With the retail market gradually gaining momentum, retailers have started targeting tier II and III cities as well as rural regions along with metros and major cities to expand their business through the S-Commerce route Rural India is soaring high on the back of increased disposable income, government policies and consumer awareness. It has been observed that the rural market has been largely insulated from the global meltdown. Sectors that seem to be benefiting the most from rural prosperity include FMCG, automotive, retail and telecommunication, among others. Taking this opportunity, service providers have been trying to penetrate deep into the country through the unique S-Commerce (service commerce) route. According to a report from India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), the rural market is expected to be a major driver of the retail industry in Business, specifically retail, has always focused on the most important factor in the Indian mindset – ‘value for money’. Indian consumers are willing to pay any amount of money for a product or service as long as they are convinced that they are getting good value for money. This is often misinterpreted as being tight-fisted or interested in low priced and/or low quality products. Several initiatives and concepts have been created to help an organisation penetrate into the domestic market and make their services available to the remotest areas. Initiatives such as E-Mitra, Bill Desk, Lokmitra, eSeva, ITC’s E Choupal etc have witnessed great success. S-Commerce penetrating retail market S-Commerce is the platform that bridges the gap created by E-Commerce (electronic commerce); it creates a win-win situation for service providers, consumers, corporates and governments. S-commerce has originated on the premise of providing convenience anywhere, anytime on a real time basis. It also addresses the psyche of Indian consumers such as physical buying experience, buying in cash, offering physical services through hard cash to consumers who lack the adequate knowledge about E-Commerce. It also addresses the needs of a section of the Indian population who do not have access to banks or plastic money. Suvidhaa-pioneered ‘S–Commerce’ revolution has witnessed huge acceptance. In a span of just 2 years it has spread its wings through more than 20,000 outlets in over 20 states and over 500 cities and towns across urban and rural The S-Commerce model has brought about a significant shift from the traditional E-Commerce model, where products and services are available via Internet. Through the S-Commerce model, consumers can easily avail usual as well as unique services, thereby making it an ideal business opportunity. Therefore, it is expected that in the near future the divide between rural and urban Paresh Rajde, founder, managing director and CEO, Suvidhaa Infoserve Pvt Ltd, a Mumbai-based mid-sized retail service provider |
