Assisted e-Commerce Players To Tap Huge Offline Market

HYDERABAD: The trust a kirana merchant enjoys in the neighbourhood and the preference of Indian consumers to come in direct contact with sellers is opening the doors of next big wave in e-commerce - the assisted e-commerce.

With the big boys virtually exhausting the online shoppers, the focus is now on the new space to reach the people who are either not on internet or don't shop online.

With just 12 to 15 percent of the 300 million internet users shopping online, the real commerce has a huge opportunity. The players in this emerging space bring together offline buyers, local retailers and sellers to an integrated platform and reach where the e-commerce players are facing the hindrance.

From t-shirts to television sets and mobile phones and from recharges to utility bill payment to money transfer and bus ticket booking, they offer an entire range of consumer goods and services.

This space offers an opportunity to millions of small merchants to go high-tech and make additional income. They make the purchase on behalf of their customers, who will be assured of the quality of the products while sellers will be able to save a lot on logistics and reverse shipping expenses.

While there are many players for recharges, there are only two or three companies in assisted e-commerce and they are all from south.

Bringing together various stakeholders, they are coming out with a solution for the typical Indian market where the majority of customers still prefer to buy from the kirana store next door rather than buying from somebody they don't know.

"More than feeling the products while buying, Indian customers want to buy from someone they trust and to whom they can go back and ask in case of any problem," Krishna Lakamsani, founder and CEO of iPay, told IANS.

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