Stress Buster: It’s the season of internet sales
Big Bazaar is also promising to deliver goods to customers in Mumbai within an hour of placing an order.
Big Bazaar is also promising to deliver goods to customers in Mumbai within an hour of placing an order. (Source: Reuters photo)
The original discount king, Kishore Biyani, has announced that Big Bazaar will go live with an app that matches prices with e-commerce retailers, since sites such as Flipkart and Snapdeal have derailed brick-and-mortar establishments with their attractive pricing. Big Bazaar is also promising to deliver goods to customers in Mumbai within an hour of placing an order.
In his very readable book, It Happened in India (2007), Biyani espoused old-fashioned, time-tested values and made a case for nurturing relationships and treating businesses like a cooperative, where everyone benefits — be it the business partners, employees or consumers. He had some interesting observations on the Indian shopper who would come with his family to the store, dressed up for a day out. He introduced food stalls, so people would spend more time in the store, and engaged a carefully curated staff that didn’t intimidate the consumer. Going out shopping was entertainment those days, not a mundane chore like in the West.
Come 2015, it turns out the Indian shopper couldn’t care less about being entertained in this way — not only has his concept of recreation changed, his cost consciousness quotient is also much higher. This explains the full-page Amazon ads that have been flooding newspapers lately with the clear, straightforward pitch: “Prices that make you dance”.
There’s some happiness involved in desiring goodies but there’s pure, unadulterated joy in acquiring them at throwaway prices. India’s e-commerce websites have exposed us to so many new, smaller and creative manufacturers who would never be able to afford shops in malls or high streets. How, as a new mother, am I supposed to resist a miniature replica of Audrey Hepburn’s black dress from Breakfast at Tiffany, complete with gloves and pearls to match? Especially when it magically pops up on any site I open with the enticing information: “The item you viewed is now at half price.”
I find it hard to believe that the 30 million online shoppers in India really need everything they buy. More likely, for this new generation of net-savvy youngsters, browsing is entertainment. Comparing prices and researching products, reading reviews is wholly absorbing, and an integral part of the process of delightful procurement. Much like a previous generation’s idea of fun was strolling down high streets or malls, occasionally entering shops and trying stuff on. I’m reminded of the line from the endearing book Confessions of a Shopoholic, an ode to compulsive buying, “You can always find something you want.”
Shopping is a pleasurable pastime and like social media, it’s an option available 24 hours a day. We will tire of it, of course. But till the next big thing comes along, shopping is much more than a mere transaction, almost a thrilling end in itself.
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