First a TV campaign and now a new selling strategy, www.futurebazaar.com definitely seems to be getting aggressive in e-commerce space. Future Group recently unveiled a new strategy ‘The Battle’ to boost the sales of products through its digital retail outlet. The Battle lasting for 96 hours non-stop will have consumers vying to possess the cheapest consumer electronics with genuine manufacturer’s warranty. The first ‘Battle’ will allow consumers to buy their favorite mobiles at the lowest prices the market has ever seen. The lowest price guarantee is an outcome of the strong sourcing leverage that Future Group brings on the table and this will now be available digitally and be delivered to the customers’ home or office free of cost. (via)
The registration to participate in this cheapest deal campaign is already on but the actual offer will start from 15th Oct’10 (this comes after the acquisition of Chaupaati Bazaar, a Phone commerce Marketplace). Customers can participate in this promotion not only online but also through dedicated phone line. The company has collaborated with leading mobile phone brands in the country to offer deals that are exclusive only to Futurebazaar.com and thus providing the maximum value across any online or offline mobile retailing network.
From the initial glance of it, this looks like a unique deal based program on selected items for selected duration. The company has been pumping enough money in mass media as well; the estimated spend on promoting their revamped ecommerce strategy is close to Rs. 12 crores. But it is not only one of those seasonal festival special promotions. The company plans to continue with it every fortnight now.
So, does this mean, future bazaar is also entering into special per day / periodic deal kind of market esp. focused on mobile phones and consumer electronics? Has this retail giant also observed the growing e-commerce trends in India and thus overhauling its presence in this space? Not only Futurebazaar, I can also see this trend of revamping the digital channel by few other established retail players too.
For e.g., I had registered on Landmark’s website long back and had purchased a book as well, since that book was not available anywhere else but on their website. But never before I had observed such aggressive promotion from this company as it is doing it now; with discounts, free shipping and whole lot of special offers etc.
Their mailers have been revamped and communicate new deals on books, movies, music almost every day. Well, looks like with success stories of Indian startups in books, fashion & deal based ecommerce space, even bigger players are now betting big on their e-commerce strategies. The bigger retail players can still manage the price game but let’s see how many of them manage to master the most difficult and challenging aspect of online businesses in India i.e., the service delivery part.
Do check out what Mr. Biyani has to say about his revived focused on their existing online channel
