MySmartPrice aims to solve consumer dilemma around what & where to buy online
In
late 2010, when Sitakanta Ray and Sulakshan Kumar were deciding on a
venture to start, Indian e-retail was seeing a lot of attention, with
companies raising significant amount of funding. Both were sure they
would like to start their venture in the same space.
Ray and Kumar had known each other since their days at NIT Rourkela from 1998. Both Ray and Kumar would go on to join Oracle, Hyderabad and would part ways couple of years later when Ray went to IIM Bangalore to pursue his MBA and start a career in Management.
Kumar continued at Oracle and would eventually shift to Infosys in sales and consulting. Nearly eight years after passing out both decided that it was the right time to embark on an entrepreneurial journey.
A price comparison or a shopping research platform seemed the perfect way to get a slice of the action as it relied on their core strength - product management and technology. Price comparison services were also doing well in established markets in the west. In markets such as US, price comparison services today contribute about 25 percent of total e-retail revenue.
As in the case of many internet start-ups, MySmartPrice too started out of the home. "All we needed were a couple of laptops, a working internet connection and an affordable hosting service for our website," says Mysmartprice.com, Co founder & Director, Sulakshan Kumar.
Problem solving
"MySmartPrice helps users solve two problems - what to buy and where to buy. In case of most consumer electronics as well as fashion, users are often unsure on what to purchase. While they may have a general idea of the brand or price range other details are often unclear on products such as Iron, Television, and Air Conditioner etc. MySmartPrice with the help of extensive filters, a consolidated best seller list, lets you know the most popular products in India and detailed specifications help users decide on what product to buy," says Kumar, 35.
Kumar says once users are sure of what they would like to buy, however, another question they are unsure about is which store to buy the product from. "With over 20 big e-retail destinations, it is often a daunting task for the Indian consumer to get the best possible price and still get quality service. MySmartPrice helps users compare the prices of products across India's top e-retail sites. In addition with purchase information such as the availability of credit card EMI, or cash on delivery as well as typical shipping duration, users are well aware of the transaction they are about to make," says Kumar, 35.
Other than providing price comparison MySmartPrice sports a feature called "True Best" that factor in any coupons or deals available in the store. "It also offers a Deals section that create exclusive deals, some of which even the stores miss out on. These may involve sudden dips in prices, or special discounts that are applicable only for short duration. The compulsive shoppers will always find a deal worth grabbing in this section," says Kumar.
Opportunity
E-retail affiliate Industry, which includes price comparison, deals sites and coupon sites contribute about 20 percent of total sales in developed markets like the US, Japan and UK. In India too they are expected to provide about 20 percent of the sales/GMV in the coming years. In 2016, as most conservative estimates state, Indian e-retail segment should generate sales worth 10 billion dollars. The Indian affiliate segment has thus, the potential to contribute 2 billion dollar to this.
What has helped MySmartPrice in its journey has been the Rs 2 crore that it raised in funding in late 2011 from Helion Ventures and Accel Partners and a follow up round of Rs 6 crore from the same investors in late 2013.
Helion Advisors, Partner, Rahul Chowdhri says it was clear that with the advent of e-commerce, consumers will need help in discovery of products with respect to selection, price, choice of e-tailer etc. "With this idea in mind, we at Helion did a research in the market a few years ago and found that Mysmartprice's team is best placed to address this problem of the consumers," he says.
Ray and Kumar had known each other since their days at NIT Rourkela from 1998. Both Ray and Kumar would go on to join Oracle, Hyderabad and would part ways couple of years later when Ray went to IIM Bangalore to pursue his MBA and start a career in Management.
Kumar continued at Oracle and would eventually shift to Infosys in sales and consulting. Nearly eight years after passing out both decided that it was the right time to embark on an entrepreneurial journey.
A price comparison or a shopping research platform seemed the perfect way to get a slice of the action as it relied on their core strength - product management and technology. Price comparison services were also doing well in established markets in the west. In markets such as US, price comparison services today contribute about 25 percent of total e-retail revenue.
As in the case of many internet start-ups, MySmartPrice too started out of the home. "All we needed were a couple of laptops, a working internet connection and an affordable hosting service for our website," says Mysmartprice.com, Co founder & Director, Sulakshan Kumar.
Problem solving
"MySmartPrice helps users solve two problems - what to buy and where to buy. In case of most consumer electronics as well as fashion, users are often unsure on what to purchase. While they may have a general idea of the brand or price range other details are often unclear on products such as Iron, Television, and Air Conditioner etc. MySmartPrice with the help of extensive filters, a consolidated best seller list, lets you know the most popular products in India and detailed specifications help users decide on what product to buy," says Kumar, 35.
Kumar says once users are sure of what they would like to buy, however, another question they are unsure about is which store to buy the product from. "With over 20 big e-retail destinations, it is often a daunting task for the Indian consumer to get the best possible price and still get quality service. MySmartPrice helps users compare the prices of products across India's top e-retail sites. In addition with purchase information such as the availability of credit card EMI, or cash on delivery as well as typical shipping duration, users are well aware of the transaction they are about to make," says Kumar, 35.
Other than providing price comparison MySmartPrice sports a feature called "True Best" that factor in any coupons or deals available in the store. "It also offers a Deals section that create exclusive deals, some of which even the stores miss out on. These may involve sudden dips in prices, or special discounts that are applicable only for short duration. The compulsive shoppers will always find a deal worth grabbing in this section," says Kumar.
Opportunity
E-retail affiliate Industry, which includes price comparison, deals sites and coupon sites contribute about 20 percent of total sales in developed markets like the US, Japan and UK. In India too they are expected to provide about 20 percent of the sales/GMV in the coming years. In 2016, as most conservative estimates state, Indian e-retail segment should generate sales worth 10 billion dollars. The Indian affiliate segment has thus, the potential to contribute 2 billion dollar to this.
What has helped MySmartPrice in its journey has been the Rs 2 crore that it raised in funding in late 2011 from Helion Ventures and Accel Partners and a follow up round of Rs 6 crore from the same investors in late 2013.
Helion Advisors, Partner, Rahul Chowdhri says it was clear that with the advent of e-commerce, consumers will need help in discovery of products with respect to selection, price, choice of e-tailer etc. "With this idea in mind, we at Helion did a research in the market a few years ago and found that Mysmartprice's team is best placed to address this problem of the consumers," he says.
ET
31OCT14
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