MxMIndia

Category: Digital

  • The e-commerce firm's delivery person will come with wads of currency notes to instantly pay back customers whenever they want to return a packet

    Jabong ups ante, to launch instant refunds for cash-on-delivery returns

    By Rasul Bailay

     

    First, India’s fledgling ecommerce companies pioneered the concept of cash-on-delivery (COD) to woo markets. Now, Jabong.com is adding a new chapter to the COD process: its delivery person will come with wads of currency notes to instantly pay back customers whenever they want to return a packet.

     

    Late refunds irked COD buyers

    Starting this week, Jabong will begin giving COD customers in Delhi instant cash at their doorstep even as the delivery guys pick up return packets. In the coming months, Jabong plans to take this initiative across the country. It was the COD system that helped ecommerce companies gain major traction in a country dominated by traditional retailing values.

     

    But COD consumers started complaining that whenever they wanted to return a product, it often took them long to get their money back. “Customers started complaining that while they pay immediately for products, they had to wait for weeks for refund. They complained that it wasn’t fair,” says Vijay Ghadge, COO of logistics firm Gojavas, which will be managing the cash payments for Jabong.

     

    Gojavas has been testing its instant cash payment system – called GoRupiah – in Delhi for four months and now says it is ready to actually roll it out starting in the Capital. The company has already formed a reverse-logistics team of around 250. Gojavas says Jabong, after clearing a refund, will transfer money into a separate account of Gojavas and the delivery company will pay the consumer.

     

    Online retailers have pampered Indian consumers with initiatives such as COD and try-and-buy, among others, to gain business in a country fraught with challenges for the ecommerce industry. Currently, COD forms the lion’s share of ecommerce transactions.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2014, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • The insight was that today's youngsters are smart problem solvers and they will figure out their way out in life despite what life throws at them

    Lowe Lintas rolls out youth-oriented campaign for FreeCharge

    By A Correspondent

     

    Lowe Lintas has been appointed as the creative agency for FreeCharge, India’s leading online platform for recharge, utility payments, promotions and couponing. As part of the alliance, Lowe Lintas has been tasked with the mandate of making Freecharge a go-to and top-of-mind brand in India. Lowe Lintas fended off competition from six other agencies that were in the fray before it was chosen.

     

    FreeCharge is a pioneer in the online recharge space with a unique business model. FreeCharge doesn’t just make the process of recharging convenient, it also makes it rewarding, by way of discount coupons. For every recharge done on FreeCharge, the company gives customers discount coupons from top food joints and popular retailers, equivalent to your recharge amount, delivered to their mobile, inbox or even doorstep. These coupons can be used to save money when customers eat out, watch movies, book travel tickets, shop online, visit a salon, go gaming, pick up books, music, groceries, and live a rewarding life!

     

    Sharing his views on appointing Lowe Lintas as the creative agency, Alok Goel, CEO, FreeCharge said, “FreeCharge is a youth brand and hence we wanted to figure out a campaign idea that will connect with today’s youth at deep emotional levels. Lowe team came up with phenomenal insight. The insight was that today’s youngsters are smart problem solvers and they will figure out their way out in life despite what life throws at them. The insight was so original and emotional that we felt Lowe team will be great partners for this campaign.”

     

    To drive FreeCharge’s marketing objectives, Lowe Lintas has unveiled a campaign – ‘Recharge nahin… FreeCharge’ that depicts FreeCharge’s core proposition of being an ally for the youth and how it plans to alter the recharge landscape in India by offering rewarding coupons and offers. The campaign is live online and will soon be seen across other traditional media.

     

    Speaking on the launch of the campaign, Kunal Shah, Co-founder of FreeCharge said, “We want to completely change what people expect from the simple act of recharging a mobile phone. It is no longer just a payment, but a rewarding experience which delivers joys to our customers. We felt that Lowe Lintas’ campaign idea captured this in a surprising and insightful way. We are confident the youth of today will connect with the brand and engage with it for a long time to come.”

     

    The youth is often stereotyped by parents for being spendthrifts who don’t value money. Lowe Lintas’ consumer-research revealed that in fact, the reverse is true today. The digital-native youngsters are quite smart and inventive when it comes to stretching their means to the max.

     

    Sharing his thoughts on the creative approach taken for the brand in a crowded marketplace, Arun Iyer, National Creative Director, Lowe Lintas stated, “We felt that our campaign needed to do more than land the product and its benefits. We needed to connect with our rechargers at a real level. We hit upon an insight that the youth of today are ‘charged’ with being irresponsible with their money. This simple app is their ally and just one re-‘charge’ fittingly answers all these charges.”

     

    The campaign aims to build further on the brand’s key offering through relevant tie-ups.

     

  • Through this association, Breakthrough seeks to leverage the digital media platforms to educate the audience by establishing meaningful conversations

    Breakthrough hands over digital duties to Ignitee Digital

    By A Correspondent

     

    Global human rights organization Breakthrough, has appointed Ignitee Digital as its digital agency. Breakthrough seeks to prevent violence and discrimination against women by transforming the norms and cultures that enable it. Through this association, Breakthrough seeks to leverage the digital media platforms to educate the audience by establishing meaningful conversations and building a critical mass of change agents worldwide. By building an active presence on social media through its collaboration with Ignitee, Breakthrough intends to build a Breakthrough Generation-whose bold collective action will deliver irreversible impact on the issue of violence against women.

     

    Launched in 2000 by Indian-American human rights activist and cultural entrepreneur Mallika Dutt, Breakthrough has expanded online with a view to serve as a common platform for women’s general well-being, building a support network and advocate for gender equality and women’s rights.

     

    Ignitee has been appointed by Breakthrough to manage the #Selfies4School digital campaign to create a platform through which users can upload selfies and promote the campaign on their social media profiles.

     

    “At Breakthrough our aim is to make human rights real and relevant to everyone by creating innovative, relevant multimedia and pop culture that bring human rights issues and values into the mainstream. The Vodafone Breakthrough Selfies4School campaign is a call to educated, urban men and women to join our effort to delay the early marriage of girls till they attain legal age. By sending in selfies to join this campaign, one will not only ensure the resources to support the right to education for girls, but also endorse the courage of girls to fight against odds like poverty, gender discrimination and child marriage to realize their dreams,” said Sonali Khan, Vice President and Country Director, Breakthrough India.

     

    The Ignitee team is also responsible to revamp the Breakthrough website which will focus on how the users can join hands with Breakthrough and work with them. Through this website, Ignitee aims to create innovative, relevant multimedia tools and programs-from short animations to long-term leadership training-that reach individuals and institutions where they are, inspiring and equipping them to build a world in which all people enjoy their human rights. With an active presence online and a revamped website, Breakthrough will be able to engage with its followers and registered users, send them relevant invites for events based on their location and other parameters.

     

    Atul Hegde

    On this strategic partnership, Atul Hegde, CEO, Ignitee said, “We are extremely delighted to be associated with Breakthrough and look forward to support the campaigns with Ignitee’s expertise in the digital space. We are looking at building engaging content which will help bring a notable positive difference to the lives of all women and lead to a better society to live in. We, at Ignitee, will create unique and innovative campaigns reflecting the needs of the users and connect with them on a personal level by providing useful information to users and encourage them to join in the various initiatives.”

     

    Ignitee had previously been associated with cause marketing initiative like Be Brave (Godfrey Phillips India) and NGO like YouWeCan (Yuvraj Singh Foundation).

     

  • Premnath, a thorough digital professional with over 10 years of experience, comes with in-depth knowledge of performance based campaigns

    Premnath Unnikrishnan appointed South Head – Digital at MEC

    By A Correspondent

     

    MEC India has announced the appointment of Premnath Unnikrishnan as South Head – Digital. Prior to joining MEC, he was with Interactive Avenues, a leading full-service digital marketing company. Based out of Bangalore, Premnath will report to Vishal Chinchankar, Digital Leader – India.

     

    Vishal Chinchankar added, “It is great to have Prem a part of the MEC’ Digital team. He is a seasoned professional and come with a plethora of skills and expertise. He has a proven ability to create strategic simplicity, drive innovation, ensure systematic execution, and deliver results. We wish him the very best in his new role”.

     

    Premnath, a thorough digital professional with over 10 years of experience, comes with in-depth knowledge of performance based campaigns. At Interactive Avenues, Premnath has managed prestigious accounts like Wipro, TTK, ING Vysya Bank, World Vision amongst others.

     

    On his appointment, Premnath Unnikrishnan said, “It’s an absolute honor to be part of this leading organization. This opportunity has provided me a great platform to further showcase and enhance client service levels. From developing digital strategies to implementing digital technologies and running digital processes, these responsibilities will serve as a great learning opportunity. I am eager and look forward to learning from the pool of talented people present here at MEC.”

     

     

  • The key focus will be to increase the reach, awareness and build on its strength as a preferred destination for comparison, and saving on purchase of insurance policies

    Lowe Lintas appointed advertising agency for Policybazaar.com

    By A Correspondent

     

    PolicyBazaar.com has announced the appointment of Lowe Lintas as its advertising agency. This development comes close on the heels of the company receiving a funding of $20 million, most of which will be deployed to step up marketing activities and ramp up technology.

     

    Speaking on the development, Naveen Kukreja, CMO, PolicyBazaar.com said, “PolicyBazaar.com has been a key force in developing online insurance along with our insurance partners. Over the last six years, we have helped > 50 Lakh users save money by comparing different policies before purchase. Online purchase and the habit of comparing different options through a neutral platform, is still in a nascent stage though.”

     

    In order to meet this objective, we are excited to partner with Lowe Lintas as our brand agency. With them on board, we are now gearing up for a new brand positioning and innovative marketing campaigns in the near future. We chose Lowe Lintas for their clear understanding of our brand, proven record for delivering some of the most successful ad campaigns and focus on delivering business results.”

     

    Naveen Gaur, President, Lowe Lintas + Partners said, “PolicyBazaar.com is a young dynamic brand which has revolutionized the financial management and investments category. Its proposition of comparing financial products is truly unique. We were very excited by this proposition and that clearly showed in our presentation to them. The first set of work after our formal association with each other will be out shortly, and I am sure that this will be the first of many steps we will take together to make this brand the success it should rightfully be.”

     

    PolicyBazaar.com, which recently completed six years, has already launched strong campaigns, which urge people to compare insurance policies before making their purchase. This year, they have already kicked off a campaign in July and are looking to roll out more campaigns.The company also recently experimented by launching a radio campaign in Delhi.

     

  • The agency's prime mandate will be to reach out to the existing consumer base of Hungama.com and target digital music consumers across the country

    Hungama.com awards its creative mandate to Scarecrow Communications

    By A Correspondent

     

    Hungama.com has awarded its creative duties to Scarecrow Communications. With this appointment, the agency will be responsible for designing clutter breaking creative communication that further augments the presence of Hungama.com in the digital music industry.

     

    The agency’s prime mandate will be to reach out to the existing consumer base of Hungama.com and target digital music consumers across the country via 360 degree creative communications that maximise the potential of various medium including print, OOH and digital.

     

    Sidhartha Roy

    Commenting on the appointment, Siddhartha Roy, CEO at Hungama.com said, “Scarecrow Communications comes with a widespread portfolio of media and entertainment brands. With the agency’s deep understanding of the sector and innovative creative campaigns for various brands over the years, we have decided to award the creative mandate to them. We at Hungama.com look forward to a fruitful association with Scarecrow Communications that can help us drive our vision towards being a preferred music streaming service.”

     

    Raghu Bhat

    On winning the account, Raghu Bhat, Founder & Director at Scarecrow Communications said, “Hungama.com is the pioneer in digital entertainment. A new-age brand that exists resides at the cusp of devices, music, Bollywood and the internet – four forces that touch the lives of almost every Indian. We are thrilled with this mandate and will also treat this as a great learning opportunity.”

     

  • CyberMedia will advise potential online establishments on how to make the most out of their traffic and achieve better eCPM rates

    CyberMedia becomes Google AdSense certified partner

    By A Correspondent

     

    CyberMedia (India) Ltd. has recently become Google AdSense Certified Partner in India. As a certified partner of the Google AdSense Partner program, CyberMedia (India) Ltd. will help online publishers earn through targeted advertisements and optimizing their online inventory. CyberMedia will also advise potential online establishments on how to make the most out of their traffic and achieve better eCPM rates.

     

    Explaining the significance of the tie-up, Dhaval Gupta, Business Head, Cyber Media mentioned, “CyberMedia continues its journey as the innovation leader in media and media services, by becoming a Google Certified Partner for Adsense in India. By leveraging Google products – Adsense, Analytics, AdWords, Webmaster, among other – CyberMedia Services offers the most comprehensive ecosystem that online publishers can leverage. We will utilize these tools and expertise to help publishers analyze, optimize and monetize their online footprint.”

     

    The Google AdSense program is recognized as a popular advertisement placement service in the world which helps publishers to monetise their inventory by placing contextually relevant ads on their content. By signing up with CyberMedia, publishers can hope to gain the technical expertise needed to better monetize their online properties using AdSense and benefit from a host of value added services on offer.

     

  • Unilever and Mindshare win big at the second annual Smarties APAC 2014 held in Singapore last week

    Excellence in mobile marketing recognized at the Smarties APAC 2014 Awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Mobile Marketing Association unveiled the winners of the second annual Smarties APAC 2014 at a Gala in Singapore recently. A global contest that showcases the ‘best of the best’ in the industry, the Smarties Awards honour solid mobile strategies that address specific business challenges through the creative use of mobile technologies. Winners were declared in 21 categories, including two new creative categories: Best Brand Experience in Mobile Rich Media and Most Engaging Mobile Creative.

     

    “Today, mobile is not simply a nice-to-have or must-have. Mobile is a must-do-well for brands and their agencies. Our winners have demonstrated their ability communicate their brand’s story with mobile using creative concepts that lead to market performance,” said Rohit Dadwal, Managing Director, Mobile Marketing Association Asia Pacific.

     

    An analysis of the winning entries, presented at the event by research agency and Knowledge Partner, Millward Brown, found that successful brands and marketing strategies had well-defined clarity of purpose with 70 percent of winners identifying a specific objective of increasing sales. 80 percent of the winners also had a precise role for mobile using the channel’s unique strengths such as location, payments, and targeting. 86 percent of winners at the Smarties APAC 2014 Awards used multiple channels to boost the impact of their campaigns.

     

    Winners were selected following a rigorous process involving over 80 senior marketers and agency leaders. This year’s awards saw a 40 percent increase in the number of entries, and judges reviewed campaigns from 15 countries across Asia-Pacific before choosing winners.

     

    “I’d like to thank all my fellow jury members for their time and valuable insight. We selected the winners after eight hours of extensive debate, and were impressed by the results achieved by some of the campaigns,” said Jury President Ashutosh Srivastava, Chairman & CEO Asia-Pacific and Global Growth Markets, Mindshare. “We hope see a creative evolution in the industry in the years to come, as marketers become more fearless in their approach to mobile. Innovative creative work is the only way we can harness the full potential of the mobile medium.”

     

    The Smarties is the only global awards programme dedicated exclusively to mobile marketing. Country editions of the SmartiesAwards will also be held in India on September 11, 2014 and in Vietnam on October 30, 2014.

     

    The SMARTIES APAC 2014 Awards Winners:

    Award Category

    Gold

    Silver

    Bronze
    Brand Awareness Hindustan Unilever / PHD India KIA / MNET Coca-Cola Japan Company – Fanta / UM
    Unilever – Cornetto / PHD China
    Lead Generation / Direct Response / Conversion N/A Unilever – Rexona  / Mindshare Malaysia Unilever – Wall’s Ice Cream / Mindshare Malaysia
    Unilever – Zhonghua / PHD China
    Product / Service Launch Unilever – Citra / Mindshare Indonesia & InMobi Nivea / OMD Singapore & Airwave Unilever – Axe / Mindshare Indonesia & InMobi
    Promotion MondelÄ“z China / Isobar China Coca-Cola Japan Company – Fanta / UM Star India Pvt Ltd / Mindshare India
    Relationship Building/ CRM Red Cross / MRM//McCann Genki Sushi Hong Kong Limited / Cherrypicks Limited N/A
    Merries Baby Diaper / Dentsu Thailand
    Cross Media Integration KIA / MNET Unilever – Dove / Mindshare Vietnam MondelÄ“z China / Carat China
    Mobile Website N/A N/A McDonald’s Corporation / Mobext Philippines
    Messaging N/A Red Cross / MRM//McCann Adani Wilmar Limited / Neo Ogilvy India
    Location Based Coca-Cola / Japan – Georgia / Dentsu Inc. N/A Unilever – Wall’s Magnum / Mindshare Malaysia
    Innovation Hindustan Unilever / PHD India Coca-Cola Greater China / Isobar China Red Cross  / MRM//McCann
    Mobile App Coca-Cola / Japan – Georgia / Dentsu Inc. KIA / MNET Merries Baby Diaper / Dentsu Thailand
    In-App Advertising – Gaming or Other N/A N/A Procter &Gamble – Gillette / MediaCom
    Unilever – Wall’s Ice Cream / Mindshare Malaysia
    mCommerce N/A McDonald’s Corporation / Mobext Philippines PayPal / PHD & Airwave
    Best Brand Experience in Mobile Rich Media N/A Unilever – Citra / Mindshare Indonesia & InMobi Unilever – Vaseline Men / Mindshare Indonesia & Vdopia
    Most Engaging Mobile Creative Unilever – Zhonghua / PHD China Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Australia / Mobile Embrace’s 4th Screen Advertising Australia Unilever – Citra / Mindshare Indonesia & InMobi
    Unilever – Vaseline Men / Mindshare Indonesia & Vdopia
    Enabling Technology Company of the Year in Mobile Mobilewalla
    Publisher/Media Company of the Year in Mobile Facebook
    Best in Show KIA “GAME ON”
    Agency of the Year in Mobile Mindshare Indonesia
    Agency Network of the Year in Mobile Mindshare Asia-Pacific
    Marketer of the Year in Mobile Unilever
  • The 5-week long jubilation includes honoring its valued customers of last 5 years

    Goibibo completes five years

    By A Correspondent

     

    Goibibo.com has completed five years of its journey in India. The company is celebrating the 5th anniversary with the Goibibo management team meeting the first 50 bookers in person and honoring them with a certificate of appreciation for showing faith and confidence when Goibibo was just starting out along with a goCash gift voucher worth Rs. 10,000.

     

    Goibibo’s first booker is Sandeep Arya from Gurgaon who works with Gartner and the second is Richard Barraud from Delhi who is an Architect and teaches at School of Planning and Architecture.

     

    Besides this, on a daily basis five lucky online bookers will get Rs.1000 in goCash, five weekly bookers have a chance to win Rs.5000 in goCash on bookings made during the week and the five mega winners will win Rs.50,000 in goCash on bookings made in the 5-week period.

     

    As per a statement issued by the company, “Goibibo.com has had a very successful 5-year stint in the market. We have carefully nurtured the brand to help it reach its present status as the most popular travel website in India.  Our valued customers have played a very significant role in helping us reach this milestone. Through the 5-week mega celebration we want to demonstrate our gratitude and appreciation for their loyalty by rewarding them with these incredible deals and offers.”

     

  • Since June there has been an average of more than 1 billion video views on Facebook each day

    Facebook rolls out more features for its video biz

    By A Correspondent

     

    The last few months have seen an unprecedented growth in video consumption for Facebook in India. More and more people are uploading, sharing and discovering videos on Facebook. Video views grew more than 50 per cent from May through July of this year, and since June there has been an average of more than 1 billion video views on Facebook each day.

     

    For marketers, digital video, particularly on mobile, is becoming more important as well. Combining sight, sound and motion, video creates experiences that are, at their best, memorable, moving and inspiring – the types of experiences that help brand marketers drive important metrics, including awareness, consideration and, ultimately, sales.

     

    Facebook has announced some new features to its video ads offering. After introducing videos that start playing automatically in News Feed earlier this year, FB found that people discover significantly more content with this feature. And when used in combination with the new video views objective, businesses are seeing a significant decrease in cost per view for their Facebook video ads. So in the coming weeks, FB will extend the availability of videos that play automatically to more content from more brands in the US.

     

    “Using videos we uploaded to Facebook during Fashion Week in February, we saw an 85X lift in view rates versus our previous Fashion Week campaign, which linked to videos from other players. This fall we will begin tapping into the new video views objective, and our ads are now eligible to automatically play in News Feed. Facebook is and will continue to be a key part of our video marketing strategy going forward,” shared Jen Daly, Senior Brand Building Manager, TRESemmé & Nexxus, Unilever

     

    People will also begin to see how many views a video on Facebook has received. Views will be shown on all public videos from people and Pages. This will help people discover popular videos, and help businesses quickly gather information about how their videos are performing.

     

  • MSN aims to deliver the world’s most popular and comprehensive content on the Web; coming soon to Windows, Android, and iOS devices

    Microsoft unveils first look of new MSN in India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Microsoft has unveiled a first look of the new MSN in India. Designed from the ground up for a mobile, cloud first world, the new MSN combines premium content from the world’s leading media outlets with personal productivity tools that help you do more. Built around the insight that the knowledge and information that enriches your life should be accessible regardless of where you are or what device you are using, the new experience is available on the web and will soon be available across all major device platforms, including Windows, iOS and Android.

     

    “We have re-written MSN from the ground up for a mobile-first, cloud first world. The new MSN brings together the world’s best media sources along with data and services to enable users to do more,” said Sanjay Trehan, Head of MSN India, Microsoft. “The new MSN focuses on the primary digital daily habits in people’s lives, helping them complete tasks on the web and across all of their devices, roaming data and personalized settings to keep users in the know wherever they are.”

     

    MSN is partnering with some of the world’s best and most authoritative sources, including The New York Times in the U.S., Yomiuri Shimbun and Asahi Shimbun in Japan, The Guardian and the Telegraph in the U.K., Le Figaro and Le Monde in France, and Lance and Estadão in Brazil, and many more.

     

    In India, Microsoft has partnered with top local content partners, including Hindustan Times, NDTV, India Today, Indian Express and Network 18.

     

    Spanning multiple sections including sports, news, health & fitness, money, travel and video, the new MSN provides a global perspective from thousands of publishers across the world. Information ranges from the latest stats on over 200 global sports leagues, reviews of over 1.5 million bottles of wine, to over 300,000 gorgeously photographed recipes and more. MSN’s expert editors are able to draw from the over 1,000 sources to hand-curate content for individual markets and cultures.

     

    “With an audience of nearly 425 million people coming to over 57 markets around the world available across the three major device platforms, the new MSN presents an enormous opportunity for publishers” said Adam Anger, General Manager for Asia Pacific, Microsoft Advertising “With over 50% of people accessing content on dedicated apps, this release is in lockstep with where usage is happening.”

     

    The new MSN brings actionable information and the opportunity to act directly at the point where people are actively engaging, from personal productivity tools like shopping lists, flight status and savings calculators, to integrated access to popular sites like Outlook.com, Facebook, Twitter, OneNote, OneDrive and Skype. At the top of the page, there is a personal stripe allowing you one click access to top services so you can stay on top of what’s happening in your life.

     

  • While the overall industry was at $1 billion (Rs 6,000 crore) a couple of years ago, just the top three marketplaces in the country-Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon-are estimated to cross $4 billion (Rs 24,000 crore) in sales this fiscal

    Online retailers Flipkart, Amazon etc to woo customers with eye-popping deals this Diwali

    By Radhika P Nair

     

    Online retailers, from biggies such as Flipkart and Amazon to niche players like FabFurnish and Bluestone, have lined up special catalogues, exclusive products, offers, contests and discounts to ensure a cracker of a Diwali season, with an eye on first-time shoppers.

     

    Fashion portal Myntra will offer more than 5,000 new products across top brands like FCUK, UCB, Elle, SuperDry, Biba, FabIndia and Antony Moratto for the first time online, while online marketplace Snapdeal.com is working with brands across categories like fashion, electronics and home products to put together a special Diwali catalogue that will be out in the next few days.

     

    Market leader Flipkart will put up exclusive products and offer heavy discounts while rival Amazon.in may introduce drone delivery in the country, as Diwali season is when most number of Indians try out online shopping for the first time. The four to five weeks until Diwali brings the largest sales spike for online sites.”For online retailers, you can say that the financial cycle is Diwali to Diwali,” said Saurabh Srivastava, director at advisory firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) India.

     

    “Every project cycle and launch that an etailer works on during the year is geared only towards Diwali.” MrSrivastava said sales jump during this season can be double the regular daily order size. Sandeep Komaravelly, senior vice president of marketing at Snapdeal, said that unlike offline, Diwali momentum does not taper off in online retail after the festival.

     

    “New customers who have tried online shopping for the first time during the festival season continue to do so even afterwards,” he said. No wonder then that portals big and small are going all out to woo new customers, backed by large marketing campaigns.

     

    “For large e-tailers the marketing budgets will be as high as 10% of overall costs,” said PwC’s Mr Srivastava. Even niche jewellery site Bluestone has set aside Rs 6 crore for advertisement and marketing for the festive season. It will launch a consultancy feature for Diwali that will suggest jewellery items based on the user’s face, hair style and likes.

     

    The typical Diwali shopping season starts from third week of September and goes on until Bhai Dooj, two days after Diwali. The online retail industry has grown rapidly in the past few years. While the overall industry was at $1 billion (Rs 6,000 crore) a couple of years ago, just the top three marketplaces in the country-Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon-are estimated to cross $4 billion (Rs 24,000 crore) in sales this fiscal.

     

    Ganesh Subramanian, chief operating officer at Bengaluru-based Myntra, which was acquired by Flipkart earlier this year, said it’s setting up a special Diwali store on its site. The company has started a new warehouse in Gurgaon in time for the peak shopping period.

     

    “We expect a lot of interest from tier-II and III cities and towns thanks to mobile. At least one out of two orders will be through mobile,” he said. Myntra is targeting sales of Rs 2,000 crore this fiscal.

     

    Flipkart plans a single-day big-bang sale a few days before Diwali with new and exclusive products at big discounts, said a person with direct knowledge of the site’s Diwali plans. It will also launch exclusive brand partnerships-around one a week-as part of its Diwali line up.

     

    “The company is expecting the largest sales in its seven years of existence,” said the person who did not wish to be identified. Flipkart declined to participate in this story. Samir Kumar, director of category management at Amazon India, said the portal will have exclusive launches and innovative gifting options. Amazon could also do drone deliveries in India during the period, as reported earlier. The company declined to speak on this.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2014, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish