How ecommerce player Prathem is expanding its distribution network?

At this age of omni-channel retailing, the gaps between online and offline have been blurring. With more than 390 million smartphone users in the country, do all users have equal access to ecommerce marketplace? Based on several internal studies and surveys, founders of ecommerce marketplace prathembazar.com realized that remote areas in the country do not have equal access to the online world. The founders say they have an exclusive solution to bridge this gap.

Interview Excerpts..

Tell us about the idea behind trying to blend ecommerce with satellite television. 

We wanted to integrate ecommerce, app and TV to provide a perfect balance between all the three shopping channels and we launched our ecommerce marketplace prathembazar in the first phase. During our launch, we realized that quality products at affordable prices were not reaching consumers beyond tier II and tier III cities. Often, these products were fake or the last leg delivery to these places was extremely difficult. Our priority was to reach the customers in these places and over the period of time, we realized for people who do not have smartphones or did not know how to shop online, the TV could be a perfect bridging point. For customers who could not choose from the right offers and discounts, the visual platform curated the products they could choose and buy. Hence, our TV channel was launched recently.  

How are you different from so many other players in the online marketplace?

Our USP is that all our products are sourced from the manufacturers directly and there are middlemen involved. As a result, our prices are our biggest selling point. We have chosen top manufacturers for supply of products and our customer base has evolved from both the channels- ecommerce and TV. Since we are reaching customers beyond tier III cities, logistics was a top concern, and when compared to other players in the market, time taken for delivery is a lot lesser.  

What has been your biggest challenge in the ecommerce channel?

Pricing is a challenge as different players offer different discounts and combo offers, and also this often results in more confusion in buyers than conversions.

Considering your customers are beyond tier III cities, what are the most selling categories on your website?

Electronics and beauty products are our top selling product categories, followed by kitchenware and others.  

What are your expansion plans?

We want to increase our offline presence and plan to enter international markets in the second phase. Also, we want to reach maximum customers from those using just phones to laptops and be relevant to their needs and interest. We want to Prathem to become a one-stop destination for customers, dealers and marketplace enthusiasts for easy shopping experience.