#2 Live within your means

The high budgeted ads and marketing may make an e-retailer a ‘zing thing’ with the customers. But the matter of fact remains unchanged is that, they are just destinations and not the actual manufacturers of the product. And destination brands are built virally and organically, according to AlokKejriwal, CEO and founder, Games2win.

So the non-inventory led e-commerce sites, for instance, provide no value added service and yet have higher marketing expenses than companies in the inventory-led segment. Furthermore, India is not a mature e-commerce market. It's just the potential that makes everyone salivate since internet penetration is still low. According to Raghu Bhat, co-founder, Scarecrow, all players are trying to create brand awareness, acquire customers and also change consumer-buying behaviour simultaneously.

However, another cause for concern is that fundamentally e-commerce brands are built through the consumption experience not national TV campaigns, which send customer acquisition costs to stratospheric heights.

Says Chris George, founder and group CEO, EBS Worldwide, "The insane levels of funding that has gone into the sector is nothing short of a poker game. Everyone is doubling down, waiting for the other guy to blink or perhaps for Amazon to waltz along and buy the brand with the highest decibles. I could be wrong, but I don't think Amazon really thinks like that. Customer acquisition costs for e-commerce companies in India range from Rs 500 to Rs 1500. How the hell are you supposed to make money to fund this?"

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