e-Tales

An India e-commerce study done late last year by IAMAI-IMRB pegged the industry to reach Rs.9210 crores by the end of 2007-08. In this, the etailing market is expected to have a share of Rs.1105 crores. The study also gives the things going for and against etailing. More recently, the JuxtConsult India Online report states that 80% of all regular online Indians ‘shop’ online  they either search or buy online, though I dare say that this would be driven a lot by online travel bookings than by etailing.

So, perhaps, the timing could be just right for Storrz. I first came across the site when i read the coverage of Proto last month, and have been wanting to check it out ever since. But the immediate stimulus were recent articles in Headstart, and Mashable. I signed in, and was given an option to invite my friends too from the different email services, with a reward possibility too. A small query here, why not friends from my social profiles too, the reason being, my conversations there are so much more contextual. It would work great, for say the tees brands like Xtees, Youthcode, Nitrotribe etc. In general, aren’t those networks better places to find existing social crowds who can add quite some value to a social shopping network?

The site, according to this release, has a lot of firsts. “Storrz is the first Online shopping mall in the country to accept payment at home by any Visa or Master, Credit or Debit card. Storrz representatives carry a Mobile enabled point of sale device to the customers door step to make this happen. Storrz accepts Sodexho passes from the customer allowing a large number of coupon holders to now use their coupons Online.”

The focus, I’m guessing would be to simultaneously build buyers and sellers, though that would work somewhat like a Catch 22. I’m not sure whether there are product categories they plan to focus on, a kind of priority for every say, quarter. Is, for example, grocery, the key focus area now?

A few days back, I’d written this post that touched upon the long tail in ‘real’ Retail.  With rediff, Indiatimes etc playing heavily in the space, Storrz made me wonder about opportunities. Does it exist in making an online platform for buying the stuff that you regularly buy offline, like groceries? There are two points I’d like you to consider, one is that there are multiple retail chains with mega plans, there is every likelihood of having a store so near you that you can walk there. Secondly, a lot of people see retail as a kind of fulfilling activity in itself and a break from being a couch/mouse potato, even groceries!!

Or, does it also exist in etailing niche categories – categories which either you don’t get to see in real retail stores, or the ones for which you have to go roaming around a dozen retail stores. Hmm, let me give you a rough parallel, remember those crazy things that used to occupy the centre pages of Archies and Superman comics? I think we still don’t get those things here!! Okay, maybe we do, but you get the idea. It could be anything from niche magazines to niche organic food to niche tea brands to hell, sex toys!! Ok, fine, maybe we’re not ready for the last one yet, but we might get there soon. Check this out!! But seriously, wouldn’t it be quite a USP to build niche communities? And while we’re at it, its possible to build grocery communities too!! I had mentioned it earlier – Zeer. And yes, the two options are not mutually exclusive.

Maybe its also a good idea to tie up with pure play review sites, from techtree to say, shelfari and then direct them to Storrz, where they can read more reviews from people who have actually bought from the online store, and can then buy the product there.

until next time, shop till you drop 🙂