With the digital technology catching up, the most apt example of Internet’s influence is the growing trend of online shopping. The age old phrase ‘let’s go shopping’ has now somehow lost its charm. Not just clothes, bags and shoes people are now also ordering household items and grocery online.
The growing craze of online shopping is heavily weighing upon the businessmen in Ranchi. The local grocery store owners have lost a major part of their business to online portals selling the same products.
“Online shopping has certainly hampered sales to a great extent. When customers visit a grocery store they are assured of the quality which is not the same when shopping online.
For example a single item of Rs 20 can be bought at a store where as while ordering online the bill has to be of a specified minimum amount.
There is a lot of misconception also about the prices being cheaper than the market which is not true for all products especially dry fruits.
As for the convenience of home delivery, most grocery stores in Ranchi also provide the service,” said Kamal Jain, a grocery store owner in Kanke Road.
“People now shop through websites and get good discounts which retailers cannot offer.
If the trend continues small retailers will soon vanish as their business will become weak. In grocery a lot of items are not branded products which can be risky to buy. A lot of old clients have switched to online shopping resulting in a huge sale loss for us,” said Juween a local grocer.
While shop keepers claim to have lost clients to the trend, City residents however, have a completely different opinion and are quite happy with their online shopping experience.
For a working woman Dr Sheela Tiwari online shopping espically for groceries is nothing less than a boon. “Coming home from work, online shopping not just helps me save time but also allows me to spend some quality time with my daughter.
Initially I was quite apprehensive about the quality but the products received were great. Frequent shoppers can also avail heavy discounts. Another major advantage of shopping online is that items never go out of stock which is the best part,” said Tiwari, a practicing Kero Therapist in Ranchi.
“As a student it’s difficult to balance studies and also help with the household chores but online shopping allows me focus more on my studies. The variety of products available is much more as compared to that of a local store. Home delivery is the best part as the stuff is delivered right at the doorstep.
With this technology, not just youngsters but everyone can now shop from the comfort of their home. The effort of carrying heavy grocery laden bags from the store is certainly not a part of everyday life anymore,” said Neha Yadav, a City based student who feels that online shopping is like a holding a magic wand. Tushar, a resident of SAIL City Ranchi is quite happy ordering groceries online. “We started ordering groceries online about six months back and so far the experience has been very nice.
With online payment mode, there are options of cash back which is received instantly. All products have a validity of more than three months minimum.
I order all spices, dals, dry fruits, biscuits and other household items which are not just cheaper than the market price but are also delivered right at my doorstep at a time convenient to me.”
For senior citizen Renu who has just started shopping online, ordering groceries was not a very good experience. “I had ordered some dry fruits which were all rotten and biscuits which were all crumbled and broken when delivered.
Though it’s great to shop for decorative items, clothes and cosmetics’, I would not like to buy edibles and a grocery item anymore as my first experience has been very bad.”