Criticism faced by start-ups in India

Feb 12
11:32

2013

Sharad Gaikwad

Sharad Gaikwad

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Pepperfry.com is India’s fastest growing e-commerce website. It has seen immense growth since its inception. Within a few months, it attracted a huge consumer base. It was a preferred platform for online retailers.

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It was also bestowed with the coveted Red Herring Asia Top 100' award. The portal was granted the honor for its excelling performance and growth rate in Electronic Commerce.

Like most of the start-ups in India,Criticism faced by start-ups in India Articles the portal had to undergo various challenges in its sprouting phase. People are hesitant about E-commerce because of the idea of online shopping. Most people enjoy the experience of visiting an actual shop and indulge in a purchase, when they are satisfied with the quality. One of the challenges for them was to bring out the benefits of online shopping to customers.

Sometimes, the product may not match the consumer’s expectations; they cry fraud out of dissatisfaction. This is a growing concern for other electronic commerce portals.  The preconceived notions of consumers about a product’s quality seen on an online portal, has been a problem for most of the electronic commerce players like Pepperfry.com. They do not realize that the actual product can differ in minor aspects. They doubt the reliability of such portals and this suspicion leads to false rumors like Pepperfry Scam. The portals ensure that the exact dimensions are displayed along with the thumbnail. This gives clarity to the consumers before they can make a purchase. The consumers can also see a larger image. Users can avail these facilities to make the correct decision. However, in spite of these options, people’s discomfort with online shopping remains.

An increasing number of retailers are registered with these portals. Portals like Pepperfry.com ensure that user experience remains the best from visiting the site to delivery of the product. The credentials of the registered sellers are checked thoroughly. These precautions ensure that false ideas like Pepperfry scam cease to exist. The delivery area of the portal is pan-India. There are complex operational issues that have to be handled for each city, like sourcing a product from Chennai and delivering it to Delhi. Many a times due to human logistical error, the product fails to be delivered on time or gets damaged. This further leads to the dissatisfaction of the user.

E-commerce websites face these challenges. While the consumer can’t be ignored, it is important that the companies adopt a policy wherein the occurrence of these incidents reduces. They progress towards the aim of achieving a no- complaint delivery status. It is an initial phase and therefore it is important that companies create the best customer experience by providing them with low cost products. If all these aspects are kept in check, rumors like Pepperfry scam will fade into oblivion. Online shopping’s convenience and slashed prices have led to the rapid growth of the trend. It is quite a fad with the young generation.