Why Online Grocery Shopping is a wise choice today?

1. You Can Save Time



This is a no-brainer. By eliminating the travel and wait times you’d spend if you went to the market in person, you’ll free up more of your day to do the things you want to do. When you order online, there are no lines, no going back to previously scavenged aisles to get something you forgot, and no standing behind a lady trying to sweet talk her way into using expired coupons. You’re in and out in flash. Make the process even speedier by creating a list beforehand so you’re not twiddling your thumbs trying to decide what you need — and ultimately buying things you don’t.





2. You Can Save Money



Great deals often can be found if you’re willing to look for them. Sitting at your desk and clicking food into your “cart” isn’t the same as when you’re standing eye to eye with all the junk you shouldn’t buy. Shopping online will drastically reduce your impulse buys, which probably account for 30% of your in-store purchases and 100% of your increased waist size.





Because you’re having the groceries delivered instead of schlepping all those bags home by your lonesome, you can stock up on things you need (not Oreos!), resulting in even more discounts for bulk buys. And if you are able to find an online grocer that accepts coupons or has weekly sales, even better.




3. You Can Save Energy



Going to the grocery store is a workout. You will either have to walk, drive or send your maid to get the shopping done. It’s exhausting for whoever does it. Besides, it also results in wastage of energy and fuel. When online, you get the delivery folks pack everything neatly and drop it right to your doorstep. You never have to break a sweat.

Where to Order Online

This is big bustling question. With many stores coming up almost every day and promising to deliver the best and in the best way, you need to decide your choice. MyGahak.com is a site which has not only been able to grab eye balls with its range of products and brands, but also hold a grip to its customers with its great service. With perks like free home delivery and great deals adding to its goodness, check out mygrahak.com to make grocery shopping an experience that’s delightful, instead of draining!

7 Tips for Streamlining Your Shopping List

1. There are some tricks to figuring out a grocery list. Here it is:


2. Use a spreadsheet. We know that not everyone likes to use technology for stuff like their shopping lists, but being able to organize your list, especially by store could make it easier to add information like whether I have a coupon or which store is holding a sale.



3. Add items immediately when you run out. The biggest danger to your grocery list is three little words: “Oh, I’ll remember.” Whenever you run out of something, write it down immediately.


4. Buy in bulk, when you can. It often helps you find a great deal like buy worth ‘x’ amount and get ‘y’ free.


5. Shop around, but not too much. Prevent yourself from bulk buying. You can pre-decide your expenditure amount and prefer to stick to it, no matter what.



6. Plan meals. The easiest way to get an idea of what needs to be on your shopping list is to plan out what you’ll be preparing for the next week or so. You can put together a list from your ingredients, and, if someone’s coming to dinner, you know which ingredients you’ll need more of.



7. Determine your staples. Every family has different staples: Whether or not your staples fit into your meal plan, they’re usually worth picking up. Running out may not be a pretty option.



8. Go green. The less you’re buying from a physical store means that you are saving a lot of fuel and other expenses that gets incurred for maintaining a physical store. Prefer to Shop Online and gift yourself a sense of satisfaction.

MyGrahak intends to delight all households of India with a promise of enviable online shopping.Which Provide the differents , buy perfume and Buy Men Body perfumeShopping facilities With a promise of trust and sincerity, we deliver every product you need to maintain your home, through our extensive and wholesome online market.Customers can refill their monthly stores, through an easy onsite shopping or by placing a telephonic order, reducing their efforts and multiplying their choices. It can be anything from kitchen groceries to something for your pets, or toiletries like shampoos and deodorant.

To know about our exciting deals and offers login to www.mygrahak.com.

IT, ITeS and retail companies hiring more temporary employees

Companies across the information technology (IT), IT-enabled services and retail sectors are hiring more temporary staffers, shining a glimmer of light in a bleak economic scenario. At the same time, they are moving with caution, cutting the number of permanent employees on their rolls and running multiple checks before they hire.

"We are adding 7,000 temporary employees a month, but are down by 35 per cent permanent staffers in the past few months compared with the same period last year," says Sangeeta Lala, senior VP and co-founder, TeamLease Services. In the previous slowdown in 2008-2009, companies fired 20,000 temporary staffers in a 15-month period, before asking permanent employees to go.

Companies can take in temporary hires with every spurt in business, but if things become difficult, they will not renew contracts, adds Lala.

While cutting jobs is standard practice during a downturn, staffing firms have started to feel the heat this year. Team-Lease Services, Randstad India, Kelly Services, Adecco India and Manpower India notice that business heads are playing extra safe while adding to the permanent head count.

The temporary staffing business in India is pegged at around Rs. 3,000 crore while the permanent staffing business is at nearly Rs. 17,200 crore. The global temporary staffing industry is at around $140 billion. "Temporary growth takes place where there is a need for maintenance and sustainability, but when there is growth in industries and greenfield projects, the demand is for permanent employees," says a senior Randstad India executive who does not wish to be named.

The firm has seen temporary hiring go up by 20 per cent compared with the same period last year, while permanent hiring has slowed down by 25 per cent in the past six months. "While last time, all hiring had stopped, this time recruiting is taking a while. There is a squeeze in the middle and junior-levels and clients are not looking at volumes," says the executive.

Even for temporary hires, companies are opting for multiple rounds of interviews, psychometric and other assessments tests. Manpower Services has seen temporary staffing grow by 15 per cent in the March-May period compared with the same time last year, while fixed hiring has dropped. But since around 85 per cent of its business is from workforce on lease, the staffing firm is not too perturbed, says a senior executive of the firm who does not wish to be named.

On the other hand, Kelly Services has seen a 15 per cent dip in permanent hires, mainly in the IT industry. The staffing firm has also seen some permanent positions in the sector going to the temporary workforce, says Kamal Karanth, MD.

In 2008-2009, all costs were curtailed and therefore the temporary workforce was flagged down as well. "Organisations are conservative as permanent hiring is at least two to five times more expensive than a temporary one," says NS Rajan, partner & global leader - people & organisation, Ernst & Young.

The dip in permanent hires will impact staffing firms, but only just. Despite being a high-margin business, only 10-15 per cent of staffing firms revenues come from permanent positions. In comparison, the temporary staffing business a large volume, cut-throat-margin game.

But not all staffing firms are willing to see current trends as a no-win situation for permanent hiring. The changes are after all, cyclical, economy-related, impacted by the outsourcing of services and dependent on hires the firms have made last year, when the going was good.

Online Shopping @MyGrahak.com

Technology driving growth in grocery

Online food and grocery retailing, fairly mature in the West and showing lot of potential in growth markets like China, has not been able to capture the fancy of Indian shoppers yet. Things, however, may be changing as a new generation of well-funded online firms -- Bigbasket.com is a key example -- are using simple end-to-end technology solutions to offer deep discounts on grocery items, predict customer behaviour and keep a tight leash on expenses. With technology playing a key role, they are trying to make a dent in the estimated $343-billon food and grocery market in India.

For example, these firms use a supplychain technology that allow customers to place orders through multiple channels and later predict what a customer is likely to order. Combined with applications that track everything from the time an order is placed to delivery and devices that help during procurement, technology is helping these firms to make a compelling and convenient offer to the tech-savvy shopper.

For these online retailers, the most important tech application is the ability to predict customer behaviour which lets them reduce inventory and thereby, cut costs. For instance, while a traditional retailer might have to stock his monthly offtake of atta at least three weeks in advance, an online retailer ends up stocking it for less than two days. "That is mostly analytics," says Ambuj Jhunjhunwala, the founder of Mygrahak.com which sells food and grocery online in Delhi. Predicting customer needs helps them to plan in advance and procure based on needs. Need-based procurement works ideally well with perishable goods like food not to talk about saving expenses on storage space, which is a large part of expenditure for a traditional retailer.

Analytics also involves knowing the customer better which helps retailers to make tailor-made offers for customers and increase sales. Online retailers can also eliminate a large part of their frontline staff because customers usually help themselves. Typically, large format brick-and-mortar stores spend much of their attention to figure out customer behaviour on the shopping floor and arrange goods so that they catch customer attention. This can now be automated as the platform generates enough data about individual preferences. "You have complete control over knowing what your customer is buying and great level of predictability. The stickiness of forecasting can go up as you use technology to predict," says Anand Ramanathan, Associate Director at KPMG.

Shopping a delight for Neha Dhupia

Actress Neha Dhupia confesses to be a shopaholic and says she loves travelling, but shopping is her most favourite thing.

"Travelling is a hobby, but shopping is one of the things I do when I travel. I mean I am the kind of person who can shop anywhere. You take me from here to Timbuktu, I can probably shop anywhere I find something to buy," the 31-year-old told reporters here Thursday.

The former Miss India also enjoys online shopping.

"Online shopping is another aspect of shopping, it's very comfortable. But the reasons that we go online shopping is just because it's convenient, it's all in front of your computer, it's in an air-conditioned environment, there is no cash transaction and you get to see your choice of things you like," she said.

Neha is currently shooting for Maximum and Rush. While Maximum stars Sonu Sood and Naseeruddin Shah, Rush has Emraan Hashmi opposite her.

Neha was last seen in 2011 film Pappu Can't Dance Saala opposite Vinay Pathak.

Article Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

List of Online Grocery Shopping companies

Online shopping trends are high in India. Many Indian Retail organizations went online, and not just online, they started e-commerce channel to increase their revenues and beating competition. Companies are targeting the low hanging fruit like selling Electronics Items, Mobile, Books, Perfumes, shoes, etc.

But selling grocery online and making margin requires lot of efforts. First of all, it falls under perishable goods category and secondly, managing day to day operations, Inventory, supply chain management, customer satisfaction is another challenging task. Having said that many online retail grocery stores have been started in India.

Here is the list:

http://www.mygrahak.com

http://www.ishopindian.com/

http://www.zopnow.com/ (Operate only in Southern India)

http://www.bigbasket.com/

http://www.towness.com/ (Only in Bangalore South)

Please comment if you know any other retail online grocery shop.

E-commerce moving to ‘Card on Delivery’

MyGrahak prepares for the next growth phase

MyGrahak.com, the largest online retailing platform in India selling food, grocery and household items, today introduced ‘card on delivery’ option for customers allowing them to make payment by swiping their card while orders are being delivered. Delivery boys will bring with them portable card swipe machines. The device is GSM enabled with battery back-up.

Mr. Ambuj Jhunjhunwala, Founder & CEO, MyGrahak Shopping Online Limited said, “Card on delivery is another payment option that we would like to offer our customers from now. Our customers will now benefit from better cash management and can avoid hassle of tendering changes. We believe ‘Card on Delivery’ option will encourage more customers to move from cash on delivery to card on delivery.”

‘Cash on delivery’ revolutionized e-commerce in India. With inherent disadvantages for the seller, the service is seen as a ‘necessary evil’. It was needed to earn trust from customers. Now it is time for the sector to handhold customers to better payment options. – Mr. Ambuj Jhunjhunwala

“We collect in excess of 2 lakh in cash/day growing at 40 % Month on Month. We foresee cash management becoming a challenge as turnover increases to 20-50 lakh per day. With such improvements in service, we would like to save on the Cash Management System (CMS) and also reduce risk of cash in transit and at office. It will also ensure us lower overhead and better accounting practices.” Adds, Mr. Ambuj Jhunjhunwala.

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Mygrahak Super saver offers – Only for Delhi readers

Note:- These offers are for only Delhi-Ncr readers.

Mygrahak.com is Delhi-Ncr based Family supermarket where you can buy online all your home need with free home delivery.

From last couple of days many of our members have been posting some great deals from Mygrahak , in this post we have assorted all those deals with some fresh deals.

Offers from Mygrahak-

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Deals from Mygrahak:-

1. Haldiram Bhujia 1 Kg Get 30% Off On Mrp For Rs 128

2.Kissan Tomato Ketchup 1 Kg @ Rs.75 (mrp Rs.100)

3.Cadbury Oreo 124.2Gm Buy 2 Get 1 Free @ Rs.48

4.Maggi Masala Noodles 80 Gm Get 25% Off On Mrp starting @ Rs.7.50

5.Raindrops Select 1 Kg (Buy 1 Get 1 Parle cream Biscuit Worth Rs 10/- Free) for Rs.69 (mrp-150)

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7.Raindrops Supereme 1 Kg (Buy 1 Get 1 Maggi Masla noodle 80 Gm Free) @ Rs.79 (MRP-175)

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With Online Shopping No More Feet Shuffling On Roads And Stores

Gone are the days when computer was a rare entity. Today, even the kindergarten going kids are enough computers literate to use and play with them. Along with advancement of computers and its technologies, internet has also paved its way to become an integral part of our lives. Reducing the efforts and time involved in almost every possible task, internet has blessed the life of human being. Internet has also endowed us with a concept of online buying that has massively helped us to utilize the time spend in running and waiting around the stores in some productive work.

Online purchase of products is about “so much convenience”. It eradicates the need of going through the congested streets as well as the minus of limited product availability at the bricks and mortars shop due to space constraints. Malls and modern shopping complexes do offer plentiful of brands and products to choose from, still, are no match to online buying in terms of product availability. Adding to the convenience, it keeps the consumer away from the buzzing traffic, parking problem and above all the tiring wait in the long queue of billing counters.

Online purchase is also about ‘fun and excitement’. Shopaholics from all walks of life can extend their shopping without digging a hole into their wallet by the exciting offers, deals and discounts provided by the online store. One must break the myth that the similar product offered with great discounts as compared to the physical store is not up to the mark. The margin that falls into the customer kitty is created from the cost cutting of establishing and maintenance of physical location, retail manpower and others. Hence, one can grab and enjoy the deals and discounts to buy online even the expensive products of high street brands.

Even if a revolutionizing concept, it has a slow adoption rate as many shoppers are still reluctant to buy online products due to its lack of touch and feel experience. Quality concerns have perhaps been the most significant obstacle to the growth of this type of online purchase. Another myth that hurdles the growth of online shopping is regarding the confidentiality related with the monetary transaction procedures used by the stores. Delivery slot is also a significant downside attached with the online purchase of products and services offered from the global merchandisers.

With time, online buying is improving its capability, capacity and other aspects that have helped it in increasing the consumers each passing day. Further, with the raising competition and inclination of consumer towards online market, these stores follow policies that are customer oriented. Keeping a strict tab on the quality of the products they are selling, these online stores also monitor about the delivery schedules to retain the trust and confidence of the customers. Furthermore, the implementation of improvised technology has made monetary transactions easy and secure.

Giving plethora of choices in any segment, online shopping gives relief to every people who are blessed with enough money but not with time.

Online Grocery Shopping – A Fun Filled Experience

With time, technology has evolved to greatest extent and concurrently extended its impact on human’s life. From complex business process to simple routine work, every phase of human life had massively changed with the infusion of technology. Booming with time, these emerging technologies have also changed the shopping experience of consumers by introducing Online Shopping. From electronic gadgets to apparels, cosmetic to food, medicine and any products can be purchased via online shopping. One can even buy grocery from online stores without leaving the comfort of their place.

Grocery shopping has never been as easier as with the online shopping. Grocery online shopping has ended those tiresome trips to the physical store, crosschecking and picking items in grocery list, and waiting in a beeline in the long queue of billing counter. Making the routine life easier online grocery shopping also removes the geographical constraints and presents a widest gallery of products to consumer. With just few clicks of the mouse, one can search, select and buy grocery of their preferred name and make. Further to add excitement and fun to shopping experience, the grocery online shopping offers attractive deals and discounts to the consumer.

Offering the convenience and potential savings online grocery shopping has significantly helped the consumer in saving their precious time. Having a round the clock shopping power, one can buy grocery for themselves even in busy hours of weekdays or even at night to free the weekends for leisure and recreational activities. In addition to lessening the pressures of our mad pace of current life, online grocery shopping also offers other benefits like easy payment options, door step delivery, independence, freedom from store visit and many more.

Analyzing the advantage and potential of online market both the merchandiser and consumer around the globe are hitting the web-space each day in double and triple digits. Grooming with time, online market is also facing various challenges due to the unethical practices of few retailers. These stores often add unpleasant shopping experience in consumer’s diary by offering false deals, tricky product details that result impulsive buying. Hence, it is paramount to act as a smart and informative consumer before spending the penny. One must learn about the terms & conditions, policies and other details about the retailer. Consumer can also read the review and recommendations of user to grab the best product that offers value to their money.

Gaining the mouth popularity, online shopping has also established its significant position among Indian consumers. Additionally, it has offered significant opportunity to both the small and foremost retailers of Indian market to expand their sale and add global consumers into their store listing. With its improving capability and capacity, grocery shopping India features the widest range of products with world-class standards. Further, to add more grocery shopping India also offers the facility of telephonic ordering and connectivity with mobile devices to give consumer freedom of movement.

Giving numerous benefits and opportunities, online market has become a one stop destination to avail products and services that suit every need and lifestyle.

Online Cosmetic Shopping – A Wise Concept of Spending Penny

Since ages it has been known that cosmetics are an imperative part of a woman's live. Strengthening to it a roman philosopher ‘Platus’ had also said that ‘a woman without paint is like food without salt’. One can also get the proof from the found sculptures and historical paintings where in women in different civilization had used different cosmetic product to enhance their beauty. Adding to their natural beauty, cosmetic products make a woman confident and ready to conquer the world.

Evolving from Egyptian kohl to French rogue, cosmetics have seen a dramatic transition in its outlook and significance. Not only the product but the cosmetic industry has also reached to new heights. Grown leaps and bounds all over the world, the segment has introduced numerous brands to meet the beauty needs of the women. From eye and lip colour palettes to shampoos, perfumes, correctors, concealers, blush and many more, these brands offer an endless list to the consumer. But the physical market faces a major problem of demographic barrier and expensive price value of the products.

To this problem internet and its family has given an advantageous solution in the form of Online Shopping. Emerged as an effective media of advertising, online shopping has helped women to explore and buy cosmetic of any brand easily and quickly. Presenting an extended range from renowned as well as emerging brands, online cosmetics shopping allows women to add safe, improved yet trendy products to their collection. In addition to this, online cosmetic shopping has added to the excitement of women by offering attractive deals and discounts even on their branded beauty products. A better alternative to traditional shopping in terms of saving time & energy, online shopping is attracting shoppers from all walks of life to buy cosmetic online.

Coping with the busy lifestyle of women, online cosmetic shopping allows them to search, compare, select and purchase the beauty products by sitting comfortably at home, office or any location. With just a few clicks, a woman can buy cosmetic of most famous brands like Loreal, Revlon, Maybelline, Lakme, Cover Girl, La Femme Beauty or any at very economical rate. Purchasing cosmetics online also provides other advantages like door step delivery, easy payment options, product evaluation, extended range, comfort and many more.

Acting as a cyber smart consumer, a woman can grab the best bargains on it desired beauty product while purchasing cosmetics online. It is advisable that one should do some homework and answer few questions before purchasing cosmetics online. One of the paramount aspect is to have the knowledge of the skin type, then a clear thought about the needs to ensure that the selected products is of use or not. It is also a good practise to read the reviews and recommendation of the users so that your skin gets benefited instead of suffering from the products. One also needs to look about the terms, conditions and policies of the retailer when planning to buy cosmetics online.

Simple and easy, online cosmetic shopping has not only helped women to look more stylish and attractive but to reveal their secret gestures by giving a wide gallery of cosmetic products.

Online Shopping a New Trend Easing the Life

Online shopping is now becoming a fashionable alternative to frequenting garage sales or browsing through physical stores. Rushing in their busy life, people are getting more inclined towards the internet and their technologies for solving the daily chaos. Using the Internet for shopping not only saves the consumer a great deal of money but also help the consumer to find their selected product more easily and quickly. Offering exciting and pleasing experiences, online shopping stores have eased the life of modern people around the globe by saving their precious time and energy.
Grooming day by day, online stores have created a gigantic virtual market offering thousands of products from both the high as well as low street merchandisers. Listing all possible products and services, these online shopping stores allow the shoppers to move across a wide gallery without leaving the comfort of their place. Additionally, this extended merchandiser listing also helps consumers to evaluate the product before shopping online so that they can grab best product that too at attractive deal.
Shrinking the global market under just a click, online shopping has given various other privileges to the consumers. Some of them can be counted as door step delivery, easy payment options, convenience and efficiency. One of the advantageous characteristic of shopping online is the removal of demographic barrier. Shoppers from any geographic location can shop online for a wide range of products like jewellery, home appliances, baby products, health equipments, computer, mobile or other electrical appliances and the list goes on. One can also shop online for gifts and send them to their family and friends living abroad or other location.
Gaining a momentum, online shopping India has also reached to new heights and allowed consumers to buy any product. Serving the consumer round the clock, online shopping India stores have established their position by selling premium products at most competitive prices, delivering on time at customer's doorsteps. Further, to provide best consumer services these online shopping stores follow ethical practices and adopt fair policies that gives pleasing shopping experiences to domestic as well as international consumers.

Only one e-grocery start-up has attracted funding so far

More than half a dozen start-ups have launched online grocery stores in recent months. Working people, happy to have rice, sugar and even organic pepper delivered to their doorstep, may wonder why no one thought of it sooner. But egroceries are a tricky business. The success of online book and gadget retailers is little reason to assume that this sudden smorgasbord will fare well.

There is, of course, room for growth. According to consultancy firm Technopak Advisors, food and groceries account for $343 billion (Rs 15.44 trillion; one trillion equals 100,000 crore), or 68 per cent, of the $505-billion Indian retail market. Within this category, the organised food and grocery market, estimated at $12 billion, is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 30 per cent in the next five years.

That might explain why 26-year-old Ambuj Jhunjhunwala, who started online supermarket MyGrahak in 2010, wears a confident smile. The entrepreneur, whose family promotes 6Ten, a 300-store retail chain, is unfazed that he has three rivals in the National Capital Region alone (see Grocers Galore, page 72). "The market has room for everyone," says Ajay Mittal, Director, Ascent Capital. His company recently invested $10 million in BigBasket, the only egrocery venture to attract funding.

"If people can buy highly touch-andfeel products like shoes or apparel online, why not grocery," asks Vaibhav Goel, founder of three-month-old FamilyKart, which delivers around 20 orders a day in and around Delhi. E-grocers enjoy some advantages over regular supermarkets. They save on costs such as rent, store staff, and managing store inventory in addition to warehouse inventory. Two years ago, 6Ten closed 25 stores that were not doing well. More recently, Future Group's Big Bazaar and the More chain, operated by Aditya Birla Retail, also shut several stores that had turned unviable. "Delivery costs account for 60 per cent of what we would incur on rentals, so we save 40 per cent," says Hari Menon, co-founder of Bangalore-based BigBasket.

One reason why no e-grocery startup other than BigBasket has managed to raise money is that margins are wafer-thin. "At a gross margin of 12 to 15 per cent, profitability cannot be more than two per cent," says Gaurav Saraf, Director of Epiphany Ventures, a venture capital firm. The gross margin on fast-moving consumer goods is as low as 14 per cent. On fruit and vegetables, it is around 16 per cent but shelf life is shorter. This is why many sites, including MyGrahak and FamilyKart, stay away from fresh produce. BigBasket, however, says it has no problem. "Fruit and vegetables are procured only on order, except for those with a longer shelf life, such as potatoes and onions," says Menon. "This reduces loss of stock by three to four per cent."

One of the biggest rivals of e-grocers is the local kirana store, which offers home delivery in many cities, often within an hour. But Ascent Capital's Mittal says kirana shops lack the cost advantages to offer customers the best price, and cannot stock a wide range of products. BigBasket tries to consolidate orders in a locality and reach the customer in eight to 24 hours. But is that enough? Manohar Mason, Managing Director of Pentagon Communications, a marketing and consulting firm, doesn't think so. He says: "People can wait for books, but not groceries."

E-grocers are more likely to get repeat purchases than online retailers of other products. BigBasket says 65 per cent of its 3,000 customers are repeat buyers. But this also means egrocers must be on their toes. "If you can satisfy a busy customer, you're in for a huge opportunity," says Mason. Many investors doubt whether e-grocers can scale up. "This category cannot rely on a hub-and-spoke model, unlike apparel or electronics," says Mukul Singhal, Vice President of SAIF Partners, a venture capital firm. A book or an iPod can be sent by air across the country more easily than a 10 kg package of groceries.

"To reach Rs 100 crore in revenue, you must be present across the country," says Epiphany Ventures's Saraf. "Supply chain challenges are different in Bangalore and Gurgaon. You cannot replicate your model." So, while Jhunjhunwala expects MyGrahak to turn profitable by end-2012, he has no expansion plans.

Goel of FamilyKart says scaling up in other cities makes sense only after it has fully penetrated the area it currently operates in. But it is debatable whether volumes alone can make a venture profitable. Started in 2007, Britain's biggest e-grocer, Ocado, executes more than 9,000 orders a day, but struggles to make a profit. California-based Webvan started in 1999 and went bankrupt in 2001. It delivered fresh produce in 26 cities, but ran aground partly because it could not keep its promise of delivery in 30 minutes.

To boost margins, Indian e-grocers concentrate on monthly rather than daily purchases. A second strategy is to sell products with higher margins. Margins on pet food, for instance, can go up to 30 per cent. "The contribution of such items to sales is over six per cent, and we plan to raise it to 15 per cent," says Jhunjhunwala, whose monthly sales turnover averaged more than Rs 1 crore a month in the past year.

A third strategy is to sell inhouse brands, which improves margins by 20 to 25 per cent on staples. "We sell 7,000 SKUs, of which 300 are our own branded staples," says Menon of BigBasket. SKU or stockkeeping unit is the retail term for product identification code.

E-grocers get fewer deliveries returned than other online sellers - two to three per cent. The overall retail average is over 10 per cent. Most returns are because the customer was not available to receive the package. Chennai-based e-grocer Veggibazaar, which sells fresh produce, asks customers to indicate where orders can be delivered if they are not available - with a neighbour, maybe, or the security staff.

Perhaps the biggest threat to egrocers is giants such as the Future Group, which is testing a hybrid model to sell groceries online and in brick-and-mortar stores. Kashyap Deora, President of FutureBazaar. com, the group's online arm, which started selling groceries online in January, says: "We are doing pilots in 30 stores in Mumbai to check the feasibility of shipping online orders from the stores."

Saraf of Epiphany Ventures cites the success of British retailer Tesco, which operates offline and online. "It suggests that a hybrid model works best for grocery," he says. "A startup can't compete on procurement with a Reliance Retail, which has the entire supply chain mapped out." Sourcing efficiencies allow big retailers to offer discounts. BigBasket's Menon is undaunted.

"Once we have volumes, we'll try to move up the supply chain," he says. But BigBasket is the only e-grocer with funding. Its rivals will not be able to expand unless they attract investment. Newcomers such as FamilyKart are aware the clock is ticking. "We have a small window of opportunity," says Goel. "In a year we will have to be at a level where we can survive even if the big guns enter."

Buying grocery now has a tech edge

Basically, it operates in the same way as you do railway or air bookings. But what takes the cake is there are no extra costs involved and the products get delivered right at your doorstep.What augurs well for the consumer is the competition is building up as more and more players try to wean away customers by lining up hefty discounts and other promotional features in an attempt to corner a bigger chunk of market share. Shailaja Sharmatakes a closer look.

When Vikrant Joshi, an advertising professional in Mumbai, stopped by the kirana store in his locality for a loaf of bread and some eggs, he was in for a pleasant surprise — the shopkeeper informed him that he could order his supplies online which would be home delivered. On top of it, the shopkeeper followed up his chat by offering his business card which carried the website address to place such orders.

Joshi’s neighbourhood fuddy-duddy kirana store is part of about 1,600 others across the country that are now delivering groceries at consumer door-steps through orders placed on AaramShop.com, a company that partners with local kirana and medical stores to sell food and grocery online. With a footprint across 24 cities, AaramShop is now looking to bring in 20,000 shops under its coverage to become the largest e-grocer in the country.

The modus operandi is like this. When a consumer makes an order on the website, he can select the shop nearest to his home for delivery. The shopkeeper is alerted about the order through an e-mail followed by an SMS and a call from AaramShop’s call centre. The waiting time is around 3-4 hours before the order can be delivered.

Unlike a typical e-commerce transaction, the company does not charge anything from the kirana stores or even from customers. Instead, it is looking to make money directly from brands by providing them with analytics of consumer behaviour so that they can figure out buyers’ brand preference.

AaramShop is not sitting on its laurels, which is launching Aaram TV, a concept for in-store advertising of brands where product companies can pay for advertisements to be run on screens at mom-n-pop stores so as to attract consumers. Up next are mobile apps for kirana store owners which will alert them about orders on their mobile screens. Vijay Singh, chief executive officer and MD, an entrepreneur for 15 years, started AaramShop last year, along with a team of friends.

The funds are flowing, with Bangalore-based grocery e-tailer bigbasket.com recently securing some venture capital funding. A host of other websites like mygrahak.com and easyration.com in Delhi NCR, kiranawalla.com in Bangalore, freshndaily.com in Mumbai and chennaionlinegrocery.com in Chennai are already selling food, grocery and fresh supplies with free delivery within 24-48 hours of order, cash on delivery facility and discounts.

On an average, a city household spends Rs4,000-5,000 a month on groceries. Retailers believe the top 20 towns offer huge growth potential as spends on FMCG products are seen going up.

According to KPMG’s calculations, food and grocery retail in India is currently estimated to be $250 billion in size and expected to grow at rate of 6-8% on real term basis. Of this market, share of organised retail is estimated to be only 3% currently, but likely to double to 6% by 2015-16.

But the point is why would consumers use the web instead of making a call to their local kirana store. Ashutosh Malik, director and chief operating officer, AaramShop, points to the hectic schedule of the working class which finds ordering its weekly supplies online an easier option. For the traditional retailers, this is an opportunity to bolster sales. “The neighbourhood has over the years seen a slump in orders. They understand the competition from modern trade and are embracing the technology to stay ahead,” adds Malik.

He points to the format’s convenience factor when he says even FMCG companies are excited by a model like AaramShop as it provides them with last mile connect with consumers. Companies can communicate to buyers directly at the point where the purchase is being made. AaramShop is banking on these consumer brands to advertise on its site and buy into the data it collates from the cities it caters to.

When consumers order for products with a call to their kirana store, the average order size is at about Rs200. But while buying online, consumers are able to do impulse purchases, with as many as 30 product categories, Malik says. “An average order on our site is Rs570,” he says.

The road ahead is not without some sticking points though. “Online retail becomes popular in categories that can offer convenience, comparison and price advantage. Although online retail presents a significant potential, food and grocery online retailing has significant challenges related to managing the supply chain, low margins and limited shelf-life of fresh produce,” said Mohit Bahl, partner, KPMG, transactions services. In Bahl’s view, penetration of online food and grocery formats in mature markets has been limited, with major hurdles being supply chain-related issues.

Some experts say even as Indian consumers have comfortably adopted online stores for their apparel and electronics purchases, grocery is a different ballgame as consumers prefer to handpick their food and items of daily necessities, whether it’s scurrying across store aisles or ordering weekly supplies over the phone.
Malik of AaramShop admits that a majority of online grocery formats have failed to take off in a big way in many markets — these have stumbled in the US even. Unlike books which come with higher margins, grocery retailing fetches margins below 15% and usually in single digits. That, coupled with challenges in setting up an orderly supply chain, makes the model unviable.

What consumers seek from their mom-n-pop shop is convenience of home delivery and option of credit, and from hypermarkets, an option to have all products under one roof, lower prices, and of course, a wide variety. Their demand from from e-commerce grocers will be a mix of all these.