The Big Billion Days…

It gives me great pleasure to type my new article, on my new laptop after a long hiatus. Yes! My brand new laptop… the story of this new laptop is an interesting one, a yet another learning experience for me... It goes something like this…

October 6, 2014: 8 am. I woke up from my bed with a big smile on my face as it was a long awaited public holiday and the thoughts of a lazy day that lay ahead, brought in a sense of immense relaxation. Like my daily morning ritual, I held the newspaper to know how the previous day had been for India and the world. The moment I held the newspaper, its first page did not fail to hold my attention. The entire first page was filled with a big advertisement from a popular e-commerce giant of India. There were generous discounts being offered on various consumer durables, available, quite strategically, only for a day. My sister, like any other curious Indian consumer, immediately rushed to the PC to log on to the site. And there it was…a plethora of items available on sale, with lucrative discounts and offers. Coincidentally, since I had purchasing of a laptop on my mind, I started browsing through the innumerable models offered by several brands. It was like wading through a sea of tempting offers. The moment I hit BUY NOW, there were several technical glitches and my transaction could not be completed successfully. I gave up after a series of unsuccessful attempts. Later during the day there were several complaints on various social networking sites pertaining to the online seller. However, at the same time I learnt that the company had made business worth billions. The next day I bought the same laptop on another e-commerce retailer’s site at the same price.

The news regarding business of billions made by the retailer company made me think if really we can still call India a ‘developing’ economy. Days like Diwali, Dussehra and such big sale days defy the proposition put forth by many dignified economists. Online shopping and easy credit terms (Reckless use of credit cards reminds me so much of ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’!) have made average working Indian’s life so much better. The most important aspect to be really proud of is that some of the leading e-commerce websites are the brainchildren of our fellow Indians, who pocket rewarding profits for the expertise which they invest in the business. This expertise, in turn, helps our economy in generating the valuable revenue needed for further investing prospects. In other words, e-commerce websites are hugely contributing to keep this whirlpool of money creation going. Being a monopolistic market, the tussle is huge among these players, but the ultimate beneficiaries in this competition are the consumers, rulers of the market. Understanding clearly that in a monopolistic market, consumers buy by choice and not by chance, we have seen revolutionary trends in the field of online shopping also, wherein only one website exclusively launches a particular book or a mobile phone of X brand. When I read of such enthralling business strategies, I truly believe in the fact that innovation is another name of business. Businesses cease to exist in the absence of innovation and risks. Another inspiring thing that I find in this entire competitive environment is that these websites are exemplars for so many budding entrepreneurs, which means giving a boost to the innate talents. Many logistics companies, too, reap handsome benefits, when we talk about shopping online. Hence, it is a chain of overall development in form of additional employment opportunities and promising salaries.

When I am not in a management-student-thinking-mode, I think about the way I used to buy things as a child. Personally visiting a shop, seeing, touching and feeling a product and then making a wise decision of buying the best item… Life seemed so simple! It may be contradictory to the statement ‘Technology has made human lives simpler’, yet we hear cases of unhappy buyers of online purchasing, in spite the companies’ best efforts to provide quality products. Also the cases of credit card frauds, hacking and money laundering make online payments a risky venture. But as it is said, “Nothing, but change is constant”, we too have to walk with the changing environment and scenarios with its concomitant cons, be it in business or in life. To quote in Economics parlance, maximum utility in life can be achieved only when something satisfies our needs and fulfills our wants at the cost of our deserved hard-earned money!