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R. Savitha

Pune, Jan. 1 Chaotic traffic, maddening crowds and inadequate parking are some of the hindrances that take away the joy of shopping. But sitting in the comfort of the home if customers can order from their favourite shops, then shopping can still be fun.

laxmiroad.in, the first online shopping site for Pune customers, has begun its full- fledged operations. Ms Zelam Dixit, co-founder, told Business Line it has about 20 popular shops, ranging from garments, DVDs to books, available on the portal.

The Web site started its beta testing during the Ganapati festival in September and now has 550 registered members.

Ms Dixit said the mode of delivery is through courier with a minimum charge of Rs 25 within and around the city and on weight basis for those outside the city.

To spur interest, the site offered Friday deals — five per cent discount on products, Ms Dixit said.

Plans are on to begin similar Web sites in eight more locations in Maharashtra within the next three months.

The locations that have been identified include Mumbai, Satara, Aurangabad, Ratnagiri, Nasik and Nagpur, while the other two locations were yet to be finalised.

Plans are on for UAE, the UK, Singapore and Malayasia at a later date. She noted that orders had started coming in from the UAE customers and was being delivered through Pune-based courier services having branches in the UAE.

Ms Dixit said the site has been set up with an investment of Rs 3 lakh and an additional Rs 2 lakh would be used for advertising purposes. Currently, revenues came from the commissions from the shops registered at the site.

More Stories on : Online Marketing | Shopping | E-Commerce & E-Business | Maharashtra

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