New Delhi: Online shopping sites, which offer the latest designer labels without the killer price tags associated with them, are gradually becoming a part of the fashion market in India.
It's not just the stylish fashionista who can be found trawling numerous online sites hunting for the latest 'it' bag or a pair of trendy pumps but a host of fashion portals that have sprung up in the recent past are helping people shop effortlessly.
And, their clients range from new parents shopping for baby clothes to the busy women executive seeking that one exclusive business suit, or even men who want to gift their girlfriends some stylish lingerie.
The sites, some of them which operate more like by-invitation clubs draw in customers through word of mouth or through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter offering them a range of brands - both local as well as global
- that are not easily available in India.
Apparel is the second most popular item bought online according to eBayIndia, one of the country's leading online marketplace which functions in the four verticals of technology, lifestyle, collectibles and media. "In the velocity of transactions of eBay India, the most popular is jewellery followed by clothes. One apparel is sold every six minutes and among the most popular sections are sarees, salwar kameezes, T shirts and men's formal shirts," says Deepa Thomas, senior Manager, eBay India.
Another site 99labels, which began operations in India in December 2009 by offering online event-based sales of luxury and premium brands at discounts ranging up to 70 per cent on label prices currently holds a membership of over 2 lakhs with a 100 per cent month-on-month growth. "In India fashion was never in focus. Portals used to focus on travel, books, gizmos and technology with the target consumer as men. Our fashion site is very different from what existed in India, we were the first to introduce event based online sales and shift the focus to women," says Ishita Swarup, Co-founder and CEO, 99labels.com.
Using features like flash sales, deep discounts on label prices, a choice of shopping at any time of the day or night as well as personalised services that lets shoppers narrow down the choices for clothes size and fit, these online sites are attracting customers especially from tier II and tier III cities of the country.
Sanjay Nadkari who launched babyoye.com an online store for baby products says, "Organised retail in India is different from other countries. People have been buying tickets, movie shows and securities online for quite some time. With Internet and broadband easily available, the bug for online buying has bitten most people."
Visitors to their site that began operating in July 2010 range from new parents or those who are looking for gift items. "New parents end up buying in boutiques and other shops and those who live in semi-urban or smaller towns had to make do with whatever was available in those sites. We offer more, by stocking up from a range of labels, so if a parent wants to buy a pram we offer them a choice of 30 to 40 prams instead of just four or five models, " says Nadkari.
Luxury website Straps and Strings, which began operations last month offers a range of over 600 brands of premium and luxury lingerie products sourced from abroad. "Our range of luxury lingerie are sourced from US and Europe and are not easily available in India. We opted to have an online store as we can reach remote places and more towns in India where opening up physical stores would have only escalated our costs," says Saurav Dadu, CEO of the site.
"The market size for fine luxury lingerie, swimwear and sleepwear is rapidly increasing in India. It is both men and women who are customers. Our site offers them the opportunity to access the best the world has to offer in a discreet and efficient manner," points out Dadu who says he got a traffic of 3,000 visitors to the site on the very first day of going online. The market for online shopping industry is reported to be growing 30 per cent and seems to be attracting more players.
Fashionandyou, a online apparels store, which began operations in India in January 2010 offers to its 2000 plus members private sales that open and close within two to three days. The brand is part of a global alliance of private sales clubs in 8 markets - Russia, Brazil, US, Turkey, Middle East, Australia, Mexico and Switzerland and the site recently raised USD 8 million from a venture capitalist. Exclusively.In, Brandmile and Bagittoday are other players in the segment.
Sites such as Yebhi- previously a shoe store has grown to include accessories, bags and clothing. Also 99labels could soon be selling furnishings and home decor along with clothes, watches, shoes and accessories at discounted prices.
With such a variety, Indian shoppers may be spoilt for choice.
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