The Future of Shopping

There was a time when Amma would complain about how Dad would stand aloof in the store, while she would go saree hunting. Or how he would lose patience when she would want to compare the prices between two shops before buying. Then, once we grew up, we were her perfect companions- for both window shopping and actual purchases.
Then came the revolution in our lives, a few years back, in the form of online shopping. The newly acquired credit card was pulled out of the wallet and the first online transaction was made. I checked and rechecked my credit card statement to make sure that there were no further transactions reported and that my card was secure. And the happiness when i got the call from the mail room about a courier that was waiting in my name, well, that is something that i really cannot get down to describing! After that, i was a regular visitor to the mail room and i was sold to the concept of online shopping. Not just buying stuff for myself, online shopping helped me buy things for my loved ones and surprise them with a courier that reached their address. Tracking pending couriers became a favorite activity! Books from flipkart, electronics from ebay, clothes from one of the numerous lifestyle websites were ordered left, right and center! And well, why would you not when you are getting branded goods, for crazy prices from people who save on showroom, air conditioning, sales persons and operate with a warehouse and a website.
When my mother was describing to a neighbor about my compulsive online shopping and how one can get anything online, what she had to say was- "amma-appa vittu verai ella kadaikum" ( you can buy anything online other than your mom and dad!) . True, isn't it, in a time when you can even find your soulmate (sic) online!
Where do i see this heading? Well, we already have "try and buy", where you can get two sizes of clothes or shoes at your doorstep and pick the one that fits you the best! You can compare prices of products on multiple websites, apply coupons, get freebies and get the best bloody deal possible. You go to the store  to check actual goods, only to go back and order it by clinching the best deal there is on the product. It has become so prevalent that there is a new term for this activity- Showrooming :D
In a decade or two from now, i do not see how the brick and mortar stores are going to survive at all. Lack of time, travel constraints, expensive rental spaces are all going to result in the online way being the way to shop.
What i envision the online shopping scene to be is something like this. Login to a website by facial recognition- no hassle of maintaining usernames and passwords.
The website maintains the data of all your previous purchases, the addresses they were delivered to, size details of your friends and family for whom the purchases were made.Next time you wanna buy something, click on the person you want to make the purchase for and default sizes are already selected.
Selecting a product will give you a 3D image of the product, which you can view from all angles. If it is clothing or accessories for yourself, you can see what it looks like on a 3D model that looks like you. 3D projections outside your screen will let you sense what the product may appear like, how big it will be et al- you can see if those pair of shoes fit you like a dream,  if they make your feet look prettier and order the right size only if you are convinced!
Or if it is jewelry or a watch, see how it looks on you when you adorn it on yourself and then only shell out all the big monies on it.
Today, you get product recommendations based on your browsing history or past purchases. In future, you probably will be getting recommendations based on what a close friend or a family member has purchased. You could even be able to subscribe to updates about what someone you know is buying if they are using their social media profile to make the purchase.
Or if you are the window shopping kind who just likes to browse through what the numerous stores in a mall can offer, you could get a virtual tour of a mall space, where you stroll through passageways and choose which stores you want to browse. Once you are done sifting through the virtual racks and checking out their latest merchandise, if you feel like it, you could add products to the cart. Or simply walk into the next store. All this, without hurting your feet, without spending your car fuel or worrying about parking and within the comfort of your home.
And well, lest you should worry about missing out on the social aspect of shopping, where you can stare at the lady in red with the pretty shoes or at the book that the person next to you is browsing or bumping into a friend in the mall, what the virtual shopping experience will offer you is that a simulated version of you walks in the mall and can bump into a friend or a colleague there! And do all this, without the husband in tow cribbing about how much time you take while shopping!
What would also drastically improve in the coming decade is the delivery time. Now i have to wait for a week or so for a shipment to be sent if the seller is in Delhi and i live in Bangalore. In future, when the brick and mortar stores are done away with, what will remain will be warehouses all over the country. That way, all you need to do is place an order, and the warehouse nearest to you will deliver it to you in no time- more like how the grocery delivery happens these days.
Goes without saying that buying online is already the way most people are buying today. In the next two decades, when the penetration of the internet will increase manifold and when people become less wary of online transactions and identify how convenient it is, online shopping will be able to link every artisan, every craftsperson and everyone with an ability to provide a product or a service with the person who has the power to purchase.
This is my entry for the future of shopping contest by ebay.in Though i am not sure whether what i envisage will be what the online shopping scene will be like in 2030, but the new ebay check extension for chrome is something that you should check out if you are an online shopper!

Spoilt for Choice

I still remember the time when Diwali used to stand for waking up before the sunrise, the traditional ganga snanam, touching the elders' feet afterwards and receiving blessings and new clothes from them. Diwali, Pongal, maybe Ganesha Chaturthi and the birthday were the only occasions when we would buy new clothes. So much that, everybody would eagerly anticipate the arrival of the festivals, get their clothes ready in advance and get terribly excited about the prospect of trying the new "dress" on. Did i go through all that this year? Of course not. I woke up as usual since i did not have to really compete against the street kids as to who would burst the first cracker of the day. I stopped the cracker bursting business ages ago. The ganga snanam happened in cauvery water and since mister tailor had not gotten my new clothes ready, i had to resort to wearing something that was not brand new. But what surprised me was the fact that i was not really disappointed. And why is that? That is because i dont really look forward to the handful of occasions anymore to pick a new dress or a pretty accessory. The "have money- will spend" attitude has taken away  the thrill out of new clothes for festivals.
I saw a poster yesterday that said, buy only things that are absolutely necessary and things that you really love. I think half the stuff i have is something that i have picked up as an impulse purchase, only to stop liking it a few days later. Another quarter of my stuff is what i have picked up because the discount was great!  Goal for 2013- Junking all the items not used over the past 6 months, giving away everything that i have stowed away in the secret hope that i will be able to fit into it someday again and to buy wisely from now on.
Coupon shopping has wrecked havoc with monthly budgets the whole last year. After a year of reckless spending, i am now wiser to know that no deal is the last deal. And most things that are bought with coupons are only add ons to existing stuff. Do i need that extra handbag that is on unbelievable 50% off? I know i will survive without it. So am not buying it. How many watches does one need? One or two for regular use, a dressy one for occasions. The eyes and the heart will continue rivet at the shiny Rolex watch on the glossy supplement of the ToI. But it is about finding out whether it is a want or a need.
There is plenty of choice out there when you go shopping. Life was much more simple when there was not much choice. I had one watch that i wore all through high school and college. Bought clothes only for festivals. Wore that same gold earring everyday. And now, i have to dwell on what to wear to work each morning even though i have a closet full of clothes. Once the clothes are picked, think about matching accessories. And no, not done yet. Shoes? Winterwear? I dont know if it is simple to go back to how it was in school. That would mean giving away all those accessories and am not yet ready for that. But yes, i am resolving to cut down on purchases. To pick up only the best of the things rather than being carried away by a discount. And am reserving all future purchases for important occasions so that, when i recollect a purchase, i can also recollect the occasion and the happiness associated with it.

Latest Acquisition

Say hello to my new Kindle touch! :)

Now my travel bag will not groan under the load of multiple books!

Mad Over Donuts, Bangalore

Yesterday, Mad Over Donuts, or M.O.D as they are known, opened shop in Bangalore. My hotshot yembeeyay friend who had done some project on niche chains like MOD dragged me along with her to sample some donuts at the place.

It was a long anticipated opening. The store has been under construction for a while now. On Saturday, the atmosphere was festive with a friendly man distributing balloons to young and old alike. The head chef guy was cheering the entire staff and all of them were chanting M-O-D aloud. And to add to all the happiness, they were giving away free samples of the donuts to all the people who walked in!

The place is hard to miss- standing right outside the food court of Phoenix Market City. M.O.D claims that those who have not lost their hearts to donuts would lose them post sampling them. And they stand true to their claim.

In keeping with our love for all things chocolaty, we set out to order the Choco Bomb and Double Trouble - two of their most recommended items. To our dismay, both trays were empty. However, the person at the counter told us that they were getting made, and would be available in a jiffy!

So I went on to sample my first donut from M.O.D. Sinful, delicious and wholesomely chocolaty. That is all I can say about it. Double trouble was worth every penny. It has a lot more filling when compared to what Donut Baker offers and scores on the taste front too!

One can see the bakers making donuts in the place. And my! I dont know whether it was because it was Day 1 or what, but the entire staff was buzzing with high energy!

They have other cheesy sounding flavors like Blush Factor, Original Sin and After dark. The donuts come in rings and are filled. And there are plenty of flavors to choose from! They are priced upwards Rs.50, slightly more premium than donut baker.

I intend to revisit and fill in more details.

P.S. Ashu, thanks a ton for taking me there and all the gyaan :)

  

Would you use Airtel money?

I am a big sucker for great ads. So when i saw the ad for airtel money, where the girl spots this god-awesome bag but doesn't have the cash for it, i really felt for her. And felt that she should get the money for the bag. And when her mum dearest said, tathasthu! for her bag wish and sent her money thru phone, i was smiling along with the mother-daughter.

Got me to do some digging up on Airtel Money. So how does it work?
1. Mom has an airtel money account. Daughter has an airtel money account.
2. Mom loads cash into her account either by physically depositing money at an airtel office or transfer thru net banking.
3. Mom needs a power account to send money (Rs.50 subscription). She pays Rs. 5 per transaction below 500 and 10 for transactions above 500. (The bag certainly isn't coming for 500!!)
4. Daughter receives the money.
5. Daughter prays real hard that the store accepts the airtel money. If she is in luck, then he would. She would have to transfer money to his account by payment. And in case she sends it to the wrong ID, airtel does not hold itself responsible. If the merchant did not receive the money, then she would have to contact airtel customer care with transaction ID.
And yes, its a given that this would mean that all parties involved in the transactions have airtel accounts!

Now a simple question, why would anybody go thru this hassle in the age of debit and credit cards?! And if the mom is as tech-savvy, then she can as well use mobile banking and transfer money instantly to her daughter's account.
Same case with money transfer. When i can fund transfer directly to another account, free of charge, why would i do it to my airtel phone, so as to later transfer it again, at a charge to someone else's money account?
They let you book movie tickets using their money service, but you cannot pick your seats. Riders, charges  and conditions are there with almost every transaction. While their tagline says, it's not just about the money, they are charging money for everything ;)
I really did not understand airtel ka funda behind launching this service. I'd rather swipe my credit card free of cost and also accrue points for my purchase. Can you think of anyway in which airtel money would be advantageous and convenient?

Day 74: Lifestyle Sale 2011

I too, like most of you have all those privilege cards from all the stores that i shop in. Each time i make a purchase, i swipe the privilege card. What am i ultimately going to get out of it, i don't know.

So about a week back, when the Lifestyle Sale began, i got an sms about a preview for the members of the Inner Circle of Landmark Group. Could not make it that day, but made a mental note to take a look at the sale. It kind of did not occur to me why one would need a preview. Until i landed at Lifestyle yesterday evening.
The place was thronging with people who had come all out in good numbers in a weekday to buy stuff simply because they were on sale. There were rows and rows of clothes of all possible brands with prices slashed. I don't know how, but they even had branded diamond jewelery with a big discount.
I don't know how many times i was prompted to pick up stuff on a impulse. But then good sense prevailed and before putting things into my shopping basket, i asked myself the ever important question- Do i really need it? That way, i did not end up with tonnes of shopping bags, unlike the lady in front of me in the billing queue. I did not count the number of bags she had, but her bill was certainly more than fifteen thousand rupees. And her son told her that the stuff would probably suffice a year and he was not going shopping with her for another year :)

What i took back from the outing:
1. Best to visit sales in the week 1 of the sale, so that you can get the best of the loot.
2. People go crazy during sales.
3. Try to avoid weekends as much as possible, unless of course, you want to see the entire population of Bangalore at one place.
4. Always ask yourself if you want the thing on sale or you are buying it just because it is cheap.
5. Keep in mind the fact that the sale is on just because the store wants to dispose those goods :P

Happy Shopping :)