[hpagey]

I think the key to successful ecommerce model in India is hybrid of online and offline experiences. I had the following idea floating in my mind for long time now . Let me know if it makes sense

a) You franchise out "ecommerce" physical shops. This is a physical location where customer can come in surf ecommerce websites and place an order.

b) There is someone at this shop who will collect money on behalf of ecommerce websites. This could be cash credit debit whatever. Make these shops available at every nukad (every street). Hell give other shop owners these ecommerce terminals (just like sim card selling process or prepaid minutes fulfillment process) .

c) The packages are shipped to this shop or your home. Since these shops are conveniently located, near train stations, in airports, malls, picking up packages is not an hassle.

d) serve complimentary hot tea while people are shopping.

The actual order is fulfilled at an warehouse just like amazon.

[rluhar]

This is quite similar to way convenience stores work in Japan. You can pay at a convenience store and get Amazon to ship your goods to a convenience store. Japan (similar to India) is still very much a cash based society and I suppose some people prefer to pay in cash at a convenience store instead of paying online.

India also has loads of tiny convenience stores, I think this is an excellent idea. It also simplifies the logistics. The eCommerce company only has to build out a supply chain to the convenience store instead of having to deliver to each customer or rely on the Indian postal service.

(I have lived both in India and Japan)

[tellarin]

In China you can have Amazon (and other major e-commerce firms) ship things to your home or office and pay in cash on delivery (for most items).

The amount of delivery people in Beijing, especially near lunch time, is quite impressive.

[garindra]

What's the protocol when the customer can't pay on delivery?

[tellarin]

As far as I know, the company keeps the goods. And the more high-priced items (laptop, TV, etc.) can't be paid in cash on delivery (only credit card or Internet banking accepted for those).

[irahul]

In India, laptops can be cash-on-delivery. When I order from Flipkart(India's very own Amazon), I always opt for cash-on-delivery. I see no point in paying up-front when sometimes they don't have the goods and I have to wait for refunds. The delivery person carries card reader, so there is no need to carry large amounts of cash.

[axomhacker]

Mostly everything from Flipkart (and for that matter, it appears, from Amazon) can be bought cash-on-delivery.

[blntechie]

Exploring Amazon.in, I see Cash on Delivery available as payment option.

[nmridul]

Most Indian online stores (Flipcart etc) has cash on delivery option.

[PakG1]

Off-topic, but can you expand more on this? I only remember reading article after article about how you could pay for everything in Japan using chips in your mobile phone. And article after article of Japanese companies lamenting how they did not manage to internationalize their mobile payment technology. And then the iPhone came along. And then Square came along.

If you are saying that Japan is still very much a cash based society, what percentage of transactions are done in cash and what percentage are done via mobile phones, judging from your personal day-to-day experience?

[atgm]

Japan is very cash-based. I've never seen Square or the domestic one (Coiny, I think?) in the wild.

Many stores still do not take credit cards.

A lot of convenience stores will take credit cards, most will take Suica cards (mass transit cards pre-loaded with money). Some vending machines will take Suica cards.

Mobile phone payment is kind of a hassle and requires a credit card as well as a phone that supports it (osaifu keitai). Not all phones do.

Cash is still the preferred method of payment online too -- three of the four options are basically cash: bank transfer (done with cash at an ATM or online if you use a bank that supports it), COD, and payment at a convenience store.

[rluhar]

Yes spot on - many restaurants, especially the smaller places do not take credit cards. Even a large chain of Convenience Stores (FamilyMart) do not accept credit cards for payment.

(Way off topic) Japan can be quite strange with banking and ATMs as well. Unlike, for example, the UK, your ATM cards usually will only work on the ATMs of your bank or perhaps in some convenience stores.

For example, my Citibank card only works at Citibank ATMs, and 711 convenience stores, but won't work at a MUFG ATM. You also get charged for withdrawing money outside of "office hours" at an ATM, and some ATMs stop working after 2100.

It was a little bit of a shock moving from London where I walked around with 10 pounds in my pocket to Tokyo where withdrawing and walking around with 500 dollars worth of yen seems pretty normal.

[kamaal]

Cash-on-delivery already solves most of what you are trying to say. Flipkart and many other sites are already very successful implementing this model.

These days anybody who can order things through internet, actually orders things through the internet.

Just wondering if you are an Indian or if you are staying India?

[Tichy]

I've been thinking about this a lot, but I wonder if the ususal affiliate fees would be enough to pay for rent, staff and demo objects. I rather doubt it, and maybe online shops can't pay much more without raising prices.

[goombastic]

This is already happening. Some ecomm sites have tied up with a coffee chain here in India and doing NFC&QR code based item image display and allowing people to order them with their mobiles.

[NIL8]

This is very similar to the way the old JCPenney catalog worked in the U.S..

I would go for it.

[gprasanth]

There is something called Gharpay.in

It looks promising.