Is Cash On Delivery Powering Online Shopping in India?

Shopping experience in India is undergoing dramatic changes in the past decade. We have huge shopping malls selling products from across the world, companies providing quality service in order to capture the young Indian with purchasing power and a variety of innovative products for the shopping freaks.

The latest shopping experience to hit Indian markets is Online Shopping. Now you can order your product from your home or office and get it delivered where you want. Anyway this is not going to deter the shopping freaks but for the rest of the population this is a novel shopping experience.

However, majority of Indians are afraid of using online shopping because we believe there are some risks involved.

Problems with Traditional Online Payment Options

In western countries, Credit cards, Debit Cards and Net banking are the three popular methods of payment for online shopping. But in India these methods are viewed with suspicion because of unprofessional handling of cyber crimes and ineffective cyber laws.

Risks of Credit Cards: We believe making payments using Credit Cards are unsafe because we do not know who is on the other end. It might be a fraudster who is looking for an opportunity to rob you after getting hold of your Credit card details. There are many unauthorized third party websites that aid in such activities. We have to make sure about the genuineness of the seller, which is not a practical solution every time we make transactions.

Besides, Indians generally do not recommend use of credit cards because we believe we will be tempted to buy products that we may not actually need. This will create and overspending habit leading to poor savings. Additionally, credit cards come with huge charges that are difficult to understand for a common man. So to be on safe side, we prefer not to use credit cards at all.

Shopping though Net Banking: Net banking is another way to buy things online. However, it is kind of tiresome, sluggish and sometimes your payment gets stuck somewhere. You also have to remember your user ID and password for making net banking transactions. Moreover, your online bank account should have ‘third party transfer‘ enabled to perform such transactions.

Overall, netbanking is a safer alternative to credit cards. However, you have to make sure; the computer you are using for net banking is secure. Otherwise, your netbanking details can reach wrong hands, resulting in fraud.

Buying though Debit Cards: Unlike Credit Cards, you can only use available funds in your account to buy things online. However, there is still a great chance of getting your personal details to fraudsters. Furthermore, RBI has introduced several measures to verify your debit card for online transactions. So, you have to follow several time consuming steps before actually paying the seller.

Another drawback on depending on cards and net banking is that the buyer faces the risk of getting damaged goods once you have paid. And worse, you order for something and they deliver something else! All this is because the payment is done before you are delivered the goods there is no opportunity for you to check the quality of the product. Getting your money back in these cases will be difficult and time consuming.

Cash on Delivery: A Viable Alternative?

A practical solution in these cases is to opt for an alternative to credit cards and net banking. It is the Cash-on-Delivery system and is the best suited for online shopping especially in Indian markets. In India about 60% of the online shopping is done through this system.

You order a product online and pay for it by cash on delivery. This means that you need not worry about your credit card number being stolen or about any delayed transactions or poor goods being delivered to you.

Payment is not done using credit cards or net banking. It is done by paying cash to the person who makes the delivery.

Cash-on-delivery system is rather simple and not much different from the usual mode of payment. Maybe it is this simplicity that makes it one of the best options in online shopping. Now you can make the best use of your time, energy and shop risk free and that too in the comforts of your home.

Through Cash-on-delivery mode, more people are confident now to go the online shopping way. We are delivered goods on our doorstep and can make use of time lost in shopping.

Producers Profiting from Cash on Delivery

It is not only beneficial for the consumers but also for the producers as well. Because Cash-on-delivery is safer, more people will be shopping online. This opens up a new market for the producers.

Virtual Market: There is a potential for virtual shops to spring up replacing the real world shops. A producer could cut on cost needed to build shops and other infrastructure to display his products. He can market the product online, display it online and also sell it online. All he needs to do is to deliver the good to the buyer.

Can Interact with More Consumers: In a shop there is a limit for a sales person to service every consumer in a limited time period. By online shopping a producer can interact with many consumers regularly who are spread over a wide geographical area.

Business Time Extended: With online shopping the time for business is 24 hours 7days a week. A consumer can log on and place order for the good any time of the day. This helps a producer to earn higher amount each day as transactions continue long after other real world shops shut down at night.

The future of Online Shopping in India is huge with a more and more people using the computer and internet. These technologies are also penetrating the rural areas which only help in expanding the market bringing huge opportunities for the producer.

With companies competing to sell their products it is only natural that with rise of online shopping the consumer stands to gain a lot.

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