Benefits of Online Shopping

When it comes to shopping, more and more of us are letting our fingers (and our mice) do the walking.
Here are seven reasons it makes sense to shop online:

1. Lower prices. Online shopping can reduce overhead costs in a variety of ways, which can translate to lower prices for you. In fact, one 2004 study found online prices to be 6 to 16 percent lower than offline prices.



2. More savings with online coupons. Many times, shoppers can save even further with an online coupon or coupon code. According to a 2005 Bizrate/Shopzilla report, 71 percent of online shoppers said they were able to find better discount offers and sales online, as compared to shopping through a catalog or traditional retail merchant. Online retailers may issue a button or text link that will apply an automatic savings to your order, or they may issue a specific coupon code to be entered at checkout.



3. Research capabilities. The Internet allows you to easily compare products and prices, so you can be sure that the item you purchase is the exact item you want. Online merchants can publish much more information about their product on a website than they could affordably publish in a print catalog. And online stores give you the ability to share information and reviews with other shoppers who have firsthand experience with a product or retailer. As Internet connection speeds continue to increase for larger segments of the population, these types of interactive features will become even more important. Zappos.com, a leading shoe retailer, for example, allows you to view most shoes from as many as eight different angles, including a close up.



4. Increased selection. Warehousing logistics can be much simpler for an online retailer, and many of the online superstores have a staggering inventory to choose from. Plus, as a consumer, you can avoid the inconvenience of physically traveling among online stores to comparison shop. A simple online search can lead you to the right product at the right price, fast.



5. Convenience. An online store allows you to shop 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. So you can shop at your leisure, regardless of your time zone. This is particularly important for those of us who are limited in our ability to get to a brick and mortar store. The elderly, as well as parents of young children, for example, may have a more relaxed shopping experience in front of the computer screen.



6. Saves time. So much of the vast variety of products and product information is easily searchable. Plus, there is no traveling, parking, and walking involved.



7. Environmental Benefits. Recent studies are showing that shopping online leads to reduced fuel consumption and air pollution, because so much of our car travel is dedicated to shopping. Plus, shopping online reduces the need for print catalogs and excess packaging. And downloadable items purchased online eliminate the need for any kind of material goods at all.

India has also started shopping heavily on online stores. Thanks to the stores like MyGrahak.com which are coming up with exciting services and enticing products range to make online shopping a rage.

Ahead of India’s E-Commerce Boom, MyGrahak Hopes to Raise $3.5 Million This Year

It’s still early days in the Indian e-commerce scene – despite the emergence of Flipkart – and so now is the time to invest and expand. And today, India’s top food-oriented e-tailer MyGrahak has revealed its investment aims looking ahead for the next three years. It plans to raise a total of Rs. 200 crores (US$35.82 million) up to 2015, by which time it also hopes to have a turnover of Rs. 1,000 crores ($179.1 million).

The figures come from MyGrahak.com founder and CEO Ambuj Jhunjhunwala in an annoucement earlier this evening. He stated, “We would be considering private equity investors for our next level of capital infusion,” but did not name any possible VC backers. He added:

• MyGrahak is gearing up for the next level of growth. Our monthly revenues have crossed Rs. 1.25 crore [$223,900] last month and we will break even by December 2012. We believe the stage is now set for more capital infusion. We plan to use the capital to double our warehouse, to improve logistics and supply chain, for a new office premise in Ghitorni and to enhance our customer experience.

Based in Delhi, MyGrahak was founded in December 2010 and aims itself at middle- and upper-income Indian families who might lack the time to go out and shop for boring necessities. Mr. Jhunjhunwala specified that they’re planning to invest Rs. 20 crore ($3.58 million) of that Rs. 200 crore total “by November 2012.” Who might step up and back this online supermarket business? One strong likelihood might be Sequoia Capital which has in the past invested in other Indian e-commerce sites such as Fashionandyou and Freecharge.

The site also revealed that it currently has only 22,000 registered users on the site, but that it’s growing at the rate of 25 percent per month.

Earlier this year we saw how MyGrahak was rolling out ‘card on delivery’ as a payment option by equipping its deliverymen with credit card transaction devices.

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.