Q&A: Arindam Bose, MD and chief custom officer, Timtara.com

`Sites are seeing increased online buying from Pune`

Net commerce in India seems to be on ever-evolving spree and companies seem to be keeping pace with this surge. The net commerce market in India was estimated to be Rs 19,688 crore in 2009 and is expected to grow to Rs 37,000 crore this year. Customers from the Mumbai-Pune region too are increasingly purchasing from online portals.

Pravda Godbole spoke to Arindam Bose, managing director and chief customer officer, Timtara.com about the trends in this region.

What is driving more people to purchase through online portals?
Price remains the main driver. People coming online are definitely looking for bargains. Convenience is another critical driver. In non-metros the retail depth is much lesser than metros. So, in these cases availability of some items is a contributor to the online pull.

What was the contribution of Mumba-Pune region in online buying of Timtara.com last year? How much is it now?
For timtara.com, Mumbai-Pune contributed to almost 20 per cent of our India business last year. Overall we have grown by four times this year. Mumbai-Pune is also experiencing the same quantum of growth.

Which are the popular items that sell online?
Cameras, watches, electronics are categories from which high ticket sales come from.

What percentage of people from the same region prefer cash on delivery and what percentage prefers payment through cards?
Cash On Delivery in Mumbai-Pune is around 60 per cent and balance are through credit cards. At Timtara, 70 per cent of Pune customers prefer credit card in comparison to cash on delivery payment options.

Can you quantify the increase in this activity for the said region?
Most sites are seeing an increased online buying from Pune and Mumbai by 15-30 per cent as compared to last year thus increasing Pune's share comparatively in the total national sales of some of companies like FlipKart, Snapdeal etc. For Timtara it would be difficult to put the growth in numbers as we are just a year old.

In this segment which category is hot selling?
Like mentioned above, purchase of electronic goods is the largest but it comes only after the online travel industry which is pegged to be about a Rs 950 crore.