7 Reasons Why Loyalty / Reward Programs Failed in India

What is the common link between all major stores/chains like Mega Mart, Pantaloons, Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle, Reliance Retail, Hyper City etc....Answer is Loyalty / Reward Programs. Whenever u r making a payment for ur purchase on these store, the person on counter ask..Sir, do you have membership card? But Loyalty / Reward Programs have failed in India. When i was young, some years back..I was quite excited about collecting all these membership cards. I used to thought that retail store value Continue Reading

5 Strategies of FMCG Companies to Cheat Customer

Indian FMCG companies love to Cheat customers (by the way they call this a strategy) and Indian Customers are happy being Cheated knowingly or unknowingly. The biggest problem in India is that we don't have strong Consumer Protection Act against FMCG sector like Western Countries. Lets find out the strategies of FMCG companies to fool the customer. 1. Packing Remains Same but Qty is Reduced: Have u ever wondered why the prices of some OTC FMCG goods are unchanged for years...I still remember, the Continue Reading

The Future of E-Commerce in India

E-Commerce is not new to Urban India but what is the Future of E-Commerce in India ...Recently, we saw lot of activities in this space like Flipkart bought Letsbuy.com, Amazon.com announced its indirect entry in India through Junglee.com & of-course PE / VC investments in various E-Commerce ventures like Snapdeal.com Sometimes i feel, Are we going overboard in this space or Is india ready for E-Commerce revolution....Currently, India does not have any Govt Policy for E-Commerce Business Continue Reading

Avoid Shopping at Supermarkets or Hypermarkets

Retail revolution is taking place in Big Cities of India and everybody is gung ho about it…According to me it’s a step towards consumerism in India. Every time i visit any of Supermarket like Big Bazaar or HyperCity, I end up buying more and shop for almost double the amount then required…Every week i visit Supermarket with the list of items required & before entering the Supermarket i promise myself that i will not buy any item/product outside the list and i will purchase only required Continue Reading

Kids Marketing – The New Trend

Kids are ruling the roost on TV & a big paradigm shift is happening under the wrap, which we are not realizing…I am not referring to Kids Channel or Kid centric programming but its all about Advertisement or Kids Marketing…These days kids are selling Insurance, Cold Drinks, Detergents, Soups, Tooth Paste, Tooth Brush, TV, AC’s, Refrigerators, Health Drinks, Packed food, Soaps & so on. Yesterday in super market i saw 3 year Kid telling her mother to buy “Bourn vita Little Champs” Continue Reading

Private Labels – Long Way To Go !!!

Private Labels arrived in India long back…I still remember when I purchased few shirts of Shoppers Stop's Private Label STOP in year 2005 but honestly speaking Pvt Labels have actually not picked up in India, the way they have picked up in western countries…Though my take is Pvt labels are future of Retail but they have long way to go in India…The problem with Indian Retailers/Marketers is whenever they go outside India, they pick up few thoughts/ideas & try to implement same in India only Continue Reading

The Real Truth Behind SALE !!!

Today when we go to any Mall or Shop, 1st thing which we check is whether there is some sale going on or not...From last year or so i am observing that Sale is now a permanent affair throughout the year across all retail outlets...SALE is most potent tool used by Markeeters to attact customer and survive in business but what is the real truth behind SALE?...Though buying from SALE gives us mental satisfaction that we got good discount….But we fail to check, whether we are getting real discounts Continue Reading

Gift Coupons / Gift Vouchers – A Marketing Gimmick

How u feel, when u r being cheated smartly under ur nose? It’s a mixed bag feeling i.e. you feel “Hmmm… I feel i am very smart but someone is smarter than me and I should learn from him” and at the same time you feel being duped…To experience these mixed emotions, all u need to do is just buy GIFT COUPONS / GIFT VOUCHERS offered by various stores and malls. Whenever u enter any mall or outlet, u can see lot of visibility though Danglers, Posters etc on Gift Coupons especially near the Continue Reading