Clicking for Diapers

Even as children born 30 years ago become parents,they find that baby care has changed considerably in India. Considered a luxury that only “the rich” could afford,diapers are a necessity now. You no longer shop just for feeding bottles,for you have to ensure the product is anti-colic and BPA-free (without toxins).

With malls and international retail chains opening franchisees in the last decade,branded clothes and other high-end products for babies became accessible to Indian households,at least in the metros and Tier-I cities. Though consumers have increased manifold,only a few shops sell these products. This means every time you need a new set of Mothercare teats or Chicco laundry detergent,you have to rush to the shop at the other end of the city. And even if your neighbourhood store sells these products,it may be out of stock when most needed.

This is where websites like FirstCry.com and Babeezworld.com come handy. Based on the model popular in the West,these websites stock everything — from diapers and anti-mosquito wipes to prams and cots. And they do have takers,as people can place orders online and have products delivered at home,for no extra cost. At FirstCry.com,certain products are also available on discount.

“We provide our customers with a physical store’s shopping experience online,without the hassles of driving around the town locating a shop,finding a place to park the vehicle and then roaming around with shopping bags. People are aware of what they want,so it makes things easier for them and us,” says Amitava Saha,co-founder and director of FirstCry.com.

Set up in 2010,by Saha and Supam Maheshwari,both IIM graduates,the website claims to have seen a “fast turnaround of goods in every category” in one year. “We have everything that a mother needs. We have over 15,000 items from 250-plus top international and Indian brands,” says Saha.

Babeezworld.com,another e-store selling products for infants since September 2011,also,claims to have had an encouraging response. “The advantage of internet is that all of India is your customer base,” says Amurto Basuray,managing director of Olive Tree Retail Pvt Ltd that owns Babeezworld.com.

People living in small towns are also lapping up these websites. Based out of Pune,FirstCry.com usually delivers within the next working day in metros. For tier-II and III cities,it takes a few more days.

“Internet as a medium for the purchase of products is fast gaining momentum. One can be based anywhere but can access various products that various websites offer,” says Basuray,who started Olive Tree in 2008.

According to him,the challenge is to convince people to use credit cards online. “To manage that,we have COD (cash on delivery) facility. But many pin codes in India are not covered by major courier companies for the COD facility. We are hopeful that these issues will gradually be solved,” he adds.

FirstCry.com,too,offers a COD facility. “Over time,we hope to change the way Indian parents buy,so that they can be at home and spend more quality time with their little ones and family,” says Saha.

Like in the US,Basuray’s Babeezworld.com plans to start a service wherein registered users can get a month’s quota of diapers and other essentials home delivered as part of an annual settlement plan.

Both sites have more than just baby products on offer. At FirstCry.com,internet users can have their queries immediately answered with the help of the “live chat” feature.

Babeezworld.com has more interactive features,such as an active blog about parenting; a “baby announcement” link where customers can send out emails using fixed templates,to announce a child’s birthday etc. and a section where customers can upload the images of their children and post messages.

“We have also introduced a concept of ‘Gift Registry’. This allows our consumers to plan the gifts that they want for any event they are celebrating. This concept is prevalent in the West and Babeezworld.com is the first site to bring this concept to India. We also intend to start brick and mortar stores called ‘Babeezworld’ selling baby products,” says Basuray,whose Olive Tree is also a franchisee of Puma and the Italian brand Chicco.

Other online options

http://www.shoppersstop.com (exclusively for Mothercare products)

http://www.babyoye.com

http://www.babyproducts.co.in