At a time when some TV and white goods brands have objected to deep discounting on e-commerce sites during the festive season, Flipkart and Amazon are rushing into the online-to-offline (O2O) channel by tying up with the likes of Samsung to address a wider range of prospective shoppers.
Both these companies have started building their omni-channel network in tier I cities in partnership with consumer durables and electronics manufacturers to cater to a set of buyers who want to get a 'touch and feel' experience before making online purchases.
Flipkart has partnered with Samsung for its appliances business across 50 stores and is expected to expand this alliance. "O2O model brings the best of both worlds to the customer where convenience of e-commerce is backed by quick deliveries from next-door retail stores. The brand store becoming a seller on Flipkart is a massive testimony to the fact that people are doing their research and discovery of consumer electronics and appliances on Flipkart," said Sandeep Karwa, head (consumer electronics and appliances) at Flipkart. "We are aggressively focusing on expanding this with other key brands," he said.
Like Flipkart, Amazon, too, has entered into a partnership with Samsung. The initiative is live in 41 Samsung brand stores across 25 cities for large appliances, smartphones and electronics, a company spokesperson said in an emailed response.
The Seattle-headquartered online retailer already has a pilot running with telecom operator Vodafone where customers can try out various aspects of a smartphone and make their purchase online from the store itself.. Under project Udaan,Amazon's been pushing assisted retail in tier II and tier III towns to get consumers used to the idea of buying online. When contacted, Samsung did not respond to a query on these tie-up with online retailers.
While it is still early days for e-commerce companies adopting an omni-channel play, it is yet another attempt being made by these e-tailers who are striving hard to broaden the digital shopping universe which has been stagnant at about 50-60 million. Other vertical online retailers such as eye-wear firm Lenskart , furniture e-tailer Pepperfry, and baby products seller Firstcry, have all been building their offline presence.
Flipkart owned fashion focused e-tailer Myntra is also expected to open its offline store by end of the year in Bengaluru as it looks to push its private brands through these outlets. The omni-channel strategy is also being druven by a wave of traditional retailers like Arvind group's Nnnow.com.
Both these companies have started building their omni-channel network in tier I cities in partnership with consumer durables and electronics manufacturers to cater to a set of buyers who want to get a 'touch and feel' experience before making online purchases.
Flipkart has partnered with Samsung for its appliances business across 50 stores and is expected to expand this alliance. "O2O model brings the best of both worlds to the customer where convenience of e-commerce is backed by quick deliveries from next-door retail stores. The brand store becoming a seller on Flipkart is a massive testimony to the fact that people are doing their research and discovery of consumer electronics and appliances on Flipkart," said Sandeep Karwa, head (consumer electronics and appliances) at Flipkart. "We are aggressively focusing on expanding this with other key brands," he said.
Like Flipkart, Amazon, too, has entered into a partnership with Samsung. The initiative is live in 41 Samsung brand stores across 25 cities for large appliances, smartphones and electronics, a company spokesperson said in an emailed response.
The Seattle-headquartered online retailer already has a pilot running with telecom operator Vodafone where customers can try out various aspects of a smartphone and make their purchase online from the store itself.. Under project Udaan,Amazon's been pushing assisted retail in tier II and tier III towns to get consumers used to the idea of buying online. When contacted, Samsung did not respond to a query on these tie-up with online retailers.
While it is still early days for e-commerce companies adopting an omni-channel play, it is yet another attempt being made by these e-tailers who are striving hard to broaden the digital shopping universe which has been stagnant at about 50-60 million. Other vertical online retailers such as eye-wear firm Lenskart , furniture e-tailer Pepperfry, and baby products seller Firstcry, have all been building their offline presence.
Flipkart owned fashion focused e-tailer Myntra is also expected to open its offline store by end of the year in Bengaluru as it looks to push its private brands through these outlets. The omni-channel strategy is also being druven by a wave of traditional retailers like Arvind group's Nnnow.com.
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