With the booming Indian economy all eyes of top global players have shifted to India. New shopping trends, varying consumer behavior, upsurge in spending patterns, development of new shopping platforms is just the tip of the iceberg; in the coming years India is projected to bloom like no other nation. Till some time back customers were skeptic about online shopping but lately the e-commerce industry has made asensational and eye-catching entry. Prevalent ecommerce websites like Snapdeal have understood that they cannot underrate the power of online buying. Along with the amassed appeal of online shopping there is another fad that has entranced all online buyers, which is online coupons.
Today’s archetypal consumer is hard-pressed for time and spend more time on his smartphone searching for deals and coupons rather than lower his self-esteem by asking the shopkeeper for a discount. Now when the consumer is the king, brands are offering coupons and discounts for anything and everything, from movies to spas, from apparels to kitchenware, there is nothing you cannot buy at a marked down price.
As per a spokesperson of Coupondekho, one of India’s leading online coupon site, since their maiden venture two years back, they have seen a 200% jump in the number of visitors opting for coupons prior to making any purchase. This trend is not a fluke and is definitely here to stay as the consumer is now shrewd enough to know where he can garner maximum discounts for. He is ready to spend time in searching for similar products on various sites, doing a manual price comparison, picking the deal that appeals him and before making his final payment he gets a coupon to lower the costs even further. To stay in the rat race brands have understood the charm of discount coupons and use it as a marketing strategy.
If one try and understand the psychology of a typical Indian consumer, one would observe that no matter what the income, aspirations have sky-rocketed which has led to an increase in spending habits. These coupons come as a relief to reduce the guilt of what one is spending, not because it is a necessity but because it is an indulgence. The field of online coupons is coming up like a major opportunity and almost all online shopping portals have invested in it to grab eyeballs of current and potential customers.
Polls have shown that Indian shoppers have an affinity for good bargains and would go all out to get the best bargain. They are even ready to club purchases in order to avail coupons; such is the power of these coupons, which translates to higher sales for shopping portals. India being a country with lots of festivals consumers resort to lavish spending for gifts and décor too.
With almost everyone being tech-savvy, shopping is being done while on the go, from smartphones to tablets; online shopping is not time bound. With double income families time is a crunch but not the money; online shopping is their best option to manage the home without compromising on their busy schedules. This trend is only expected to increase in the near future as online buying is still in the nascent stage in India. Digital coupons have also increased the culture of gifting in India as most international brands are available at amazing discounts.
Digital coupons have not only boosted online sales but at the same time threatened conventional branded stores as their sales have been badly hit by this new trend. Most portals like Flipkart and Snapdeal have come up with innovative advertising strategies to attract maximum sales. Lucrative deals and extraordinary discounts have become extremely common and the final winner is the “Buyer”. Today is the time when the buyer rules and all marketing strategies are revolving around the customer. Research shows India as one of the fastest growing market for online coupons and international shopping portals have also ventured their business in India.These changing dynamics in the field of marketing have put consumers in a “happy” mode as they stand to gain the most. With India emerging as the upcoming market, global majors have their eyes on India and are investing big time to have a share of the growing pie.