BLive Opens Experiential EV Store in Kolhapur, Maharashtra

The high-end store will offer customers a range of benefits such as electric vehicles from top brands, easy financing options, after-sales services, and great exciting offers.

Expanding its countrywide presence to boost EV adoption, leading multi-brand EV platform BLive has opened its experiential EV store in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. It was inaugurated in the presence of Kiran Patil- Chairman, Ghatge Patil industries, and other dignitaries. BLive is experiencing a high EV demand across the country, and it believes this store will cater to the needs and aspirations of EV buyers in the region. The opening of this store is further aligned with the brand's larger objective of building a greener, sustainable future by promoting 100% clean mobility adoption in India.

The exclusive store has been opened in partnership with Techno Vision and houses a range of EV options from leading brands for the customers. Additionally, to encourage buyers to speed up their EV purchase decision and switch to e-mobility, the store will provide easy financing options along with exciting offers. With this, the customers will be able to purchase an EV with easy EMI options as low as Rs 2000 monthly. The store will also provide them an opportunity to exchange and upgrade their old petrol-run 2-wheelers for brand new EVs.

Also, it will act as a one-stop, go-to destination for customers to get a hassle-free EV experience and a choice to select from well-known brands such as Gemopai, KineticGreen, Batt:RE, Hayasa, Detel, Amo, EMotorad, and Hero Lectro, among others. For holistic care of EV buyers, it will provide roadside assistance, extended warranty, easy financing options, excellent after-sales services and many other facilities under one roof.

Commenting on the launch, Samarth Kholkar, CEO & Co-Founder, BLive said,'' The launch of this store is BLive's another step towards strengthening its footprints across the country. EVs are becoming mainstream and we believe providing a hassle-free EV experience by taking care of all of customers' needs under one roof will take EV adoption to new heights. We are receiving a great response which is a reflection of the high EV demand across the country. The customers have become more aware and responsible towards the environment and we believe this store will facilitate them in easily switching to clean mobility. Our hi-end services, experience and expertise being offered at the store will greatly benefit them. We are looking forward to working together with our partners to strengthen our India presence and make EVs accessible and affordable for all.”

BLive, which is a digital-first, multi-brand EV store has bolstered its presence with 20 stores across India and with this launch; it has come one step closer towards its goal of having 100 EV stores by 2024. The brand will soon expand its reach to newer locations to drive EV adoption, accelerate decarbonisation, and build a sustainable future.

BLive is India’s first Multi-brand EV platform offering a wide range of EV products and services on a digital platform www.BLiveEVstore.com with over 40 brands listed on its platform, BLive offers an omnichannel experience to its buyers – an online E-commerce store and Premium experience stores pan India. Driving its vision to accelerate adoption of EVs – BLive is rapidly expanding its presence pan India to 100 premium Multi-brand Stores by ’24 offering E-Scooters/ E-cycles/ Delivery E-bikes and many more unique form factors. BLive facilitates EV adoption for personal usage as well as businesses by providing seamless Charging infrastructure, Post sales service as well as easy finance options to its customers.

Digital-First Brand Mamaearth, Launches 35 Exclusive Brand Outlets in Less Than 12 Months

Phoenix Marketcity, Kurla

The brand has entered 15 cities with the EBO stores in less than a year

Mamaearth, the fastest growing beauty and personal Care brand from Honasa Consumer Limited, has launched 35 Exclusive Brand Outlets across 15 cities of India. The brand ventured into Exclusive Brand outlets as an experiment in Q3 of 2021 and since the launch, the format has displayed steady growth, both in terms of scale and revenue.

Being a digital-first brand, Mamaearth ventured into the beauty and personal care sector with an aim to service a core customer need for safe-to-use, natural based products and focuses on developing toxin-free beauty products made with natural ingredients. While the brand launched with babycare, the brand expanded into personal care with facecare, skincare and bodycare for adults too. The brand recently ventured into color cosmetics with a differentiated proposition of Color cosmetics with Care using natural ingredients and Made Safe Certification to provide glam with care.

After building Mamaearth as brand name and taking it to the revenue of 1000 Cr. with digital contributing to majority of the revenue; the brand is now expanding offline footprints with Exclusive Brand Outlets across a mix of mall stores and high-street outlets in India. With the intent to leverage this channel to curate richer brand experiences for consumers and deepen engagement with them in the offline retail environment. Along with being a great experience center, the EBO channel will support develop strategic categories such as color cosmetics that require a more personalized service and experience to facilitate purchase conversion.

Mamaearth has appointed Mr. Ankur Chaudhary to lead the Exclusive Brand Outlet channel. Ankur comes with a decade of core retail experience. Having worked with legacy retail brands in EBO and large format stores, Ankur has rich and in-depth knowledge of retail strategy and operations. With experience of launching and managing over 250+ stores across brands, he will be able to provide the necessary guidance to continuously expand the EBO footprints.

Commenting on the campaign, Varun Alagh, Co-founder and CEO, Honasa Consumer Limited, said, "Every brand needs to be selling at places where their consumers shop; that’s why we ventured into Exclusive Brand Stores. While we were already present across multiple points of sale offline through general trade and modern trade outlets, exclusive brand outlets are an extension of our omnichannel strategy. EBOs allow us to create a strong visual connection with the consumers and help us bring the brand promise and experience in the physical world. We launched over 200+ SKUs just this year across baby, face, skin, body care and color cosmetics, and EBO formats present as a medium to engage with consumers beyond the products. In fact, we are hyper customizing this channel, using data from our D2C to create a product assortment conducive to the market, city basis the consumer demands and consumption pattern."

Mamaearth is a purpose driven brand for millennials who believe in choosing goodness for themselves and the environment. The brand continues to live up to its commitment of developing toxin-free beauty products made with natural ingredients. They are animal cruelty-free, plastic positive, and have launched the Plant Goodness promise, as well. As part of this, the brand links every order made on their website to a tree they plant.

Pepperfry Launches Its New Studio in Bangalore

STRENGTHENS ITS OMNICHANNEL PRESENCE IN SOUTHERN INDIA

Pepperfry, the leading ecommerce furniture and home goods company, announced the launch of its New Studio in Bangalore, Karnataka. The offline expansion is in line with the company’s aim to penetrate into niche markets and strengthen its omnichannel consumer engagement in home and living space in India. Pepperfry’s studio footprint currently spans across 90+ cities with 180+ studios in the country.

Pepperfry Studios have transformed the furniture retail landscape in India. The company’s omnichannel strategy is driven by expansion of FOFO studios across the country and it currently works with 90 plus unique partners. The new studio launched in partnership with Vishnuz Enterprise, is situated at a prime location at S.G. Arcade, RR Nagar, in Bangalore, spanning across a carpet area of 1705sq. ft. It offers customers a first-hand experience of an infinite catalogue of furniture and home products. Customers will get specialized design advice from the company’s interior design consultants. The studio at Bangalore aims at providing a personalized shopping experience tailored to the unique needs of home and living customers in Karnataka.

Speaking of the launch Amruta Gupta, Business Head - Franchising and Alliances, Pepperfry said, “We are delighted to launch our new Studio in Bangalore in partnership with Vishnuz Enterprise. Owning a Pepperfry franchise is an entrepreneurial success, and we aim to reach consumers beyond the larger catchment areas of metropolitan and tier 1 cities. Our franchise partners include a mix of successful businesses, women entrepreneurs, ex-army officials and first-time entrepreneurs. Today a large part of our Pepperfry customer interactions leverage AR and virtual product interactions. With our mission to spark a feeling called home across the world, we endeavor to consistently deliver great customer service.”

Jayakanth.B & Pallavi Jayakanth (Owner of Franchise Studio), said, “We are extremely happy to partner with Pepperfry, India’s leading home and furniture marketplace. Pepperfry has pioneered a truly differentiated omnichannel business and we are proud to be a part of their journey in creating the largest omnichannel home and furniture business.”

Launched in 2017, Pepperfry franchise business model offers order fulfillment and after sales service by Pepperfry, support on studio design, launch & set up, operational guidance, marketing, and promotions. Pepperfry partners with local entrepreneurs who are aware of the hyperlocal demand cycles and trends. Pepperfry launches about 8-9 franchisees every month.

Pepperfry Accelerator Program was crafted in the year 2021 to expand Pepperfry’s offline footprint. The big differentiator of this program is the Capex required by franchise partners which starts with INR 15 lakhs. This model is based on 100% price parity and does not require the partner to hold product inventory, making it a mutually beneficial business association.

Pepperfry is India’s leading ecommerce furniture and home goods company offering customers a diverse selection of over 120,000 SKUs in over 500+ cities with a consistently great shopping experience. The Pepperfry managed marketplace helps thousands of entrepreneurs and merchants sell to millions of discerning customers across India.

Re-Commerce Marketplace Cashify Opens New Store in Bangalore

Cashify, India's leading re-commerce marketplace that sells and buys used electronic gadgets, has opened its new store in Rajaji Nagar, Bangalore spread across approximately 400 sq. ft. This is Cashify's third store in the city, the other two being located in Frazer Town and BTM. The new store has taken up Cashify's kiosk and store count to 45.

Talking about the newly launched store, Alok Shukla, VP - Retail, Cashify said, "While our retail model started with a vision to help customers sell their old smartphones on the spot, we have a much bigger pool of services, which we are looking forward to offering to our customers through the chain of kiosks and stores. This format has been very well received, and we look forward to creating a holistic experience for our consumers. We are delighted to open another store in Bangalore, and are planning to open another one here soon."

The new store is set to provide a wide array of services and would include the buying and selling of old or refurbished smartphones, screen repairs, selling of accessories and more. All the services will be instant, on the spot and ensure to provide a whole new experience to customers. Cashify has been primarily online since the start, however, it forayed into the offline model with its first store in Faridabad in June last year and now its total number of stores has gone up to 10.

About Cashify

Founded by Mandeep Manocha, Nakul Kumar, and Amit Sethi, Cashify is a re-commerce market-place, which offers an online platform to sell old, or used electronic gadgets - primarily smartphones, followed by laptops, tablets, desktops and Gaming Consoles. Standing by our motto - 'Think Smartphone, Think Cashify', we are also a one-stop destination for all your smartphone needs - sell, buy, repair or accessorize, we do it all. We started with a team of three people in 2013 and have expanded to more than 800 employees,15 offices and 1000+ cities in a span of six years. With over 17 lakh customers and 1500+ serviceable locations, Cashify simplifies the process of managing your devices by helping you with price discovery, cash in hand and other such features in a streamlined and efficient manner. We are also an exclusive buyback partner for brands like Apple, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Vivo, Oppo, HP, Samsung and Dell in India.

~ Newsvoir

Local Kirana Stores Get their Own E-store - NeoMart

A brand-new digital platform is a buzz with overwhelming response from street vendors and local small shopkeepers. Now merchants in mohallas and colonies can get their own e-store on mobile phone screen. Even a kiosk vendor can avail all benefits to stay connected with existing customers and add new new clientele without burning a hole in his pocket.

NeoMart, is an e-retail platform that allows local vendors and retailers an opportunity to digitize their business hassle-free. India with a retail market of over 700 Billion dollars comprising food, grocery, clothing etc, has only 10% of the market being modern trade while the rest 90% of traders are usually small retailers and vendors who cannot afford or do not have the technical know-how to have e-platforms.

Developed by Gurugram based Phantom Codes and launched in November 2017, NeoMart is one stop shop for the entire trade market that helps them achieve sales even during least footfall of consumers. NeoMart lets local vendors and retailers connect with their consumers digitally allowing them to choose their own geographical and product parameters. NeoMart is founded by Mr. Ashwini Kharbanda, is an alumnus of Delhi University, Western International University, and IIM Kozhikode and worked as one of the top brass in these 20 years for top retailers like Bharti Wal-Mart, OMG India, Villa Market Thailand, The Corner’s Bookstore company to name a few.

[caption id="attachment_140375" align="alignleft" width="300"] Mr. Ashwini Kharbanda, Founder, NeoMart[/caption]

Mr. Ashwini Kharbanda, Founder, NeoMart said, "Odd and long working hours and then waiting in long queues to buy daily supplies can be further tiring and inconvenient for the people making them vary of visiting local kirana stores. At the same time, a small shop in a lane or mohalla can define its catchment area and scale up the business by increasing the delivery radius of its services and does not have to be satisfied with the limited number of customers. The application helps vendors and retailers to display the availability of the products, their selling price and generates e-bill without any POS or software. Cashback schemes and other incentive programs are regularly updated for vendors making it lucrative and attractive for them. Consumers can connect with the local retailers via NeoMart where they can order groceries, stationary, medicines etc. NeoMart only charges a minimum affordable subscription that comes in quarterly/half yearly/yearly plans with price bands of 897/1794/3574 respectively."

"Technology usually frightens people but this application allows consumers connect with their known vendors via digital medium with complete verification. Initially we started from Gurugram region and soon will be entering Delhi followed by other cities becoming a pan India player," further added Mr. Kharbanda.

~ Newsvoir

OnePlus Expands its Offline Footprint with Third Experience Store Launch in Pune

OnePlus, the global premium smartphone maker, has expanded its presence in Pune, with the launch of their third experience store today at Elpro City Square Mall, Chinchwad, Pune. Spread over 3000 sq. ft., the state-of-the-art Experience Store is also equipped with a service centre and the celebrated OnePlus coffee experience, making it a one-of-a-kind premium retail experience for all customers in the city.

Karisma Kapoor launched OnePlus store at Elpro City Square mall

Leveraging the brand’s resounding success in Pune market, the new store is part of its ongoing endeavor to enhance its offline presence and create additional retail touchpoints for users to physically engage with the brand on a more intimate level. The ongoing offline growth also ties into the brand’s vision of making India OnePlus’ second global headquarters.



Addressing the new OnePlus Experience Store launch, Abhimanyu Kumar, Manager, Exclusive Retail, OnePlus India said, “At OnePlus, we are committed to providing our customers with an end-to-end premium experience and OnePlus Experience Stores are a significant part of this initiative. We are very excited to expand our presence in Pune with our largest store yet and look forward to catering to our growing OnePlus community based here.”

Marking the occasion, Deepak Kumar Chairman & MD, Elpro International Ltd. Shared, “Elpro has strived to transform Pimpri-Chinchwad area and contribute immensely to its development. We are happy to welcome OnePlus and bring one of the most loved smartphone brands in the country and city to this locality. With the inauguration of this new experience store, we are confident that shoppers would be thrilled to visit the mall frequently to shop one of their favourite smart tech brands and we look forward to continuing our fruitful partnership with OnePlus for years to come.”

Popular Bollywood actor Karisma Kapoor was also present at the launch and said, “Being a tech lover myself, it gives me great pleasure to be associated with OnePlus which is known for its passion towards driving innovation in technology. The brand has indeed set new benchmarks when it comes to connecting with its users, and I am thrilled to be a part of their journey as they further their offline engagement. OnePlus fans will surely love this new Experience Centre in Pune - a city which has always been close to my heart.”

Customers can avail the following offers at the new OnePlus Experience Store

Instant discount up to INR 3000 on HDFC bank cards transactions when customers buy OnePlus 7T Series - Valid till 31 December 2019

No Cost EMI for 3 months on purchase of a 7 Pro or any 7T series device (Only on credit cards) - Valid till 30 November 2019. First 20 buyers will get OnePlus Travel Backpack

21st to 50th buyers will get Wireless Bullet Version 1

51st to 100th buyers will get OnePlus Exclusive Goodies (OnePlus Never Settle T-shirt)

OnePlus 7 Pro back case for free to 50 first customers (who have the OnePlus 7 Pro).

OnePlus is currently present in over 2000 offline stores across India. With the global tech brand leading the premium Indian smartphone market, it is now looking forward to operating 100 new OnePlus Experience Stores across top 50 cities by the year 2020.

Furniture e-Tailer Pepperfry opens Outlet in Coimbatore

Pepperfry, a leading furniture e-tailer, will touch 100 outlets across India by June 2020, a top company official said on Thursday.

Pepperfry at present has 67 studios (shops) including the one opened in the city on Thursday, in 24 cities across India, the company's Chief Category Officer Hussaine Kesury told reporters.

It has 23 largest studios in South India including in Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kochi, he said.

The company has 15 franchise model studios in the country, including in Coimbatore throughVR Enterprises, he added.

South India is an essential market for the company, which contributes to over 40 per cent of the overall business, as consumers in the region are highly evolved online buyers,
Kesury said.

Founded in 2012, by Ambareesh Murty and Ashish Shah, Pepperfry was speculated to raise $100 million from Norwest Venture Partners and Bertelsmann India Investments (BII), in January this year.

In 2017, Pepperfry's competitor, Urban Ladder, was been granted the single brand retail trade (SBRT) licence by DPTII. With this governmental approval, that help the company build a strong offline presence across India.

Earlier in July this year, E-Commerce giant Flipkart forayed into the offline space with its first Furniture Experience Centre in Bengaluru.

~ With inputs from PTI

Netmeds Launches 1st Brick-and-Mortar Store in Karnataka

Online pharmacy Netmeds.com on Monday said it has opened its first brick-and-mortar store in Karnataka's Belgaum with plans to launch 20 such stores across the state by 2020.

Netmeds Pharmacies will have access to over 50,000 stock keeping units (SKUs) of prescription drugs for chronic and recurring ailments as well as thousands of non-prescription health, wellness and personal care products, Netmeds.com said in a statement.

"The launch of Netmeds Pharmacy in Belgaum is our first step towards building the foundation of a solid healthcare delivery network in Karnataka," Netmeds.com founder and CEO Pradeep Dadha said.

The offline store will benefit from a well-established supply-chain, supported by over 14 fulfilment centres across the country, while continuing to serve customers through company's online portal, he added. PTI AKT

Flipkart Debuts its Offline Market Entry with Furniture Experience Centre in Bengaluru

Flipkart Sunday announced its foray into the offline space with its decision to set up first Furniture Experience Centre in Bengaluru.

Spread across nearly 1,800 square feet, Flipkart would offer a touch and feel experience to customers in the fast-evolving online furniture market, the e-commerce major said in a statement.

According to the company, this is a step towards helping customers understand the vast selection of furniture offered by Flipkart and increase awareness around the seamless buying and installation experience it offers.

Flipkart Vice-President (Furniture, Electronics and Private Label) Adarsh Menon said, "As a customer-focused organisation, we understand the requirements of customers and hence 'FurniSure'. The idea behind the FurniSure Experience Zone is to allow customers to explore Flipkart Furniture's offerings in a new and innovative fashion."

Flipkart is also working with Google to enhance customers' overall viewing experience at these FurniSure Experience Centres through integration with Google Lens.

Visitors at the experience centre can use their smartphone to scan the Flipkart Furniture icon at the experience centres, which will then route them to the platform's furniture page, allowing them to explore the product catalogue along with their various features. PTI KRH

Flipkart to Open Offline Grocery Stores across India

India's largest e-commerce platform owned by US-based Walmart, Flipkart, is planning to open offline a.k.a brick-and-mortar grocery stores across India in order to tap the food retail industry in the country where 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is allowed, said a Times of India report.

As per Indian FDI norms, foreign investors are not allowed to open retail stores in the country. However, in the food retail business, a foreign investor is allowed to open physical stores.

In India, Flipkart's parent Walmart is allowed only to operate a business-to-business (B2B) wholesale segment in India due to the country's FDI regulations and around 50-60% of Walmart’s global sales come from food and as the retail giant does not want left behind, its strategy of opening offline stores in India falls into Walmart's way of organizing things for its business.

To recall, a Morgan Stanley report released earlier this year had suggested that Walmart could exit Flipkart, as the US retail firm does not see a long-term path to profitability. The new FDI rules for the e-commerce sector came into effect on February 1, this year and post that not just Flipkart's but Amazon's business too got impacted and saw a drop of around 25-35% in sales after having to re-arrange their seller entities where they held an equity stake.

Flipkart entering into the food retail segment is also seen as Walmart’s strategy to boost its cash-and-carry business, where revenue growth has been slow and Food accounts for two-thirds of India’s overall retail market, which is estimated to reach U$1.1 trillion by 2020 from USD 672 billion in 2017.

Amazon, which is global competitor of Walmart, has also committed to investing about $500 million in the food retail business through its food retail arm Amazon Retail India. It has bought a large stake in Aditya Birla Group's food and grocery retail chain and is also in the process of acquiring Kishore Biyani-led Future retail which operates Easy Day and Big Bazaar chain in the country.

Meanwhile, home grown e-grocers, Grofers and Big Basket, have also reportedly gotten government nod to sell locally produced food items and hold inventory of the same.

On the other side, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance is doing vice-versa (offline-to-online) by launching a new e-commerce platform in India, which will connect brick-and-mortar stores to online channel of Reliance Retail. To be rolled out initially for Gujarat retailers and store-owners, the upcoming e-commerce platform will enrich about 1.2 million small retailers and shopkeepers in Gujarat.

In August last year, a report supposedly said that Alibaba’s chairman Jack Ma had held talks with Mukesh Ambani, in July-2018 in Mumbai and discussed about plan to create a large omnichannel i.e. both online as well offline, retail entity through the proposed JV of RIL and Alibaba.

Among online grocery business, both Grofers and Bigbasket is envisaging omnichannel strategy. Gurgaon-based Grofers has recently raised $200 million in a fresh funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund, pushing the startup’s valuation to almost $1 billion. Prior to that, a month before BigBasket had raised fresh $40 million from CDC Group, the UK government's development finance institution, at a valuation of $1.2 billion, that made it the latest entrant to India's coveted unicorn club of startups.

Pros and Cons of Online and Offline Shopping

Purchasing new clothes/goods/equipment is an essential part of modern human culture, and is something that all of us do, be it often or occasionally. Whenever we shop,  we check out all the available products, compare our options and then purchase the one that suits our requirements best.

In a physical store, you can touch, hold and feel the products and get a sense of how much you like a certain item. Then why should you shop online at all?

For starters, online shopping has made it easier for you to check out all the best products in one, single place. It is not only reliable but also saves time for everybody. The best part is that you can compare and choose from across a wide range of products.

Then again, nothing can compare to the process of actually holding and getting to know the item you want to buy. Getting a feel of the article of purchase is almost therapeutic in one sense, and going shopping is something that all of us (especially the girls) enjoy doing as it’s a great way to spend time alone or with friends/family.

So which is better?

Offline Shopping

Pros

Quality Time -  Shopping at a store lets you get close to your potential assets and shop at your own leisure. You get to examine a variety of choices and buy the one that you like most...

Touch & Feel - As I mentioned before, getting to know the product you’ll be buying is almost therapeutic and allows to you inspect the products closely for any well-hidden damages or defects. This way, you know that you won’t be getting any surprises after making your purchase.

Salesman - So, you’ve just searched the entire store and found two very different, but equally great items and can’t decide which to pick (even if your life depended on it). You can’t get google it because your mobile internet connection sucks, but that’s okay! The in-house salesman can tell you about each item and help you make an informed decision.

Instant Purchase - You don't have to wait for days to get the product. Once you choose the right product suitable for yourself, make the payment and take it home.

Return/replace - Let’s say you're not satisfied with your purchase, you can always go back to the store to get a replacement or refund. No more waiting ‘3-5 business days for the amount to appear as a credit in your next billing statement.’

Cons

Exhaustion - You might spend the whole shopping day and still not find what you are looking for. Shopping for long hours is fun, but only as long as you find something worth taking home!

Expensive - Most physical stores don’t accept online coupons. Sometimes, you may also end up paying more for an item than what it’s worth. Depending on the size of the item, transportation can be an additional cost too.

Crowds - Shopping in a crowded place with sweaty people can be an introvert’s (or a germaphobe’s) worst nightmare (especially if you hate shopping and are being forced to tag along). Nobody wants to rub elbows while waiting in queue at the billing register.

Online Shopping

Pros

Range of Choices - From clothing to food items and car parts to scientific equipment, you have the power to choose from across a wide range of options. There isn’t a need to visit multiple stores each time.

Shop 24/7 - Who cares if it’s 2 AM and you’re in your pajamas? No more restraining orders for shopping in your underwear!

Secure Payment -  Doesn’t matter if you have a MasterCard or VISA. Online stores accept all sorts of payment methods including credit/debit cards, digital wallets and some even allow you to pay later!

Tip: If you use digital coupons aka coupon codes, you can even get discounts or avail cash-back offers to pay less and buy more. If you don’t know where to find relevant coupons, Curated Deals is a great place to get started. They have all sorts of discounts deals and verified coupons that you can use to purchase your favourite products at the best prices.

Cons

Quality Issue - Since you cannot touch and feel the product, it might be difficult for you to get a reliable product delivered to you each time. 1 out of 20 customers claim to be dissatisfied with their online purchase.

Size and Fitting - The size and fit might be a challenge in the case of garments since you cannot try them before buying. However, most online stores allow you to return items of clothing within a stipulated time period (not including inner-wear).

Waiting Period - The hardest part of shopping online is waiting for your order to be delivered. Although you can select a shipping speed, you have no control over the delivery process and delays due to weather.

Conclusion

Online and offline shopping, both have their advantages and disadvantages, so one cannot be said to be better than the other. Large brands have a big online presence, but that urn at the antique store around the corner? You can never get that online.

So don’t look at these options as an either/or choice. Shoppers expect both to be pleasant, and companies are starting to cater to both audiences.

For example, online shopping giant Amazon acquired supermarket chain Whole Foods little over a year ago to open its first ‘brick-and-mortar’ store. Seeing how brands are starting to follow this trend, it’s safe to say that online and offline shopping are both here to stay!

How A VPN Router Can Protect Your Physical Store Visitors

Offering customers free Wi-Fi is the current norm. Have you considered your customers’ online security when they log onto your free Wi-Fi network? You want your customers to feel safe when they are in your store, and this includes when they use your free Wi-Fi.

Some of the risks associated with using free Wi-Fi

1. Opening yourself up to hackers

Free Wi-Fi requires no authentication to establish a Wi-Fi network. Hackers can, therefore, gain unlimited access to unsecured devices on the Wi-Fi network.

2. Hackers can interrupt a Wi-Fi connection point

It means that instead of connecting directly to the Wi-Fi network, customer data will first pass through the hacker then onto the Wi-Fi network.

Hackers position themselves between the Wi-Fi network and unsecured devices to access user data first. In this way, they can steal vital information such as passwords or credit card information.

3. Probably the worst risk is how easily hackers can spread malware

Allowing file sharing across a network, will enable hackers to infect files with malicious software which can later install itself on your computer. Some hackers have managed to hack the Wi-Fi connection points and have installed their pop-up windows that appear when customers log onto the Wi-Fi network. When users click on the window, malware is installed.

You can see from the above list that free Wi-Fi can be a hacker’s hotspot.

How can you use a VPN to protect your customers from falling victim to hackers who infiltrate Wi-Fi networks?

A VPN is a Virtual Private Network that lets users access the worldwide web privately and safely by routing the internet connection through a server and hiding the user’s online footprint. Simply put, VPN’s act as cyber bodyguards that protects (through the encryption process) all data being exchanged over an internet connection.

How Does A VPN Work?

1. User’s install VPN software, such as Pure VPN, on their devices.
2. The VPN software must first be started or running for it to protect your data.
3. The VPN software will then encrypt your data before sending it to the Wi-Fi network.
4. The online website that you browse will see that your data is being sent form a VPN server. The location of the server will be shown and NOT the location of your device and its IP address.

Users must run VPN software separately for every device they own.

As a business owner, can you get customers to use a VPN especially if they are unaware of the risks of using Wi-Fi networks without a VPN?

Can you, as a business owner, protect your customers from falling victim to cyber-crime as a result of ignorance?

Yes, you can.

VPN Routers

VPN routers protect numerous devices at the same time while these devices are connected to a Wi-Fi network. Since the Wi-Fi router is also a VPN router, users are automatically protected.

Although VPN routers are expensive, buying one is a long-term investment. Although the VPN router itself is costly, monthly subscriptions to VPN services for VPN software that is running continuously is quite cheap.

Benefits of using a VPN router

1. Multiple devices are protected at once. These include TV’s, mobile phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, smart watches, and many more.
2. It is convenient since users do not have to run VPN software on every device before using it to connect to free Wi-Fi. Since the VPN service is continuously running, users are always protected.
3. VPN routers offer superior compatibility. The VPN router provides an encryption service to any device that can connect to Wi-Fi over the VPN router.
4. VPN routers are incredibly reliable. The VPN router will always connect to the internet via a VPN service. It means that users don’t have to worry about forgetting to connect to a VPN service every time they use your free Wi-Fi.

4. VPN routers offer security to non-native devices. Non-native devices include Apple TV and Play Station 3 which does not typically support VPN services.
5. VPN routers unblock restricted applications and content. VPN routers allow users to access applications or content that Governments may block by enabling users to bypass restrictions and connecting to the internet through an encrypted VPN tunnel that disguises the user’s actual physical location.
6. VPN routers take a few minutes to set up allowing users to enjoy encrypted browsing.

With so much to offer, what is the downside of using a VPN router?

Users may experience limited bandwidth. The more devices are connected to the VPN router, the slower the connection. Not all VPN services are slow, so the speed will depend on who the VPN service provider is.

Choosing a VPN router for your business

When hoping around for a VPN router remember that not all routers have a pre-installed VPN. Also, not all routers support a VPN service or run VPN software. ISP modems are not compatible with VPN routers. ISP modems consist of a modem and router device.

A few available options for VPN routers include

1. Pre-Flashed Routers

Although pre-flashed routers are more expensive than other VPN routers, it saves you the hassle of installing VPN software and is one of the most convenient VPN router options. This router comes with additional benefits including encrypted plug and play.

2. Ready-To-Use VPN compatible routers

VPN compatible routers come ready to use out of the box, pre-installed with VPN software that also supports OpenVPN protocol which allows users to use a VPN service provider of their choice.

3. Flash Router with new VPN firmware

This is the most complicated process. You will have to install new VPN software onto the operating system of your router. This success of flashing new firmware will depend on the limitations of the router and its operating system. This process involves:

1. a) First, download VPN firmware.
2. b) Connect your router.
3. c) Flash your router.

Additional steps include:

1. a) Disconnecting the VPN from the internet
2. b) Change the location of the VPN
3. c) Check all recently used devices you want to be protected by the VPN.
4. d) Change the SSID password.

The easiest, hassle-free option is to use a pre-flashed router to ensure that your customers are protected when they use your free store Wi-Fi.

5 Things that Online Startups Could Learn from Brick & Mortar Businesses

Most of the modern day startups are going online with their businesses. The hassles of brick and mortar business right from finding a place to managing the physical inventory lures startup founders to take the E route. Running the traditional brick & mortar business demands space and dexterity. But that does not mean that starting a new business online is devoid of running around and hassles.

Brick & mortar store can at least leverage on its local visibility once it is up in a decent location. But online businesses face competition from across the globe. This makes it difficult for new online startups to scale up soon after the launch. And therefore, there is plenty to learn for online business from the traditional brick & mortar businesses. 

1. Product Display
   
   The product display is an important element for any brick and mortar store. This stands true for the retail outlets that have a space and place for their products. The same cannot hold true for a service businesses like travel operators, legal consultants, etc. Service-based businesses should promote the uncluttered information for easy understanding. Just like products are on display, service and its rate list are also up for informing the prospective clients. Same way, the product display is something that brick & mortar handles expertly.
   
   Online service providers’ website shall have all the service information, arranged in a systematic order, with the pricing and feature details. Therefore, service and product offerings should be laid out keeping conversions in mind. 



2. Availability
   
   This is something that every online business has an upper hand over the brick and mortar stores. But then, online businesses need to uphold consistency when it comes to availability. This means the servers should be up and running without any interruptions. 24*7/365. There is no Sunday or public holidays for online business.


The availability should also translate in the delivery of service (or product). This includes response time to queries over the online chat assistance or your response time to queries and how efficient you are at meeting client expectations. Being prompt on the email response and addressing prospective client actively is one of the ways for online startups to match the steps with the brick & mortar businesses. One needs to be on their toes, though behind the screens, to devote some serious face time for defining the success of online business.


3. Safe Transactions
   
   The brick & mortar businesses are probably the best ones when it comes to a business transaction. Customers can either pay by swiping the card or pay by cash. But internet businesses need to be cautious of cyber security wherein the priority should be to offer effortless checkout.
   
   Trust is one of the key factors that can influence online purchase and therefore one should always consider putting up digital certificates on display. This speaks about the entity that you deal with to keep your online transactions authentic. Without fail, online businesses should include the VeriSign logo to win confidence and promote safe online transactions.



4. Separate deals/specials on the website
   Imagine a brick & mortar retail outlet that advertises about discounts but inside the store, there is no dedicated segment for it. This annoys buyers the most. The same holds true for online businesses offering discounts on certain products and services.
   
   For the online service offerings, a bundle of discounted services should serve the purpose when blended with special segment marketed online. This will let prospective clients know about the services on discounts and therefore shortens the customer journey, making it easier for them to move towards the checkout. Things get easier for people providing products instead of services. A dedicated product page with a list of products can serve the purpose by offering a flawless landing experience to the users.



5. Feedback
   The important element for ant of the business is to have feedback on the services and products. Brick & mortar stores can easily get under the skin of any potential customer and if nothing, can take out feedback from them. The same gets tough when it comes to online business since this platform makes it easy for potential customers to write your business off without a second thought.
   
   Online businesses can learn to take the opportunity of feedback from current as well as the potential customers. On one hand it helps you gauge your startup team and their efforts to set their KPIs accordingly and give feedback on their roles and responsibilities.
   
   And when it comes to the online store, the first impression is something that matters the most. Never miss an opportunity to earn feedback from visitors. In traditional business customer may give feedback on a feedback register or a small fill-in paper, the online businesses can send promote their feedback form.

Be it the current users or prospective users; get to know their core decision to engage your services and log it. The idea is to avail the stats on views, interactivity, and time spent on the website. Just like how brick & mortar stores try to maximize their conversion based on visitors to customers’ ratio, online store too can work that trick. This is done by analyzing the data closely, knowing the user behaviour in each segment of the website and keep listening to the client base.

Conclusion

While the online businesses are giving tough time to the brick & mortar businesses, there are still plenty of things that this new age business can learn from traditional businesses. Fundamentally the idea remains the same but differs in execution. Since the online platform provides distinctive ways to deal with the traditional aspects of business.

Why New Entrepreneurs Go for Online Market Despite Offline Being A Big Market?

The question faced by most new entrepreneurs is whether to go for a fully online business or have online as well as offline presence too. There are several factors that go into deciding whether your new business should be fully online. Understandably, the biggest factor is infrastructure costs.

Getting venture capital, funds from crowdsourcing and bank loans can prove arduous and uphill task in India, despite the government implementing some initiatives aimed at promoting entrepreneurship.

Most new entrepreneurs are fired by ambition while finances throw a wet blanket. Hence, they believe in online businesses more than offline ones.

Here are major reasons why new entrepreneurs believe in online trade rather than offline, which is also a big market.

Brick & Mortar Infrastructure

Take a realistic look at India’s real estate market. Buying or leasing an office is almost unaffordable for any new entrepreneur. Nor is it feasible to invest upon infrastructure such as warehousing and storage facilities. Setting up brick-and-mortar infrastructure is indeed expensive and can in some cases, even the capital set aside for opening a venture would not suffice.

Given this scenarios, online business is the best option. Setting up a website including buying a good domain name, hosting and other essentials costs a few thousand Rupees. Resources like Facebook Business are free. It is possible to set up an online store using e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, without much hassle or investment.

In stark contrast, setting up an offline business requires an office or store and warehouse, signboards, furniture and other paraphernalia that eats heavily into the capital earmarked for a venture.

Setting up a store or office also means hiring a good interior designer for proper layout and aesthetics. Modern day Indians shoppers are highly conscious ambience or a store or office. Hence, spending on creating such ambience is imminent. This can be avoided by online business.

Red Tape

[caption id="attachment_124725" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Image - Newindianexpress.com[/caption]

Setting up an online business does not involve cutting through miles of red tape and overcoming bureaucratic hurdles to procure permits, licenses and other documents from government authorities. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has now simplified registration procedures for startup ventures. Several law firms provide the service for a few thousand Rupees. Under Indian laws, there are different types of registrations available for startup ventures.

Anyone looking for funding from Venture Capitalists (VCs), crowd sourcing platforms and other lenders needs to come up with excellent startup ideas that would attract investors. There are several such ideas available online that are relatively new and innovative.

Online businesses need not rush to get any registration, unless they are looking at some brick and mortar presence. New entrepreneurs can wait till their venture is successful and begins making profits before registering. Existing laws allow companies established less than seven years ago to be registered as startups. Hence, new entrepreneurs have plenty of time.

For brick-and-mortar businesses, an entrepreneur needs to get various clearances from the civic administration to register an office or store as well as those from local fire department. Plethora of licenses and permits cost a lot of money and eat heavily into the capital. These can simply be circumvented by opening an online enterprise.

Staffing & Payroll

Online businesses can operate be operated by entrepreneurs themselves or their close family members. At best, an online business can function efficiently with skeletal staff. These can be recruited locally if needed or hired on part-time basis. Online food ordering platforms recruit part-time delivery crew. Ditto with giant e-commerce companies like Amazon India that outsource deliveries to local agents that hire freelance staff that are paid on basis of number of packages delivered successfully.

Minimal staffing means a trim payroll. Rather than doling out fat pay packets to employees, new entrepreneurs can effectively utilize the money for expanding operations or launching new product and service lines.

Another advantage that new entrepreneurs can derive out of online business is by hiring staff at distant locations where they wish to expand. In such situations, it is possible to recruit part-time staff or freelancers till a new market becomes lucrative and starts paying adequate dividends to justify fulltime employees.

Business from Apps

Apps are the trendiest way for e-commerce in India. According to various reliable sources, over 23 percent of Indians bought stuff online using smartphone based apps. This amply proves that apps that work on mobile Internet are fast emerging as most preferred e-commerce channel in this country.

Nowadays, it costs a few thousand Rupees to have a customized app created for a new enterprise. These apps are accessed by potential customers during spare time, especially long commutes. Apps increase the probability of an interested person culminating as customer. App based business is something possible only if new entrepreneurs are online. They can display the app and provide link for its download through the website of their enterprise.

Market Realities

Another major reason why new entrepreneurs believe in online business is due to market growth. According to various projections, over 330 million women and men from different age groups will use e-commerce to buy stuff by the year 2020. This translates as whopping US$45 billion worth purchases. Numbers in terms of e-commerce users and total worth of purchases can be much higher. These figures are sufficient for any new entrepreneur to believe in online business.

Additionally, major e-commerce outlets in India including online retailers and Asset Management Companies (AMCs) are introducing newer, modern forms of payment for clients. These include payment through Unified Payment Interface (UPI) portal of National Payments Corporation of India, a government organization. Hence, new entrepreneurs can offer various channels to clients shopping for their goods or services.

In Conclusion

There are several more distinct advantages why new entrepreneurs believe in online business though offline is also a big market. The biggest benefit of offline shopping or buying at brick-and-mortar stores is the instant gratification. A consumer gets first-hand feel and look of the product. Yet online businesses score because they are able to ship goods swiftly, reducing delivery time. Secondly, customers get the option of choosing a delivery address and time. Online makes it possible to send gifts instantly- which is not possible with most offline ventures. These basic factors are why new entrepreneurs believe in online business despite offline ones also being profitable.

Online Eyewear Startup Glassic Goes Brick & Mortar, Opens First Retail Store in Bangalore

Bangalore-based eyewear startup brand Glassic, which designs and manufactures high quality, designer sunglasses, inaugurated its flagship store at Indiranagar, Bengaluru. The grand opening of 'Glassic's store' was marked by the presence of fashion guru Prasad Bidapa who had a tête-à-tête with fashion enthusiasts and other guests present at the event. In addition to being available online for close to 3 years, the retail store will now enable people to explore and try out the latest Glassic eyewear from more than 200 designs.

Owned and operated by Glassic Eyewear Pvt. Ltd, Glassic is a private label fashion eyewear brand that
designs and manufactures eyewear in-house. Glassic is funded by a group of angel networks which
includes The Chennai Angels, Lead Angels and LetsVenture.

[caption id="attachment_124931" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Glassics new flagship store at 12th Main, Indiranagar[/caption]

Co-founded by brothers Kailash and Devesh Nichani in 2015, Glassic makes high quality designer eyewear affordable to masses with superior emphasis on quality than competitors. Talking at the launch, Kailash Nichani said, " We are excited to launch our flagship store in the heart of Bengaluru. We identify latest trends and our impeccable attention to detail coupled with inhouse manufacturing, we strive to offer the best quality, great-looking eyewear at a reasonable price. Our first store will be an extension of our mission to delight customers with durable fashion and affordability in eyewear segment.” The founders claim they offer one-year warranty to Glassic products owing to the quality promise.

As per industry estimates, about 550 million people in the country need reading glasses, but only 170 million people wear them.

Going brick-and-mortar ensures the e-tailers do not lose their customers in any space -- either online or offline.

An another prominent online eyewear retailer Lenskart is also in process of capturing offline market through its own brick-and-mortar stores. Backed by Unilazer Ventures and Premji Invest, Lenskart currently has over 200 stores across India.

In recent couple of years, it is seen that Indian e-commerce players, in a reverse trend, are now expanding their platforms to brick-and-mortar outlets aka physical stores in a bid to curb higher marketing costs and cater to diverse customer needs in a highly competitive market.

According to a report by the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), India's retail market is expected to nearly double to $1 trillion by 2020 from $600 billion in 2015, driven by income growth, urbanisation and attitudinal shifts.

[Reference - FirstPost]

Online Eyewear Startup Glassic Goes Brick & Mortar, Opens First Retail Store in Bangalore

Bangalore-based eyewear startup brand Glassic, which designs and manufactures high quality, designer sunglasses, inaugurated its flagship store at Indiranagar, Bengaluru. The grand opening of 'Glassic's store' was marked by the presence of fashion guru Prasad Bidapa who had a tête-à-tête with fashion enthusiasts and other guests present at the event. In addition to being available online for close to 3 years, the retail store will now enable people to explore and try out the latest Glassic eyewear from more than 200 designs.

Owned and operated by Glassic Eyewear Pvt. Ltd, Glassic is a private label fashion eyewear brand that
designs and manufactures eyewear in-house. Glassic is funded by a group of angel networks which
includes The Chennai Angels, Lead Angels and LetsVenture.

[caption id="attachment_124931" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Glassics new flagship store at 12th Main, Indiranagar[/caption]

Co-founded by brothers Kailash and Devesh Nichani in 2015, Glassic makes high quality designer eyewear affordable to masses with superior emphasis on quality than competitors. Talking at the launch, Kailash Nichani said, " We are excited to launch our flagship store in the heart of Bengaluru. We identify latest trends and our impeccable attention to detail coupled with inhouse manufacturing, we strive to offer the best quality, great-looking eyewear at a reasonable price. Our first store will be an extension of our mission to delight customers with durable fashion and affordability in eyewear segment.” The founders claim they offer one-year warranty to Glassic products owing to the quality promise.

As per industry estimates, about 550 million people in the country need reading glasses, but only 170 million people wear them.

Going brick-and-mortar ensures the e-tailers do not lose their customers in any space -- either online or offline.

An another prominent online eyewear retailer Lenskart is also in process of capturing offline market through its own brick-and-mortar stores. Backed by Unilazer Ventures and Premji Invest, Lenskart currently has over 200 stores across India.

In recent couple of years, it is seen that Indian e-commerce players, in a reverse trend, are now expanding their platforms to brick-and-mortar outlets aka physical stores in a bid to curb higher marketing costs and cater to diverse customer needs in a highly competitive market.

According to a report by the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), India's retail market is expected to nearly double to $1 trillion by 2020 from $600 billion in 2015, driven by income growth, urbanisation and attitudinal shifts.

[Reference - FirstPost]

To Counter Online Shopping, Bricks & Mortar Retailers in Asia Need To Adopt Analytics

As the might of online shopping looms large, brick and mortar retailers in Asia should look at analytics as a way to improve, enhance or expand customer loyalty since existing customers represent up to 80% of future revenue, says leading data and analytics company GlobalData.

The company estimates that with the onslaught of online shopping, up to 20% of outlets may close in next five years. But, IT-led transformation is what the industry should look to reset the ‘misalignment’ between buyers and sellers. The company forecasts that ICT spending within the Asian retail will exceed $31bn this year and grow at 5% per year.

Dustin Kehoe, Technology Research Director at GlobalData, says: “The stakes are high. The retail sector is moving IT spend from a ‘keeping the lights on,’ mode to one where investing in technology is essential to permanently and irreversibly change their business. Consumers will continue to shop online, but classic ‘bricks and mortar’ stores are reinventing themselves through technology. Data is at the heart of the strategy.”

The goal is to drive an integrated customer experience that is both relevant and personal, and aligns with the tempo of customer journey. Essentially high street retailers are changing the game by swapping out the architecture.

Kehoe continues: “With over 2.7 billion smart phones subscriptions projected in use across Asia by the end of 2018, mobility is the logical place to start. With cloud as the core platform, retailers should use mobile and Wi-Fi analytics to understand customer footfall, age, gender, demographics and time browsing in stores to reconnect with the odyssey of long lost shopper. These capabilities, especially in markets like Australia, Korea, Japan and China, can be overlaid with video analytics to bring more contexts.”

The use of open application programming interfaces allows analytics to be integrated into point-of-sale and CRM to improve ‘on the shelf availability.’ Location-based services with geo-fencing can help businesses to visualize traffic flow through stores, identify hotspots, chokepoints and predict the future revenue by shelf placements and promotions. The future use of artificial intelligence may even be able to detect patterns invisible to today’s systems.

Kehoe concludes: “While research shows a willingness of customers to provide personal details (within reasonable boundaries of privacy) as long as there is value in return. It will be imperative that data is protected at all costs, not shared with third-parties and collected in an aggregated way that safeguards privacy. This clearly explained and opt-outs are also visible. A retailer who can strike this balance will be the likely success stories.”

Netmeds Moves Offline, Plans to Launch 10 Physical Stores in Chennai

Ecommerce was born when traditional stores created an online presence to cater to shoppers' demands for anytime, anywhere purchases. Now, in a interesting role reversal of sorts, pure online stores are adopting a two-way approach and are venturing into the offline space to offer their customers a well-rounded and comprehensive shopping experience. With exactly that goal in mind, Netmeds, India’s leading healthcare e-commerce portal, also popularly known as ‘India Ki Pharmacy’ is now venturing into the brick-and-mortar space. After creating a robust presence felt in the realm of “e-pharma” Netmeds is set to make inroads in the physical retail segment. The healthcare e-commerce portal plans to set up its physical stores in Chennai first and gradually expand its offline reach to other metro cities in the country.

Netmeds is poised to kick-start its offline foray with 10 physical stores under the franchise model in the pilot phase. Under the same brand name, Netmeds will open a number of conveniently located licensed pharmacies. The healthcare firm will invest around Rs15-20 lakh to set up the physical stores. The brand new stores will be located in high demand markets of Chennai, which people can easily access for safely and reliably fulfilling their healthcare needs.

Commenting on the plan, Netmeds CEO Pradeep Dadha said, “Netmeds has fast established itself as the one-stop online destination for customers to procure medicines and fulfill the entire spectrum of their healthcare needs. While our online sales have experienced immense traction, our customers have also expressed an unequivocal desire to be able to interact with their favourite pharmacy in a physical format. Many consumers are keen to attain a 360-degree, seamless medicine buying experience with a trusted brand. To cater to this consumer demand, we have decided to enter into an omni-channel model. Setting up physical stores will not only help us to enhance our engagement with customers, but will also enable us to reach out to those who do not have access to technology or lack technical expertise.”

At present, Netmeds procures from wholesale and retail shops to cater to its clientele. With its brick-and-mortar stores in the offing, Netmeds will source products through its own distribution company.