27 January 2006

Online retailers can convince window shoppers to shop online by providing compelling information about products.

Many people decided to buy products based on reviews they read or recommendations from friends. For online retailers, this represents an opportunity to convert window shoppers into actual buyers by providing compelling content at the point of purchase. The content can take the form of recommendations by others who have bought the product or reviews or info about features and specifications. In this way, they can help buyers make informed choices.

According to K Vaitheeswaran, Chief Operating Officer at Fabmall.com, online retailers must provide detailed content that is tough to duplicate offline. For example, he says, online web stores can tell customers browsing for handicrafts which craftsman from which part of India created an item and how it was made instead of merely displaying it. "Online stores can tell prospective book buyers that customers who ordered a particular title also ordered some other titles – thus informing them about the taste profile of readers and whether therefore they feel they will also like the book," he adds.

Pankaj Chandra, Business Head (eCommerce) at Sify Ltd, says product reviews and ratings by consumers who have bought the products will help consumers make informed decisions. "As of now, community sites like Mouthshut.com provide information, while sites like Sify.com sell products. This is a total disconnect for the consumer. If the two can work together, it'll surely make life simpler for most people," he adds.

Hunting for bargains

Another great way to get window shoppers to buy is by making value-for-money offers. According to a recent survey of online window shoppers by the Internet & Mobile Association (IAMAI) and Cross-Tab, 90% of window shoppers said they would buy online if offered price discounts. Since online retailers have lower overheads compared to offline sellers, they are in a good position to offer attractive prices. eBay, for example, is able to offer very good prices since it cuts out the middleman. "Removing the inefficiencies in the distribution chain and directly connecting buyers and sellers makes for efficient online commerce. Buyers get the best possible price and sellers manage their business with a low cost of business," says Thomas.

Chandra feels that online sites need to partner with various brands and sellers to provide a better price advantage. "The price/convenience benefit that a customer gets vis-à-vis offline should be substantial enough for the customer to wait before one gets the product," he says. According to him, travel sites like Makemytrip.com and IRCTC (the Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation, which offers online booking for rail tickets) fulfil this need, and since the touch and feel factor is not so important, people use these services.

Safety and shipping

According to the IAMAI survey, two of the biggest worries for online window shoppers were shipping issues (cost, delays, damage) and security. Chandra says the best way of preventing shipping delays is for online retailers to stock products and sell them. But he feels that the levels of business being what they are today, the cost does not justify the benefits. "As of today, all retailers are dependent on the delivery channels of their respective associates," he says, adding, "we are very sure that as more and more partners see the benefits of retailing through online malls, they will set up processes to smoothen deliveries."

Chandra says all reputed online shops apply the best security practices. "Sites like Sify also have internal filters to screen each and every order before it gets authorised for shipment. We check the relevant details given by the consumers. The doubtful cases are further confirmed with the help of the banks to validate the information given by the customer," he says. According to him, credit card fraud does not happen online on sites like Sify, Rediff or Indiatimes.

eBay too has a system of ensuring a safe shopping experience for its users: these include community watch (no product that is in violation of the user agreement can be traded), buyer protection programme (buyers are covered up to Rs 10,000 or the value of the order), rating watch (user ratings on buyers and sellers), and seller verification.