Paytm, an Indian eCommerce company backed by Alibaba, has released a television commercial for its mobile payments and transaction services.
The spot shows Indians using the mobile service to transfer money, pay bills and book movie tickets. Other services include booking bus travel and mobile recharge.
The company has invested US$ 8.94 million into the marketing campaign, with the goal of raising awareness, having the applications downloaded and elevating the user experience to encourage daily engagement and usage.
Users will be able to make payments overseas through tie-up with Alipay.
Last week, a statement issued by Paytm’s eCommerce division claimed that the company’s monthly orders leapfrogged from 300,000 to 2 million. A spokesperson claimed that over 50% of the volume contributed by fashion and accessories products.
Of the four online business models, Paytm operates on what is known as a market place model where sellers manage inventory and drive sales for a brand partner or distributor. Sellers gain access to a distribution network as a result while the brand partner has limited control over pricing and the CX.
Other online business models gaining traction in India include:
- Where a brand sets up their own site to sell products online. Often these sites are a destination of price checking or comparison and not necessarily the point of purchase. This is inversely similar to how the SubziPhal brick & mortar shop is a destination for skeptical prospects to inspect product quality on their own and meet the customer success teams. It is online where the sales actually happen.
- The riskiest model where the eCommerce player purchases the inventory in advance. This works to maintain a positive customer experience , where promised products on site is linked to stored inventory. The downside is the intensive working capital expense, potential mark downs and losing liquidity.
- When a branded store is managed by an eCommerce company, the brand is responsible for driving traffic to the site. The white label partner, like OrderPlug, is responsible for fine tuning the best fit customer experience.
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Morgan Stanley predicts that by 2020, eCommerce sales in Indian will hit US$137 billion.
Further Reading: Evolution of eCommerce in India by PwC.
