What is the prospect of e-reatiling in India over next 5 yrs?

I agree with your views Mr. Namrata.

Namrata I agree with you completely. For everything we need infrastructure. Once broadband infrastructure in place I think the e-retailing will see the light of the day and will gather momentum within no time.

yes, the need of the hour is infrastructure. fortunately, thrust is being given in this direction and penetration of broadband takes place slowly. hope, e-ra-etailing will be better in 5 years time 

Only time will tell it's prospects.

I support your views, Narmata.

It will take a longer time to build up the required level of infrastructure,technical advancements,systems,confidence in the minds of the purchasers etc.

What ever the e-Gurus have done , customer are finding it hard to trust with the payment and the level of after sales service. There may have some exceptions like me who are willing to take that risk and have been a loyal ebay member since 2002 but when I recommended the same to my friends most of them were not willing to try it for high value purchase.

Secondly the touch and feel experience that a customer enjoys at a retail store is totally absent.

It would be interesting to see how they are going to overcome this situation.

yes Namrata, as you rightly pointed out proper infra,systems to be in place. Most importantly the credibility must be in place for entire product,sale & Delivery System. Basically, we believe in 'seeing is believing' policy, which is good in one-way. I do not see any possibility of success in E-retailing in India in near future,  even if it picks up, 5 years is a too short period.  

i agree with Namrata,we have to wait till such time India is connected digitally.

A few drawback that we come across are:-

• Payment method, still, remains buzling. Recently, I see E-BAY, accepting cards thro' banks such as SBI, ICICI etc. Still, a validation process, cancellation policy, return of materials are not clear & quiet time consuming.
• As mentioned here, ZERO INVENTORY by retails, makes purchaser to depend on, ultimately , the supplier who are not, directly ,controlled by the consumers. Because, the supplier is, just, accepting orders from consumers through retail shops. Delivery is not prompt & make consumers to make few calls & pursue it to obtain which is not desirable.
• Urbans enjoys, the internet facility. For rural, it still remains a mirrage. Even if available, e-retails are unknown to them. Needs education on this aspects.
• Ultimately, materials are supplied by the couriers. The involvement of a third party in supply, does not yield a fruitful results. You normally see, a damaged package / delay in delivery due to unknown reasons.
• Strong customer oriented tracking system is not available.

To be successful in e-retail, leading retailer needs to educate the mass through various methods very reliably & coax to gain access.

e-retailing is the future in India. It is a win-win situation for both the customer and the retailer. However, due to infrastructure issues, it may take time for the activity to take off. However, currently, there are many sites doing brisk business in books, movies and music, electronic items, etc.

Hence, it is a matter of time and the early bird may do better in the future as internet connectivity and technology changes ensure infrastructure improvements lead to a brighter future for e-retailing....

Thanks for the referral, Namrata...

e-retailing is not in the offing,at least in the near future in India. There are Technological and Cultural barriers.

We are still debating the success/failure of the Mall culture!!!

e-retailing will come of age to India--but only after some time (how much time---not sure!!!)