E-Retailing: Challenges and Opportunities
Indian retail industry has been witnessing revolutionary change
in technology oriented business scenario during yester years due to
emergence of internet and globalization of market. The growth of
internet has enabled the new retail format of the virtual retailer to
emerge and forced the existing retailers to adopt e-tailing model of
retailing as well. On line retailing or e-retailing involves transactions,
conducted through interactive online computer systems linking
consumers with sellers electronically. The introduction of internet and
globalization of the market has also brought in noticeable changes in
life styles of youthful India and their shopping behavior. Now
customers prefer online and mobile channel over physical channel for
saving time and seeking wider range and possibly comparative
pricing.
The newly launched Indian Government’s ambitious project
‘Digital India’ aiming to give a strong boost to the e-commerce
market as bringing the internet and broad band to remote areas of the
country. It will definitely offer a potentially huge market for products
to be sold through the internet and webs in years to come. Internet has
also helped retailers in broadening their targets, building effective
customer relationship, extending product lines, improving cost
efficiency, enhancing consumer’s communication and education and
delivering customized offerings. The consumer’s cognizance,
increasing internet literacy of consumer and wider use of internet and
webs with cyber security might be helpful for substantial development
and growth of e-retailing in India as revealed by Crisil Research,
India’s e-Commerce Business is expected to grow up by 55%
annually to become a Rs. 50,000 crores business in the next three
years. As per Economic Time report, India will have 100 million
online shoppers and the country’s e-tailing sector will become a 15
billion doller market by 2016. Online shoppers base will grow three
times by 2016, and over 50 million new buyers will come from tier I
and tier II cities. The report also projected that 40 million women are
estimated to shop on-line in India by 2016.
Electronic retailing is the direct sale of products, information
and service through virtual stores on the web, usually designed around
an electronic catalogue format and auction sites. There are thousands
of storefronts or e-commerce sites on the Internet that are extensions
of existing retailers or start-ups. Penetration of computers and
proliferation of the Internet has given rise to many new forms of
businesses, such as business process outsourcing, call centre based
customer relationship management, medical transcription, remotely
managed educational and medical services and of course, electronic
retailing. Although e-retailing is an independent business model with
certain specific constituents like; trust model, electronic transaction
process, etc., but in reality it is a subset of e- commerce by nature.
The success of e-retailing depends on multiple factors that are
required to be taken into consideration as prima-facie, missing even a
single small consideration is quite liable to create a greater negative
impact on entire business, since the customers and business both are
far from each-other. The customer is aloof from reality of the business
regarding with whom he is going to enter into a business relation;
whether the relation will go for a short-term or for over a long-term,
no matter.
The e-Retailing business pattern is sophisticated as well as quite
delicate; rather it may be defined more correctly as fragile. Thus,
every consideration requires equal importance in its own status.
Sub Tracks of e-retailing
E-Commerce Logistics models
Payment Mechanism
Distribution Channel
Security and Privacy
Strong Branding
Better Customer Relationship Management
Tax and regulatory issues
The most and important concentration is focused on back- end
system. Customers keep coming back only if earlier shopping
experiences have been pleasant and successful. In this intricate
business world, the e-retailing will become tremendous business
strategic concept, and it may be very helpful and most profitable
method of business process in years to come.