy with), letsbuy.com, Yebhi.com and many more have made a big push towards the online retail industry. People have now started to notice and acknowledge these sites and are using them more effectively. It is still very much a character trait with people to view and review the product online and then proceed to buy from offline stores but this will all change in the coming years.
In 2012, the adoption of online retail will give the people what they want and what they need right at their doorstep and no need to step out of the house. According to Times of India, the online retail industry will touch 7000 crore by 2015 and this is not a small number.
The biggest advantage of going to online retail stores is the price point analysis and the massive discounts offered out there, where offline stores don't provide much of a discount, online retail sites do just that and make a killing on sales and adding new customers each day. Also their service is quite fast and it reaches your specified location in the given timeline and promised on the site. With the focussed TV advertisements, online advertisements and also offline advertisements, it's hard to miss out the branding initiatives done by these online retail websites. The key to a successful sale be if offline and/or online is the customer service provided by these shops and these online retail stores do just that and follow up with emails and customer feedback on the service and also the product.
In 2012, the online stores backed heavily by finance and venture capitalists will be more aggressive and provide consumers with more discounts and massive products and choice to make and select. The customer service will be more on par with the international standards and purchasing and issue solving will be trouble free. All in all, a win-win situation for the consumers.