Here's What You Can Learn from the Flipkart Octoberfest
Its been exactly a month, Flipkart's Big Billion Day sale on October 6 left scores of shoppers disgruntled for various reasons.At the same time, there were lakhs of people who cashed in on some really sweet deals. Hits and misses aside, Flipkart's October Revolution offers several learnings for consumers, who want to be better prepared to take advantage of more such shopping bonanzas coming up in future.
Discount Offered may not be Yours
Thousands of miffed customers
discovered that their orders had not been executed. For every order that was
placed, there were scores of unhappy consumers. There are too many people
jostling for the same goods. According to Flipkart, it received a billion hits,
while the number of people who actually managed to get their hands on items on
offer was just 1.5 million.
In other words, one in every 600
visitors to the site managed to shop. So, the advertised discount may not
really be yours. You may be well prepared with all your payment details at
hand, but you can never be sure you'll really get the stuff you want at the
discounted price. Take the case of the Xiaomi phones launched a few weeks ago.
They were gone in less than 3 seconds. When there are millions competing
against you, the probability of you making a purchase is extremely low.
Save Time: Register & Use
Wallets
Most people who got their hands on
the discounted products were mission-ready at 8 am sharp -the moment the sale
began -on Monday . If you were among them and still missed out, chances are you
did not have a registered account with the e-tailer or you did not have a
registered payment account (Flipkart Wallet). While you were entering your
creditdebit card details, those with registered accounts were hitting the buy
button. If you want to grab future offers, having an e-wallet that you top up
beforehand can speed up the checkout process. Also, browse the site beforehand,
pick out the items that you are really keen on, and place them on a separate
`wishlist' that the site lets you create. That way , you can quickly and easily
access your top picks and check whether they have been discounted deeply
enough.
Deal on Offer may not be the Best
Order frustration was not the only
reason prospective buyers were unhappy. Many customers bought goods on Flipkart
only to learn later that rivals Snapdeal and Amazon were offering them at
bigger discounts.
For instance, a MacBook Air that was
being sold on Flipkart for ` . 54,000 was priced at `. 50,000 on Snapdeal. It
is customary for rival platforms to come up with their own deals when a peer
announces a sale. So the next time there is such a sale and you have set your
eyes on a specific product, compare its price on other platforms before you
click on buy. If you have accounts on several platforms, comparing prices and
purchasing the cheaper item becomes easier.
No Refunds or Exchange During Sale
Most sales, whether offline or
online, have different rules than those that apply to normal purchases. TV ads
of online retailers say that returning a product is very easy, but not if you
have purchased it during a sale. If you have second thoughts about a purchase,
you won't get a refund or even be allowed to exchange the product (unless it is
faulty). So, control impulse buying during such sales. You cannot even cancel
the order. You cannot get store credit.
All this was listed in the terms and
conditions on Flipkart's website. Of course there may not be enough time to go
through these before you click accept.Try to Use Cash on Delivery
If cancelled orders weren't bad
enough, spare a thought for buyers who may still be waiting for their refunds.
Online retailers are very prompt but
refunds can still take up to 1-2 days to reflect in your account.This can be
quite a bother, especially if you have been denied the discount.To avoid this,
choose the cash on delivery (COD) option. Even if you don't get the goods you
order, at least you won't have to lock your money up.
Don't Lose Sight of Other Promos
10% 40% Finally, often there are ex
20% clusive launches on the day of sale. In the rush to benefit from the
discounts on offer, customers tend to miss out on these launches. For instance,
Huawei launched it Honor 6 mobile phone exclusively on Flipkart on 6 October.
Perhaps in a bid to cash in on the discounted first-generation Moto X offering,
you missed out on a phone that could have otherwise been your preferred choice.
And now, you cannot exchange it.
Watch out for big launches during a
sale. You might get more value from the new product than from a discounted
offering.
Ref: An ET Article
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