Everywhere we turn to, there is news of someone joining the ecommerce bandwagon. Yesterday it was Shah Rukh Khan being signed on as the brand ambassador of Yepme, with the option to pick up stakes moving forward. Now we hear that even Microsoft wants to be in the ecommerce rat race.
Microsoft currently operates an international online store catering to customers from multiple countries. All kinds of Microsoft products like software (for example, Office Suite) to Xbox in markets like US are sold through the site. But only software downloads were sold to the Indian market so far.
Once the India-focused site is live, more products will be sold in India. . “They wanted to launch microsoftstore. in before Diwali but that is not going to happen. It will open up towards the end of November and will offer all the products of the company,” said a person, who has knowledge of the plans.
Of late, many traditional retailers have been opening their e-stores to promote and sell products online.
“The online channel has become too big for Microsoft to ignore. They know there might be cannibalisation of offline channel but they are willing to take that risk,” said one person who knows of the move.
India is a huge market and there is a lot of space for both traditional and online retailers. Even if customers check online and buy from a physical store, or vice versa, Microsoft is still ok with that as an e-store can help in giving better information and price transparency.
Looks like more and more offline retailers want to start their etailing ventures to grab their share with the consumers. Online stores are an easier route of entry than physical brick and mortar stores, both in terms of building popularity and the capital investment involved.
After dwindling with her family business, into travel and hospitality, for more than 3 years, Pooja Vishant found her true love in writing. Happy-go-lucky and cheerful, she loves pink; so pink is the way to go if you want to get into her good books. The Associate Editor keeps track of even a leaf that has moved in the ecommerce world!
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