ECommerce connects people like Indra Nooyi to local brands
ECommerce connects people like Indra Nooyi to local brands

ECommerce connects people like Indra Nooyi to local brands

While eCommerce is revolutionising the retail space in the country, and tussle between online and offline market place is the talk of the town, a number of challenges are being faced by e-retailers as well, payment being one of them.

In a candid chat with Retailer Media, Rahul Narvekar, the Founder and CEO of Indianroots shared about the challenges faced by an e-Retailer, the scalability issue and the efficiency of eCommerce which connects people like Indra Nooyi, the CEO of PepsiCo to a local brand of Kolkata.

What are the major challenges for an e-Retailer operating in high-end segment?

When we started in 2009-10, the early days of eCommerce, people said that nobody is going to buy online because of the issues of fitting; fabrics etc and people will go to a mall, try the clothes and only then buy. Then people realised that we have a great page with a much wider range of apparel. With Fashion and you, the moment we said 60 per cent off on Prada, Zara or Gucci, the sizing issues went out of the window.

What is your take on online payments and COD?

Payments were also an issue. People were reluctant to put in card details. To cater that issue, we did COD (Cash-On-Delivery), which became the biggest enabler of eCommerce in those days. Then for a very long time, it was COD that was ruling. Now, the new trend that we have seen is that people have started using wallets like Paytm.

Initially in eCommerce, one could do only a smaller amount of transaction of ticket size as equivalent to 600 to 800 INR. As the factor of buying online has gone up, the average value of order has gone up. Now people are okay to spend a couple of lakhs online also. People don’t have thirty to forty thousand stacked at home, which made them move towards card payments or the e-wallets.

How do you analyse the emergence of digital wallets?

These wallets have become greatest enablers of eCommerce as one need not to bother about security of card details. Plus, in case of any issue in future, one can raise complaint with wallet service provider and get his money back. That is the new big thing. Now the wallets are going to grow big and the next trend we are observing is that the wallet providers are becoming eCommerce companies like Paytm.

What changes have been incorporated in terms of model of operation?

Talking from the model per say, initially it was inventory led model, with the players buying from vendors and selling to consumers. Now, everybody is looking to more of a marketplace model. The challenge of a marketplace model is that in drop shipment (when vendor directly ships to the customers), the product is replaced – like people received soaps instead of ordered i-phone.

Challenges are there, but that’s the only way to scale and now the vendors have also realised that it doesn’t pay to short chase the customer because then the site will drop you. So, if the ratings of a seller go down beyond a certain point, then he is dropped from the website. That evolution is happening and we are moving to a more marketplace model.

What are the upcoming trends in online fashion retail?

As far as the consumer behaviour is concerned, a lot of showrooming is happening. People walk into a mall, try out stuff and then order it online. Now with mobile-sites and apps, it has become easier because of the mobility factor and single click checkout through Smartphone has further evolved the online market.

People are becoming more experimental in terms of fashion and open to change. Even in office behaviour, people are more casual, it’s okay to wear jeans and t-shirts, brands are playing a bigger role due to awareness. Earlier, people knew a little about the brands. Customer demands have also gone up as people want to wear clothes that fit well and they are willing to pay extra for that customised fit.

Are people going online for high-end brands?

Yes, they are, definitely. Be it high-end or low-end, people are buying online seriously. Malls are in dearth of consumers these days.

How much is the market share of Indianroots in ethnic retail?

We are a market leader in ethnic. This year, we did a turnover of INR 61 crore and this year we will cross INR 500 crore. Next year as in 2016, we are looking at 1800 crore, so we are now looking at a billion dollar revenue in 3 years of time.

What is the USP of Indianroots?

There are two USPs of Indianroots. One is exclusivity as we are only in fashion space and we are not about electronics or anything else. Another fact is that we are everything for everyone. So, one can buy a 400 Rs kurti to a dress worth Rs 4,000. We have everything from local brands to regional brands to designer brands. For instance, we have Weavers Studio from Kolkata on our site. We created a video rather a TV commercial of Weavers Studio on NDTV.com. Indra Nooyi, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo, brought the entire collection. We are getting on to connecting a customer like Indra Nooyi to Weavers Studio and making a customer like Indra Nooyi access to a brand like Weavers Studio – a small brand from Kolkata.

When a customer goes on to Amazon, they get lost among the sheer number of product range, whereas at Indianroots that doesn’t happen, they don’t get lost into electronics etc.

What are the challenges you face while dealing with designers?

There are lots of challenges. Designers are far more creative people who have their own issues. What happens in eCommerce is that suddenly you get a lot of orders. We work with a brand called AND at Indianroots where we did 6.5 crore sale in a month’s time. One can deliver so much in a month’s time, which is a major challenge in eCommerce as it’s all about scalability. Most of the designers are not equipped to handle that kind of bulk order. Now they are learning and investing as well.

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