I still vividly remember the first time I purchased something online. I was sitting in my office back at my old workplace in Australia, thinking that I really needed to get a gift for a friend’s birthday. The problem was, I didn’t feel like trawling through shop after shop to find something suitable.
It was 1999, and the Internet boom had just hit Australia. New online stores were rapidly opening their virtual doors. So, I decided to try one out. The company, wishlist.com.au, has since grown to be one of the standout online retailers in Australia. I was pleasantly surprised by the innovative goods on offer and excellent customers service. Soon, I was also buying groceries online and getting them delivered to my home. And then, bored at work, I amused myself by hunting for bargains on Ebay.
When I came to India seven years ago, I was grateful to get away from the lure of online shopping and my growing addiction to having parcels frequently turn up in my letterbox. Yet, when I settled into life here, I came to really miss the ease of it. This was particularly so because shopping in India is usually not a peaceful experience. I dread the overeager employees, who are more like stalkers than shop assistants. They follow me through the stores and force products (and colours) onto me that I have no interest in. Fending them off is a tiresome process.
Fortunately, over the last few years, online stores have started emerging in India — tentatively at first, but now more confidently. This phase of the Internet in India reminds me of that nascent period in Australia, more than a decade ago. However, the reluctance of Indians to trust online shopping — to buy goods without seeing and feeling them, and to pay over the Internet — has posed some issues. Nevertheless, this has been widely overcome by offering customers the option of paying cash on delivery, and only if they’re happy with the goods. Many stores also provide free delivery.
The result is that new online stores have been mushrooming in India. I’ve purchased books, magazines, clothes including saris, household furniture and decorations, restaurant vouchers, a spa treatment, a printer, and even a vacuum cleaner over the Internet here! I often get groceries delivered too.
Apart from the convenience factor, the ability to get goods at cheap prices is a huge draw card. Let’s face it, one of the reasons why I love shopping online is because of the thrill of finding fabulous deals. The boom in online stores means it’s difficult to keep up with them all and what they’re offering though, especially the discounts and sales. Hence, I was excited to recently discover another new trend in online shopping in India — coupons, and in particular Cuponation.in.
This website has thousands of free discount coupons and deals for a huge range of online stores in India (including my favourites, Jabong and Myntra)! They’re also listed by stores and categories. All you have to do is click on the code, and where necessary, enter it into the retailer’s store when making your purchase. Too easy! And, I discovered some great new stores that I didn’t even know about, like Zovi store.
You can keep up with the latest discount offerings from Cuponation on their Facebook and Google+ pages.
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{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
Ha! I love the way you’ve described the store attendants because it’s so true! I am an American married to a desi and on my first trip to India shopping was a totally new experience. I felt attacked by store attendants and the bargaining. Oh God, the bargaining was so hard for me to endure, our son was an infant at the time so I was particularly frustrated having to wait for my husband to negotiate a fair price on everything.
Oh, isn’t it horrific! It’s really ruined my shipping experience and makes me shudder. They really don’t understand the concept of “no thanks, I’m happy browsing”. My local supermarket in Mumbai recently put store attendants in every aisle, as well as the meat section. It’s impossible to get away from them. I exploded one day, when one attendant insisted that I take a certain brand of sanitary pads!!!
Hi Sharrel,
I have used debit cards for some online transactions like railway booking etc., but I am still wary of using online financial services. My friend is well versed in this thing, and I usually take his help. There have been a few online frauds, which does not inspire much confidence, yet it is convenient. I still prefer to pay cash upfront and examine goods.
About credit cards, I have read horror stories from America where people have gone into credit card debts. It is said that there is a credit card institute which treat patients who have gone into depression due to their credit card debts. I hope this situation does not happen here. with every modern convenience there comes a problem, I guess.
The use of credit cards does indeed require prudent financial management. It’s easy for people to get sucked into spending way beyond what they can afford, and then paying high interest rates. I make sure I pay my credit card off in full every month, and find it a very convenient way to buy things. I’ve been using it over the Internet for years now (much more than a decade) and have never experienced a fraud until recently. My bank detected it and suspended my card immediately, then immediately reversed the transaction after I submitted a form. That’s an Australian bank though — I’m not sure how Indian banks function.
Indian banks are coming up slowly. However, there are times when you use the ATM and it does not dispense money, but the money is deducted from your account. Getting the bank to credit that money, is a lot difficult.
There is crime show on Sony TV “Crime Petrol” which depicts stories based on real crimes. There was one particular episode on online fraud. The banks often outsource their online transactions to firms who provide technical expertise. A women working in one such firm was lured by her friend . There are few bank accounts which remain dormant for a long time. They choose one such account whose owner has died. They got his ATM card and password delivered to a predesignated address. The son of the account holder got to know about the fraud when they received a letter for confirmation of address. By that time, money was withdrawn from the account. The fraud was detected in time. Most of the time, the outsourcing is a big loophole for such frauds.
DH saw a wierd 20k transaction on a credit card he never used, the bank didn’t blink but he called immediately, the card got blocked and the balance brought back to zero without DH having to pay any amount, so banks in India are also good at acting on complaint of fraudulent transaction on a credit card
In many European countries,in supermarkets and stores you are at peace with yourself .There is no one to bother you and impress upon you to sell you things.You have all the time in the stores.In North America it becomes again different somewhat like India, a lot of marketing and trying to push you to buy things for which you might have no inclination
Hi Sharell!
Your comment about store attendants in India reminds me of car salesmen in the US. Are store attendants in India paid on commission? That is the reason why car salesmen hound people who come to dealerships.
Ugh. I think car salesmen have a reputation throughout the world.
There are many reasons for the pesky attendants. Some overt and some covert.
1. Many stores give commission to the sales staff based on meeting or exceeding their targets.
2. Some stores insist that the sales staff meet a minimum quota of sales in their section to justify their wages.
3. Shelf space in departmental stores is scarce and expensive. To get a foothold, many producers offer higher margins to the retailer, who is incentivised to push the particular brand more aggressively.
4. Many Indian shoppers, known for their value for money mindset, want to know from the attendant if there is an alternative cheaper brand available. Or if it is a garment, of particular colour and size.
5. Some Indian shoppers, familiar with their chatty neighbourhood mom-and-pop outlets, use the staff as a guide to navigate the store or to find a particular product. This is particularly true of grocery departmental stores like Demart.
6. An insidious reason is to spot shoplifters. I guess it is cheaper to deploy human resources in India than install CCTV network.
However, things are changing, specially with larger and newer organised retailers. Try browsing through the furniture section of a department store and you will have literally yell for some help!
amar
I concur with the shopping experience. Even in department stores, I hate the way an attendant with slide up to you and stick around asking inane questions about what you want, what color, what size, provide unnecessary suggestions, like you are incapable of making a decision on your own, when all you are really looking to do is just browse around and then decide what takes your fancy.
Why does management not realize that if customers have a question, they will ask an attendant and that it is totally annoying (sometimes creepy too) to be followed by these folks wherever you are in the store.
Hi Sharell,
Just check out your site and found some magnificent information. Nice blog I like your blog.
lol!so true,wat works for me is that i rudely tell them that i will call them if i need any help ,so pls stop following me n it works ,u should try that too
as an aside, the woman in the photo might be Shwetha Menon, whom I actually met during my visit to Kerala.
I am not too sure now.
I take that back. I suck at facial recognition.
I used to be a “by correspondance” shooping addict in Switzerland, Internet shopping in the late 90′s and early 00′s was just starting in Switzerland too but we had the good old sales catalogues for decades, the companies doing that kind of retails issued 2 massive 400 pages catalogues a year, one for Spring and Summer and one for fall and winter, there there was the smaller catalogues that sold other goods, and Yves Rocher…oh boy I loved that one, you could get things off their bi monthly catalogues cheaper than in their stores and with freebies.
like you I hate shopping in India, these damned shopping assistants are suffocating me, they just don’t seem to get that browsing at leisure is what makes shopping fun in the first place, so glad e-shopping has taken off around here. though since I have a bulky frame I am very hesitant about buying clothes online around here, I need to see how they fit before buying, but for everything else…oh yeah! online shopping rules!
Hi Sharell
I’ve been reading your blog for a while now and I’ve always found it very entertaining! More so because I recognise so many of the things you write about, as I’m a South African girl dating an Indian guy. Although living in SA, we still go to India once or twice a year.
Reading this post has just made me laugh out loud, while sitting in my office, which is a new record! I’m not a big fan of clothes shopping and shopping in India without losing patience requires you to be a saint
Well done!
Was it sponsored post?
I was about to ask same question.
btw amazing blog
You are spot on with regards to the shop assistants. Buy a track pant and they want to push a t-shirt down your throat and it never ends!
Nice post
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