If you are young, spirited and raring to make a reputation in the industry then you must have definitely considered eCommerce as an opportunity.

Start a website, sit at home, simple clicks and deal everything over the phone and laptop… DREAM JOB…

Sounds so simple. But is it really so?

The answer lies in the fact that a country like India with a population of above 10 billion has a little above 10000 websites. Whereas in the USA, where the populations is not even one fourth, has over 10 million people surviving by selling on Ebay alone!!!!!

Though the penetration of internet is increasing constantly, the Indian outlook towards transacting online has not picked-up pace as expected.

Few hurdles that suppresses the up-rise,

Lack of Trust:

To enter the Card details on a website is a matter of valor for Indian customers. Customers are petrified by the thought of money being debit and not getting the product. Also, safety of the card details is what worries the Indian customers the most.

Card details being misused has become a story of the past. The RBI has introduced a security parameter which is called as 3D security code. Every time the card details are entered, the code is sent to the registered user’s mobile number which he has to enter on the payment page. So only the genuine card holder can approve the payment.

Also, if the amount has been debited and the product doesn’t reach you in time, you may get in touch with the payment gateway (Banks or CCAvenue). They would investigate and return you the money.

Cost of Acquisition:

The price involved in making a product look lucrative, lure the customer to purchase by offering heavy discounts and delivering the product without collecting the payment beforehand is tremendously high. All you calculations of profit and loss would go haywire when you analysis the offerings of competitors.

eCommerce is anticipated to boom in the Indian economy considering the humongous consumer ratio. This has led VC’s to invest heavily in the eCommerce ventures. With their backup, merchants bleed money for customer acquisition making it difficult for competitors to survive.

Slow internet connectivity:

As per a survey, the average internet connectivity speed in India is 1Mbps compared to global leader Hong Kong's 49.3Mbps. The 1Mbps speed recorded is of a metropolitan tier A city, for rural areas it would be almost 1/10th of it.

Slow connectivity causes failed transactions and no confirmation of order completion. This makes the customer run helter-skelter and thereby lose the confidence of making an online payment.

Following are just an overview review of the most relevant hinderances that you need to check before investing into ecommerce.

For eCommerce to sustain in India, a healthy ecosystem needs to be maintained. Proper awareness along with ethical and logical approach is the need of the hour.

In spite of all the above reasons India has close to 10 million online shoppers and is growing at an estimated 30% CAGR vis-à-vis a global growth rate of 8-10%.

eCommerce is undoubtedly a very promising sector and its prowess is yet to be tapped efficiently.

Ecommerce Baba