The idiot box has given birth to yet another idea in the form of ‘home shopping’; but with the Indian psyche of touch & feel shopping ruling big, the test is getting tougher
But despite cerebral numbing statistics, home shopping industry’s journey hasn’t been easy and will be tougher. The problem here is from the consumer end: Indians are known to embrace experiential buying habits (they touch & feel the product when they purchase one). With home shopping, this touch and feel factor is missing. “Two years back, there was no credibility associated with this medium. Barcode is something that is considered credible. So we decided to pick the colors from our logo and put them in the barcode, so that the product looks more authentic” says Malhotra. He sounds convinced about the business model; most Indians still aren’t.
There is a challenge on the supplier end too: it’s hard to convince manufacturers to sell their products through this platform. Manufacturers want to sell their products through a channel, which gives consumers an experience and therefore has a longer lasting influence on their memories. “Cameras fall into the category of products that consumers want to experience. For example, a consumer may not understand the difference between a 10 megapixel and a 5 megapixel camera, unless he actually tries it in person. This is where home shopping channels can’t help. No doubt they are educative, but they lack where it matters the most. It’s a bad idea,” says Alok Bhardwaj, Sr. VP, Canon India.
However, there are those who are willing to ride the new bus. For instance, a trade like insurance, which needs much convincing on the part of the seller, is now finding its way into the home shopping biz. Last month, Home Shop 18 tied up with Bajaj Allianz for the distribution of Bajaj Allianz’s insurance services. Paritosh Joshi, CEO, Star CJ, tells us, “There are certainly many MNCs that have successfully used home shopping as a critical distribution channel in other geographies and see STAR CJ Alive’s entry as the beginning of a new chapter in the Indian shopping landscape. However, STAR CJ Alive is also building partnerships among strong, home-grown brands for whom home shopping is an altogether new, and little understood distribution model.”
But despite cerebral numbing statistics, home shopping industry’s journey hasn’t been easy and will be tougher. The problem here is from the consumer end: Indians are known to embrace experiential buying habits (they touch & feel the product when they purchase one). With home shopping, this touch and feel factor is missing. “Two years back, there was no credibility associated with this medium. Barcode is something that is considered credible. So we decided to pick the colors from our logo and put them in the barcode, so that the product looks more authentic” says Malhotra. He sounds convinced about the business model; most Indians still aren’t.
There is a challenge on the supplier end too: it’s hard to convince manufacturers to sell their products through this platform. Manufacturers want to sell their products through a channel, which gives consumers an experience and therefore has a longer lasting influence on their memories. “Cameras fall into the category of products that consumers want to experience. For example, a consumer may not understand the difference between a 10 megapixel and a 5 megapixel camera, unless he actually tries it in person. This is where home shopping channels can’t help. No doubt they are educative, but they lack where it matters the most. It’s a bad idea,” says Alok Bhardwaj, Sr. VP, Canon India.
However, there are those who are willing to ride the new bus. For instance, a trade like insurance, which needs much convincing on the part of the seller, is now finding its way into the home shopping biz. Last month, Home Shop 18 tied up with Bajaj Allianz for the distribution of Bajaj Allianz’s insurance services. Paritosh Joshi, CEO, Star CJ, tells us, “There are certainly many MNCs that have successfully used home shopping as a critical distribution channel in other geographies and see STAR CJ Alive’s entry as the beginning of a new chapter in the Indian shopping landscape. However, STAR CJ Alive is also building partnerships among strong, home-grown brands for whom home shopping is an altogether new, and little understood distribution model.”
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
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