Online shopping made easy at Shopnics

Bangalore: What do you do when you need to buy a gadget and can't make up your mind on which one to buy? Perhaps, you just go to Amazon or eBay and check out the reviews provided by these sites. Now add to the list, Shopnics, a new website that enables 'product decision making, simple and unbiased'. This consumer 2.0 comparison-shopping site has a wide array of products on its list to choose and compare. Camera, camcorder, laptop, cell phone, GPS, MP3 player, printer, wireless router, HDTV and external hard drives are some of the products listed on this user friendly site.

The site goes through different products, looks at their attributes, also taking into account user input and then provides information to the user based on his or her requirement. The information is then provided on the Y and X axis of a graph called 'Shopnics Decision Graph'. The X axis indicates the price of the product and the Y axis indicates the better product, based on the rank of the product.

Online shopping has now become routine for a large number of internet savvy people especially in the U.S., while the trend is catching up in India. In fact in India, according to a study conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), the number of e-shoppers in India is multiplying because of a variety of factors including home delivery which saves time and product comparison options.

So what makes Shopnics different from the rest? Sachin Lakharia, CEO Shopnics says, "We provide all product attributes on the same page and also suggest the better product, based on a ranking that we give to these products. What makes us unique is that we provide information to the user on a visual graph." Moreover, the site also provides reviews for products given in other websites.

The idea for launching Shopnics, a self funded website, came when Lakharia's friend enquired about the best site to buy a camera from. Despite naming a few sites, the same friend had not made up his mind even after two weeks. He couldn't decide as there were too many options. The questions raised were: 'How do I know that I am buying the best'? and 'How do I buy the best without having to go through so many of them'? This is when Lakharia and his team started out with the goal to make 'product decision making' simple.

Coming up with the algorithm for this software was the biggest challenge Lakharia faced. Data collection for the site was an easier task in comparison. However currently, the site mainly targets the techie and Gen Y users in the U.S. The site also has tie ups with many retailers in the U.S. "We hope to launch a model for the Indian market soon. While doing so, we need to keep in mind the Indian consumer behavior which is different from the U.S. consumer behavior", says Lakharia.

With online shopping, growing in India, it looks like Lakharia and his team will have great prospects here.