Buy some,get some free

Chauhan,a 22-year-old student pursuing an MS in Information Technology,used to initially ignore online advertisements. But that changed when she became acquainted with the world of easy local shopping and discount booths. Log on and one can find websites like ‘Snapdeal’,’99 labels’,’Bindas bargain’ and ‘Aaj ka Catch’ claiming to give customers great shopping offers. These pages have smart offers that last between a day and a week,too interesting to let go. Shares Kriti Maheshwari,an MBA student,who is virtually addicted to such websites,“It’s hard not to check what they have to offer everyday. Often,I end up buying items that I would usually ignore had there not been any offers on them.” Offers by companies that are right in your neighbourhood make this concept even more attractive. “I can buy a Holi special lunch at the restaurant next door or enroll myself for a cooking class that is happening around,” adds Maheshwari.

Latching on to this e-commerce ride are a lot of city businesses. At the Fluid Movements Dance Studio,one can pay Rs 250 and get coached for 12 classes of Kathak or contemporary,hip-hop dance,a deal originally worth Rs 1500. “It has been just two days since we made this arrangement with Snapdeal. We have received 20 calls in a day,” says Swapnil More,senior instructor at the studio.

Saurabh Pandey,manager of the e-commerce department for ‘Ferns and Petals’,New Delhi,says that the trend promises good returns for the company. “We entered into a deal with Khojguru.com a year back. We offer our customers a discount of up to 20 per cent and more on a regular basis. It gives us a good presence online and works as an advertisement too,” he says.

However,Satish Srivastava,a marketing professor,adds his words of caution. “You see,there is nothing like a free lunch. These offers have a flip side too. The website develops a database and then sells this database. Plus,the offers would be only on basic things; hidden costs will be given a miss nine out of 10 times.” Chauhan’s experience vindicates this analogy. “Though the services were quite good,I was asked to pay extra to get fringes with my haircut. By a haircut they simply meant cutting it short,no styling. I did not mind paying more though.”