But keeping consumer’s hooked is not the end of the world. A plethora of options means that the customer has more knowledge and thus power of choosing. And disregarding this vital cog, some of the deals that are floated appear to be deceptive. It eventually leads to bad-mouthing by consumers on social media platforms, review sites, testimonials. More images of the infamous ‘Bendgate’ pop up when a user searches for iPhone6. Similarly, there are growing evidences of errors in delivery, inflated prices and so on. Not only does brand image take a hit, this drives away potential customers to alternative means of buying and even to competition.
However, not to take anything away from E-tailers, not only have they learnt from their mistakes, they have taken copious notes from each other’s history. To keep traffic movement to its app smooth, Flipkart embarked on a differentiation strategy this year by opening up different categories on different days. To be one up on the competition, Snapdeal picked Monday for its electronics sale, a day before its rivals began their discount sale. Their advertising too has caused ripples yet again. There is still a lot to be learnt by them, especially about the peculiar creature that is the Indian consumer. Brick-and-mortar stores still prove to be tough competition, and E-tailers should take stock of this, instead of cross cutting through each other’s base. Increase in penetration is the need of the hour because the sales are bound to end someday and everyone now knows is aware of that. What after that? How about a shift of strategy to generate and galvanise loyalty in consumers. A lot still remains to be seen!
This article was contributed by Mercur-I, the Marketing club of IIM Indore.
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