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The Indian customer is extremely price-centric. Price trumps everything. The biggest startups today are the online retailers. The Indian customer switches to wh

The Indian customer is extremely price-centric. Price trumps everything. The biggest startups today are the online retailers. The Indian customer switches to whoever offers the best deal, not the best convenience. It was Flipkart, PayTM, Snapdeal, then Amazon. People no matter how financially well off or educated or technology-friendly, will still squeeze every penny's worth out of a business and will go any distance for a good deal. Startups we've seen use funding to attract customers. They offer attractive deals, and when they're done, the same customers move on to the next startup. Startups will be popular as long as the price is right, and as long as there is funding. There are going to be some successful startups in India that won't be in the limelight. They'll be small and won't take over the country, or the world.

gnipgnip 10y ago
How exactly is this different from the US ? You think people will rush to Amazon, if overnight becomes just as expensive as B&N ?
- adrianN 10y ago
  In Germany, book prices are fixed. Buying a book on Amazon costs exactly as much as buying it from the small shop at the corner. People still prefer Amazon and book shops are dying.
  - gnipgnip 10y ago
    I see. Are book-stores far and in-between (why is it inconvenient ?).
    - pjc50 10y ago
      No density of bookstores is going to be able to match ordering from inside your house.
deepGem 10y ago
Well price trumps everything in every part of the world, for the average person. That said, there are millions of Indians who plunk down exorbitant prices for cars, TVs, Jewellery. However, what I've noticed is that very few Indians value time. They'll value convenience, only if the price for convenience falls in their perceived 'economical' bracket. For ex, maids. So any product or service that saves time in India is very hard to sell.

gnipgnip 10y ago

How exactly is this different from the US ? You think people will rush to Amazon, if overnight becomes just as expensive as B&N ?

adrianN 10y ago
In Germany, book prices are fixed. Buying a book on Amazon costs exactly as much as buying it from the small shop at the corner. People still prefer Amazon and book shops are dying.
- gnipgnip 10y ago
  I see. Are book-stores far and in-between (why is it inconvenient ?).
  - pjc50 10y ago
    No density of bookstores is going to be able to match ordering from inside your house.

deepGem 10y ago

Well price trumps everything in every part of the world, for the average person. That said, there are millions of Indians who plunk down exorbitant prices for cars, TVs, Jewellery. However, what I've noticed is that very few Indians value time. They'll value convenience, only if the price for convenience falls in their perceived 'economical' bracket. For ex, maids. So any product or service that saves time in India is very hard to sell.