Now, e-commerce clicks with luxe buyers too

A Gujarati businessman from Kandivali, a Mumbai suburb, recently bought a pair of solitaire earrings worth ₹12 lakh for his wife from an online jewellery site. The consumer tracked the online site for almost 15 days to ensure it was trustworthy before swiping his credit card.

Fred Dalton, an executive who recently moved from Delhi to Mumbai, bought a luxury brand TV for over ₹2 lakh and furniture worth ₹5 lakh from a popular e-commerce site.

Dalton and the Gujarati businessman, who did not want to be identified, are part of an expanding tribe of consumers buying expensive products online as e-commerce companies invest in building trust and transparency.

While discounted pricing has always been the hallmark for e-commerce sales, online retailers are now offering company background checks, return policies and a human interface to make the buying process more credible to ensure big ticket purchases across categories such as jewellery, apparel, furniture and luxury television sets.

Jignesh Mehta, Founder and MD of online jewellery retailer Divine Solitaire, says, “We have an unified and transparent buyback and upgrade policy and have convinced our consumers that diamonds are the best investment option and even provide a free all-risk cover.” The Mumbai-based company has introduced the Solitaire Price Index, a standard price list that guarantees transparency in the trade.

While products such as books, mobile phones and hotel bookings continue to be the high volume items for e-commerce firms, big ticket purchases are gaining ground on the back of high profile and ‘credit worthy’ investors.

For example, online furniture retailer Urban Ladder has been able to shore up sales for its bigger items such as sofas after Ratan Tata picked up a stake. “The credibility of Ratan Tata is rubbing off on the Urban Ladder brand. He has been mentoring us as he is an architect himself and has been behind building big brands like Tanishq in the Tata Group,’’ says Rajiv Srivatsa, COO and Co-Founder, Urban Ladder.

Television brand Vu is also resorting to online sales on the back of providing customer service and experience across market place sites like Amazon and Snapdeal. “Since consumers want to have a human interface, we have set up a ‘tech concierge’ on our site. Consumers can visit our office to check out the TV sets or our staff can do home visits. Since consumers ask a lot of questions, we have doubled our back-end staff,” says Devita Saraf, CEO, Vu Technologies. Vu managed to sell 250 Ultra HD TV sets pegged at upwards of ₹1 lakh through e-commerce sites.