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Snapdeal is not going to win the e-commerce market by delivering cash. They are just deviating even farther from their goal: delivering goods. While Amazon cont

by subbu 10y ago

Snapdeal is not going to win the e-commerce market by delivering cash. They are just deviating even farther from their goal: delivering goods. While Amazon continues to make micro optimizations to improve their service both Flipkart/Snapdeal have taken their foot off the peddle.

amingilani 10y ago
> Flipkart/Snapdeal have taken their foot off the peddle. Got a citation for that? > They are just deviating even farther from their goal: delivering goods. I thought the goal of any business was to make money. IMHO, since cash is such a sought after good in India at the moment, this is a clever way to monetize the cash they get from their Cash on Delivery service. It saves them the logistics of depositing large amounts of cash, while making more money.
shripadk 10y ago
I have to agree with you on this. Amazon India has a wide range of product selection compared to both Flipkart/Snapdeal. I can also import US products from Amazon.com (or Amazon US) and also their equivalent (but slightly smaller) "Global Store" in Amazon India. Flipkart had a golden opportunity to practically take over the e-commerce market in India. But they (like most other Indian companies) aren't/not willing to expand enough.
- JumpCrisscross 10y ago
  > * But they (like most other Indian companies) aren't/not willing to expand enough* Could you expand on this?
  - shripadk 10y ago
    Sure. Flipkart and Snapdeal are not thinking (or have plans that they have declared publicly) of becoming Multi-Nationals to compete with the likes of Amazon and Ebay. Compare that with Alibaba which already has a US arm. I can, as an Indian, browse Amazon US shops and order from them (I of course have to pay shipping + duty on top of the original order). This isn't possible with Flipkart/Snapdeal. Even their local shops have lesser inventory and lesser options in comparison to Amazon India. Since India is a growing economy (and soon to be a less-cash economy), we will very soon get accustomed to purchasing goods and services online (like we did with mobile adoption). Once we do, there is no stopping us from purchasing goods and services from countries outside India as well (which was until recently just next to impossible for the lay man). Unless Flipkart/Snapdeal can cater to that market as well it's losing a big chunk of it's customers. India is definitely poised to become a booming e-commerce market in the future but it has no where near peaked for these companies to be content with. The consumer market is still heavily dominated by the US and European countries. If they do not expand they are doomed. And this is not restricted to e-commerce players alone. I notice this even with payment gateways / payment processors. We have quite a lot of payment processors that have a strong local presence. Some are even as good as Stripe (see Razorpay) when it comes to API and ease of implementation. But then again, they have no ambitions to expand to other countries. So India essentially has no access to an International payment gateway (Paypal doesn't count as it's only used for remittances. There is no equivalent of Paypal IPN/Paypal Express Checkout/Paypal Marketplace). To disrupt these companies, all it takes is for Stripe to open shop in India. Nobody would then have any incentive to use these payment gateways and they'll start seeing their market share diminish.
    - shk 10y ago
      Many companies do have plans but it will take time. Some companies like Zomato, Practo etc. have been more successful in their efforts For many Indian companies in e-commerce and fintech, acquiring local market share is significantly more important. Will love to chat with you more. I am available at shashank [at] razorpay [dot] com
- geodel 10y ago
  I do not think it is about willingness. They tried and still trying whatever they could. It is just that economic realities of India put them in their place. Somehow the rather unfounded assumption was say they serve 50 million customers today and Indian population was 1.25 billion so there is opportunity to grow 10-20 times. The simple fact is 50 million might be close to maximum market size as remaining population simply do not have that kind of incomes to sustain e-commerce companies peddling frivolities. I say frivolities because if I am earning USD 5K/year equivalent in India I am in top 1.5-2% Indians. By Indian government tax data less than 3% people file income tax returns in India and remember those all who file returns does not necessarily means they pay income tax. There is of course no reason for Flipkart/snapdeal founders to admit basic facts as their companies made them fabulously rich.
  - shripadk 10y ago
    When I talk about willingness I'm talking about expanding Internationally to compete with the likes of Amazon and Ebay. Alibaba (http://www.forbes.com/sites/helenwang/2015/07/08/why-amazon-should-fear-alibaba/#15f36e2a1bde http://www.forbes.com/sites/helenwang/2015/07/08/why-amazon-...) is already doing that. India is definitely poised to become a booming e-commerce market but it has no where near peaked for Flipkart/Snapdeal to be content with. They just cannot depend on the Indian marketplace alone. Just because we are 1.25 billion strong and will probably adopt cashless means does not automatically make us a market for Flipkart/Snapdeal. They have to compete to get the marketshare. The market is dictated by one who is not just innovative but also caters to all sections of the diverse society. Sadly, only Amazon is able to currently provide a complete experience even though it's a late entry into the Indian marketplace. Flipkart/Snapdeal is already losing a major portion of their marketshare to Amazon and that decline is going to continue unless they expand and compete directly with Amazon in their own turf. Innovation alone cannot sustain Flipkart/Snapdeal. The consumer market is still heavily dominated by the US and European countries. If they do not expand they are doomed. They do not have enough cash to compete with the likes of Amazon/Ebay who have a better inventory and provide access to the global marketplace.

by subbu 10y ago

amingilani 10y ago

> Flipkart/Snapdeal have taken their foot off the peddle. Got a citation for that? > They are just deviating even farther from their goal: delivering goods. I thought the goal of any business was to make money. IMHO, since cash is such a sought after good in India at the moment, this is a clever way to monetize the cash they get from their Cash on Delivery service. It saves them the logistics of depositing large amounts of cash, while making more money.

shripadk 10y ago

I have to agree with you on this. Amazon India has a wide range of product selection compared to both Flipkart/Snapdeal. I can also import US products from Amazon.com (or Amazon US) and also their equivalent (but slightly smaller) "Global Store" in Amazon India. Flipkart had a golden opportunity to practically take over the e-commerce market in India. But they (like most other Indian companies) aren't/not willing to expand enough.

JumpCrisscross 10y ago
> * But they (like most other Indian companies) aren't/not willing to expand enough* Could you expand on this?
- shripadk 10y ago
  Sure. Flipkart and Snapdeal are not thinking (or have plans that they have declared publicly) of becoming Multi-Nationals to compete with the likes of Amazon and Ebay. Compare that with Alibaba which already has a US arm. I can, as an Indian, browse Amazon US shops and order from them (I of course have to pay shipping + duty on top of the original order). This isn't possible with Flipkart/Snapdeal. Even their local shops have lesser inventory and lesser options in comparison to Amazon India. Since India is a growing economy (and soon to be a less-cash economy), we will very soon get accustomed to purchasing goods and services online (like we did with mobile adoption). Once we do, there is no stopping us from purchasing goods and services from countries outside India as well (which was until recently just next to impossible for the lay man). Unless Flipkart/Snapdeal can cater to that market as well it's losing a big chunk of it's customers. India is definitely poised to become a booming e-commerce market in the future but it has no where near peaked for these companies to be content with. The consumer market is still heavily dominated by the US and European countries. If they do not expand they are doomed. And this is not restricted to e-commerce players alone. I notice this even with payment gateways / payment processors. We have quite a lot of payment processors that have a strong local presence. Some are even as good as Stripe (see Razorpay) when it comes to API and ease of implementation. But then again, they have no ambitions to expand to other countries. So India essentially has no access to an International payment gateway (Paypal doesn't count as it's only used for remittances. There is no equivalent of Paypal IPN/Paypal Express Checkout/Paypal Marketplace). To disrupt these companies, all it takes is for Stripe to open shop in India. Nobody would then have any incentive to use these payment gateways and they'll start seeing their market share diminish.
  - shk 10y ago
    Many companies do have plans but it will take time. Some companies like Zomato, Practo etc. have been more successful in their efforts For many Indian companies in e-commerce and fintech, acquiring local market share is significantly more important. Will love to chat with you more. I am available at shashank [at] razorpay [dot] com
geodel 10y ago
I do not think it is about willingness. They tried and still trying whatever they could. It is just that economic realities of India put them in their place. Somehow the rather unfounded assumption was say they serve 50 million customers today and Indian population was 1.25 billion so there is opportunity to grow 10-20 times. The simple fact is 50 million might be close to maximum market size as remaining population simply do not have that kind of incomes to sustain e-commerce companies peddling frivolities. I say frivolities because if I am earning USD 5K/year equivalent in India I am in top 1.5-2% Indians. By Indian government tax data less than 3% people file income tax returns in India and remember those all who file returns does not necessarily means they pay income tax. There is of course no reason for Flipkart/snapdeal founders to admit basic facts as their companies made them fabulously rich.
- shripadk 10y ago
  When I talk about willingness I'm talking about expanding Internationally to compete with the likes of Amazon and Ebay. Alibaba (http://www.forbes.com/sites/helenwang/2015/07/08/why-amazon-should-fear-alibaba/#15f36e2a1bde http://www.forbes.com/sites/helenwang/2015/07/08/why-amazon-...) is already doing that. India is definitely poised to become a booming e-commerce market but it has no where near peaked for Flipkart/Snapdeal to be content with. They just cannot depend on the Indian marketplace alone. Just because we are 1.25 billion strong and will probably adopt cashless means does not automatically make us a market for Flipkart/Snapdeal. They have to compete to get the marketshare. The market is dictated by one who is not just innovative but also caters to all sections of the diverse society. Sadly, only Amazon is able to currently provide a complete experience even though it's a late entry into the Indian marketplace. Flipkart/Snapdeal is already losing a major portion of their marketshare to Amazon and that decline is going to continue unless they expand and compete directly with Amazon in their own turf. Innovation alone cannot sustain Flipkart/Snapdeal. The consumer market is still heavily dominated by the US and European countries. If they do not expand they are doomed. They do not have enough cash to compete with the likes of Amazon/Ebay who have a better inventory and provide access to the global marketplace.