So here’s the verdict on the Jabong Supersale Weekend.
Was it really meant to be a ‘Supersale’ or merely a marketing gimmick?
When we decided to poke our noses in to check what the marketplace was offering from sellers, we had an interesting experience. As soon as the sale launched, the Jabong website displayed the following message:
After waiting for a while, we finally managed to see the marketplace’s website.
There was another event that shook our confidence in the sale again, though. A few products were on offer at unbelievable rates. The first time we tried to purchase a branded watch that had a massive discount, the website just wouldn’t allow us to process the order at checkout. Every time we filled in details like the shipping address and contact details, we would inadvertently be redirected to the checkout page again, wherein we had to resubmit all of that information again. In other words, we were just not able to receive our order number or any confirmation that the order has been completed.
Finally, we decided to call the Jabong Customer Care team. We were informed that this particular watch model we wanted to purchase was sold out and that was the reason why the transaction wasn’t going through online– though we could clearly see after refreshing the product page on Jabong, that 1 piece of the product was still available.
Anyway, we assumed that to be a problem with the inventory update.
How do you explain what happened next, though?
We tried purchasing another wrist watch model this time, which clearly had the sign – 3 left in stock.
Yet again, the order was not getting processed or confirmed at the checkout process. Every time we tried to confirm the order, we were being redirected to the original checkout page. If the order does not process because a product is sold out, what justification can the marketplace give for this particular product, which had 3 pieces still available?
To confirm our doubt about the loopholes in this supersale, we decided to call Jabong’s Customer Care again. This time, they confirmed that the product was available and were willing to process the order via telephone.
This clearly indicates that in spite of having enough stock, the website’s interface wasn’t allowing prospective customers to confirm their order and complete the purchase.
We believe this can be highly detrimental to sellers. Even if a customer is interested in buying a product, the website interface of the online marketplace can prove to be a huge obstacle in processing and confirming the order.
Especially during a big sale that has been widely marketed, isn’t it the responsibility of the online marketplace to ensure that it has plugged all its loop holes to ensure a seamless experience for the customer, which will ultimately decide how successful seller is?
What is the point of aggressively marketing an online sale if the customers are not able to make purchases, which in turn proves detrimental to sellers?
This is not the first time that an online marketplace has disappointed its customers during a mega sale. It is time for online marketplaces to learn a lesson from these mistakes and to step up immediately, lest they lose the trust of both buyers and prospective customers.
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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