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In the comfort of her home, Ritu Kumar, an advertising professional, tries a slew of rings to find the one that fits her best — her finger, her style, and her budget. While she has shopped online before, her ideas of buying jewellery were inextricably wedded to visits to a store.
Logging on to caratlane.com with a fair measure of scepticism, she had discovered, to her delight, that there was a ‘try-at-home’ option. She was given a choice of five rings to choose from. Then, these were brought home by CaratLane’s staff free of charge; and Ritu found the right one for her.
“Often in a jewellery store, the shopper tends to see tray after tray and keeps aside the pieces she likes for trial and comparison. Our ‘try-at-home’ feature attempts to replicate this. The option also helps overcome the pain-points around the lack of a touch-and-feel experience,” says Calvin John, VP, Marketing, CaratLane, the online jewellery store.
CaratLane promises an experience close to what one gets at stores. Staff arrive home with jewellery packed in vanity bags or velvet trays and handle the products with gloves. “We also bring home more products similar to the ones you had asked for in order to provide a more enriched choice.” Once consumers make their pick, they have to go online again and place an order for a fresh piece. This feature is available for products priced Rs 15,000 and above.
Fashion retailer Yebhi is also attempting to recreate the offline purchase experience through its try-and-buy service. The latter promotes the try-and-buy option for apparel and shoes. Cash-on-delivery is allowed on these products and Yebhi staff carry card readers to enable payments at the doorstep.
What happens if the consumer declines to buy anything. Online retailers think the risk is worth the extra cost. “While there is always the odd person who may not buy at all, this option gives consumers, especially first-time shoppers and early adapters, greater confidence to shop again online,” says CaratLane’s John.
According to Nikhil Rungta, Chief Business Officer, Yebhi’s strategy of employing own staff for delivery as opposed to using third party courier agencies helps keep costs down.
> swetha.kannan@thehindu.co.in
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