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Secrets of Success
Find out what it takes to succeed in E-Commerce.
Get expert advice on handling challenges related to
payment gateways, security, and reverse logistics.
Discover the relevance of cloud computing
and mobile apps in saving costs and enhancing
customer outreach.
E-Commerce:
Secrets of Success
Find out what it takes to succeed in E-Commerce.
Get expert advice on handling challenges related to
payment gateways, security, and reverse logistics.
Discover the relevance of cloud computing
and mobile apps in saving costs and enhancing
customer outreach.
65 J U N E 2 0 1 3 PCQUEST 65 pcquest.com twitter.com/pcquest facebook.com/pcquest linkd.in/pcquest pcquest@cybermedia.co.in
pcquest.com twitter.com/pcquest facebook.com/pcquest linkd.in/pcquest pcquest@cybermedia.co.in PCQUEST J U N E 2 0 1 3 66
COVERSTORY
From B2B to B2C to C2C, from startups to well-established brands, 5 e-commerce
companies share the problems they face, their secrets to success, and their opinion
on must-have tech. in e-commerce
Hiren Mehta
What Does it Take to
Strike Gold in E-commerce?
1. What are the technology-related
challenges faced by you and what
changes are expected in 2013?
!"#"$ !"#"$&'("#")* +,"-#$")* ./0&1,"234$5 1he
key aspecLs of lnLerneL/moblle Lechnologles LhaL are
changlng rapldly are:
- Crowlng use of moblle Lo access conLenL (Lg: lace-
book lndla geLs more users vla moblle Lhan a C for
Lhe lasL 18 monLhs)
Growing number of social media plaorms to connect
with users (Facebook, Twier, LinkedIn, Pinterest,
Google+, dierent forum sites have all grown more
Lhan 100 year-on-year ln lndla)
Understanding the user across mulple screens
(moblle, C, LableL, smarL 1v, eLc. are slmulLaneously
used by Lhe same user)
Growth of performance-oriented adversing for cor-
poraLes (for lnsLance, car manufacLurers wanL Lo pay
only when cars are sold or acLually LesL drlven - and
not for leads or exposure adversing)
- CrowLh of small-and-medlum buslnesses (SM8) ln
adopng the internet/mobile medium to get custom-
ers, compared Lo prlnL/radlo (hand-holdlng Lhe SM8s
across dlverse cholces ln Lhe dlglLal arena)
Sulekha ls respondlng Lo Lhls envlronmenL by:
- rovldlng a conslsLenL and unlform user lnLerface
across all our marketplaces (this connues to be a
work-ln-progress)
Deeper understanding of user needs across mulple
products and services and to try and fulll the needs
from Sulekhas base of 2 million+ business lisngs
- CreaLer lnvesLmenL ln acqulrlng and reLalnlng SM8
cusLomers - and slmpllfylng Lhe lnLerneL/moblle envl-
ronmenL by provldlng Lhem calls and cusLomers (noL
[usL cllcks, as glven by search englnes)
6,"0-7 8'"#* +4/)9#: ;&)&#"0 <")"=&#* >0-?"?"234$
8)7-"5 As our buslness ls prlmarlly based on Lhe lnLerneL,
one of the most crical challenges we face is the lack of
broadband lnfrasLrucLure ln Lhe counLry, especlally ln rural
areas. SMLs are consldered as Lhe englne of economlc
growLh ln boLh developed and developlng counLrles as
Lhey asslsL ln reglonal and local economlc growLh. SMLs
accelerate rural industrializaon by linking it with the more
organlzed urban secLor. As SMLs are our key cusLomers,
Lhe boosL ln Lhe broadband lnfrasLrucLure ln Lhe counLry
wlll enable lndlan SMLs from all corners of Lhe counLry Lo
be compeve in the internaonal marketplace. While 3G
Ankit Tulsyan, Co-founder,
Indiebazaar.com
Manoj Gupta, CEO and
co-founder, Craftsvilla.com
Khalid Isar, Country General
Manager, Alibaba.com India
Param Parameswaran,
Chairman, Sulekha.com
67 J U N E 2 0 1 3 PCQUEST 67 pcquest.com twitter.com/pcquest facebook.com/pcquest linkd.in/pcquest pcquest@cybermedia.co.in
spectrum has enhanced internet usage, it hasnt ltered
down to the general populaon. The soluon to this would
be to boost internet infrastructure, parcularly in er II
and er III cies. It is among the major contribung factors
to the lack of widespread adopon of e-commerce by local
buslnesses. 1he governmenL, however, sLrengLhenlng Lhe
Naonal IT Policy will help take the Internet to villages of
rural lndla Lo faclllLaLe access by local buslness owners Lo
global Lrade Lhrough e-commerce. 1hls move wlll have a
signicant impact on the SMEs which are now increasingly
prepared to invest in internet markeng methods, or
markeLplaces llke Allbaba.com.
Low internet penetraon follows low level of aware-
ness abouL e-commerce. 1o educaLe SMLs abouL e-com-
merce ln lndla, we have been parLnerlng wlLh several
promlnenL lndusLry bodles llke llCCl and llLC Lo geL our
message across Lo Lhe LargeLed audlence. Slnce we have
set-up our local operaons, we have conducted training
workshops in more than 10 cies across India. We have
trained a signicant poron of our veried members and
gold suppllers on how besL Lo leverage e-commerce and
how Lo make Lhe mosL of Lhelr Allbaba.
com accounL.
1o help our members use Lhe slLe more
easily and to reach beer quality buy-
ers and suppllers, Allbaba.com has been
focuslng on upgradlng lLs buslness model
over the past two years to shi away from
aggressive member acquision.
Cur lndlan members have been ouL-
spoken as Lo Lhe Lypes of changes Lhey'd
like to see on the plaorm and deal with
usability of the plaorm to list their prod-
ucts. We have made a number of improvements on that
fronL whereby buslness owners can updaLe Lhelr producL
plcLures ln baLches, raLher Lhan one by one, as well as
tagging their key words for searches. With members be-
lng able Lo updaLe Lhelr producLs and Lhelr feaLures more
easily, their experience on the plaorm improves and
more buyers from overseas are able Lo see Lhelr prod-
ucts. The more acvity Indian suppliers have on their
onllne sLorefronL, Lhe hlgher Lhey place ln search resulLs
for producLs llke Lhelrs.
Recognizing the limitaons of one-size-ts-all,
Allbaba.com recenLly has been rolllng ouL a modern
mlnl-slLe" deslgn for Allbaba.com gold suppllers, of-
fering a more exible storefront template that gives
suppllers more freedom Lo cusLomlze Lhe layouLs of Lhelr
homepages, complete with rotang top-of-page banners,
company vldeos and producL showcases. noL only does
Lhe new deslgn make lL easler for suppllers Lo hlghllghL
their experse and top-selling merchandise, it enhances
Lhe cusLomer experlence and makes lL easler for buy-
ers to disnguish sophiscated, engaged suppliers from
underperformers.
Safety measures for buyers include the addion of
veried members in India, launched at the beginning of
2012. 1hls was all parL of Allbaba.com's ongolng ef-
forLs Lo lmprove Lhe Lransparency and safeLy of onllne
trading. Suppliers who opt to parcipate undergo basic
background checks to conrm they are legimate busi-
nesses and not scammers. Alibaba.com sta or local part-
ners cross-check governmenL records such as buslness
llcenses as well as oLher sources Lo verlfy a company's
sLandlng and ensure suppllers' conLacL and oLher busl-
ness informaon listed on the Alibaba.com website is
accuraLe. Lnhanclng Lhe quallLy of our markeLplace and
buyer experience will connue to remain our focus for
the rest of 2013.
!"#$"%&&' )*+ , -&#./01' 2"3$&$014&#$56&54.7 l Lhlnk
Lhe ma[or challenge LhaL we face ls noL much Lechnology
relaLed buL on Lhe paymenL fronL. l am sure lL ls [usL noL
us but other ecommerce sites also that nd it rather
dicult to popularize the plasc cards usage on the
ecommerce slLes. Maklng paymenLs onllne ln an easy,
smooLh and secure way wlLhouL Loo many hassles ls
consldered a ma[or challenge for e-commerce even
today. We face this problem everyday; people are so
skepcal when it comes to using the cards. We are
almlng Lo make Lhe onllne paymenL experlence as slmple
as possible. We are researching on that right now; hope
we get a robust soluon to that problem.
CLher Lhan Lhls Lhe oLher challenge LhaL we face ls
besldes handllng ever-lncreaslng rush of cusLomers, we
have Lhe Lask of maklng all our ln-house sysLems scalable
Lo maLch up Lo Lhe growlng demand. lL ls very lmporLanL
Lo change Lhe Lechnology based on Lhe ever-evolvlng cus-
Lomer needs. 1hls change ln Lechnology ls very frequenL
and hence too challenging. We hence want to keep inno-
vang, slimming down processes and reducing the level
of complexlLy. 1hls ls whaL we wanL Lo achleve.
896: &; <1&<01 %1&9/%9./ 4.;19$=1#6=#10'
especially in er II and III cies in the
country is a major contribung factor to
lack of widespread adopon of e-commerce
%3 >&69> %#$4.0$$0$ 9./ ?@*$ 4. A./495
B!"9>4/ A$91' )&#.=13 C0.019> @9.9D01'
E>4%9%956&F A./49
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COVERSTORY
Ankit Tulsyan, Co-founder, Indiebazaar.com:
1he challenges we face are:
1. To build a ecient plaorm from scratch which is
scalable. The design, development & tesng eort
requlred Lo do Lhls was one of Lhe blggesL challenges
LhaL we faced.
2. 1o develop a blrds-eye vlew Lo encompass all Lhe
eorts to build the technology required to create the
producL we envlsloned. 1hls foreslghL whlch usually
Lakes years of experlence Lo nurLure had Lo be lncul-
caLed aL an acceleraLed speed.
3. Finding the right resources while keeping our costs
ln conLrol.
LxpecLed changes:
1. Create a beer user experience for our sellers to
increase eciency.
2. Introduce advanced tools for markeng and business
analycs for our seller network
3. Drive seller engagement using technology to
maximize the full potenal of network eects in
our buslness
Manoj Gupta, CEO & Co-founder, Crasvilla.com:
ln Lerms of Lhe challenges, on Lhe seller fronL, sellers
need to be technically more sophiscated and usually
Lhey aren'L as Lech-savvy.
8uyers access Lhe webslLe from a varleLy of places.
They use dierent devices and their connecvity oers
dierent throughput rates, which aects their percepon
of user experlence. lL ls a challenge Lo dellver Lhe conLenL
fast irrespecve of the number of products that you have
in the inventory. You need to set up caching at mulple
levels. ?ou also need Lo dlsLrlbuLe Lhe daLabase wlLhouL
any choke polnLs. ln our case, we also need Lo manually
approve lisngs within 24 hours. That too is a big chal-
lenge. And also lL ls a Lask Lo lnLegraLe SA wlLh Lhe dally
paymenL cycles LhaL we have.
As for expected changes, a focus on mobility is de-
nlLely expecLed. 1here are bound Lo be a large number of
permutaons and combinaons of devices and browsers
used for accesslng.
2. Please share some driving factors/
reasons behind your e-commerce
ventures success.
!!" Sulekha.com gets more than 25 million transacng
vlslLors every slngle monLh ln lndla - and ls able Lo puL
Lhem ln Louch wlLh each oLher across our 10 leadlng
markeLplaces Lo buy, sell or lnLeracL wlLh each oLher.
We also have more than 75,000 paid SMBs in 44 cies
who geL calls and buyer enqulrles from Lhese 23 mllllon
vlslLors per monLh.
Sulekha.com has solved a dicult and important
problem for boLh consumers and SM8s - whlch ls Lo help
delighul discoveries happen between the two broad
seLs of users. Sulekha.com has achleved Lhls ablllLy Lo
connecL buyers and sellers across roperLy, Pome needs,
Oce Needs, Educaon, Lifestyle, Mobiles, Cars, Used
buy-sell and 1ravel markeLplaces.
8esldes Lhls, Sulekha.com also helps 2 mllllon n8ls
lnLeracL and LransacL beLween each oLher.
$%" lndla ls a unlque and very lmporLanL markeL for us
because it has a large MSME populaon (more than 26
million) and has both a robust domesc
markeL and growlng exporL secLor. lL ls
esmated that in terms of value, the sector
accounts for about 45 per cent of the
manufacturing output and 40 per cent of
Lhe LoLal exporLs of Lhe counLry.
With me, Indian suppliers have grad-
ually begun leveraglng Lhe power of Lhe
internet. Ulmately, our growth drivers
are lndla's enLrepreneurs. lndla has a hls-
Lory of sLrong enLrepreneurshlp and Lhe ablllLy Lo adapL
Lo global Lrends for Lrade glves us all ample opporLunlLy
for growth. With the changing economic landscape, India
has wlLnessed Lhe rlse of several young enLrepreneurs
who have successfully creaLed onllne buslness whom
we call 'neLrepreneurs'. Allbaba.com's focus has always
been on Lhese neLrepreneurs, small and medlum slzed
buslnesses, around Lhe world, and our vlslon remalns on
maklng lL easy Lo do buslness anywhere.
An online marketplace like Alibaba.com oers dierent
Lypes of membershlp based on Lhe needs of lLs cusLomers
free membership, veried membership and gold
membershlp. Allbaba.com's gold suppller membershlp ls a
pald form of membershlp whlch comes aL a mlnlmal cosL
per year. Cold suppller ls Allbaba.com's hlghesL level of
membershlp for our suppller members and allows Lhem Lo
maxlmlze Lhelr exposure Lo overseas buyers. All suppllers
applying for the membership must pass an authencaon
and vericaon process conducted by an independent
Lhlrd-parLy agency.
It is a challenge to deliver the content fast
irrespecve of the number of products that
you have in the inventory. You need to set
up caching at mulple levels. You also need
&' ()*&+),-&. &/. (0&0,0*. 1)&/'-& 023
4/'5. 6')2&*
69 J U N E 2 0 1 3 PCQUEST 69 pcquest.com twitter.com/pcquest facebook.com/pcquest linkd.in/pcquest pcquest@cybermedia.co.in
Besides trust and safety, the portal oers unlimited
product lisngs to gold suppliers. It also includes easy
division of products into dierent categories which
enhance Lhe buyer experlence. 1here are a number of
features, like trade alert, which sends buyers automac
updates of new suppliers on the site lisng products of
lnLeresL Lo Lhem. lndlan suppllers, for example, can Lake
advantage of this feature by lisng their products in
mulple categories and lisng creavely. Trade manager
ls anoLher unlque feaLure whlch ls free for Allbaba.com
members. 1hls enables buyers and suppllers Lo chaL ln
real me, translate messages instantly and send les of
any size instantly to potenal trade partners.
Apart from its online acvies, Alibaba.com also
caLalyses exporL growLh for SML ln lndla Lhrough varlous
oine training and business matching sessions.
Allbaba.com has been dlfferenLlaLed from oLher
onllne classlfleds as boLh lnLernaLlonal and domesLlc
suppllers can hosL Lhelr company proflles and
caLalogues ln sLandardlzed onllne sLorefronLs" and
posL producL llsLlngs and Lrade leads on Lhe plaLform.
1hrough our conslsLenL efforLs of educaLlng Lhe lndlan
SMLs and enhanclng Lhe user lnLerface, we have
successfully managed Lo galn Lhe confldence of more
Lhan a mllllon SMLs.
!"#$"%&&' l really don'L Lhlnk we are a success yeL,
as we are way too young and new. We launched
whysoserlous.co.ln lasL monLh, so we have [usL sLarLed
walking; we have a long way to go still. But yes we have
been recelved very well so far by Lhe people here and
l Lhlnk whaL has worked ln our favor ls Lhe facL LhaL we
don'L really Lake Lhls slLe Loo serlously / Loo buslness-
llke. 1hls ls a place where we come, we wanL Lo have
fun and sell happlness, and we would go ouL of our way
to do that for our customers. We are more like a friend
Lhan a webslLe, and people have acLually loved us for
Lhls approach. 1he look of Lhe slLe, deslgned by a wlld
head deslgner ulak 8lshL, has acLually managed Lo
esLabllsh some sorL of cord wlLh Lhe cusLomers. 1hey
love Lhe look and feel of Lhe slLe. lL ls refreshlng
and frlendly.
)*'
1. 1echnology-drlven buslness approach
2. A small & agile team with stress on automaon to
reduce cosLs
3. Low cost and highly scalable marketplace model.
4. Constant review & improvement of processes
+,' The rst reason I can aribute is to have a variety of
products. We have the largest collecon of India-specic
handicra products.
Secondly, we have several producLs LhaL are hard Lo
nd elsewhere. This is also a reason behind our success.
lor us, Cou and dlscounLs are noL drlvers because we
do not oer them. We do not oer CoD for operaonal
lssues, such as reLurns, lack of auLomaLed paymenL han-
dllng, eLc.
3. What are the essential technologies
that are important for any online
player?
--' MosL leadlng onllne players, lncludlng Sulekha.com
have lnvesLed ln Lhe followlng Lechnologles Lo succeed &
scale-up:
- C8M-8lg uaLa-Soclal medla and oLher Lechnologles Lo
understand consumers beer
- 1echnologles Lo dellver seamless user experlence
across mulple devices
Sales force automaon and customer understanding
modules
- Search and soclal medla masLery - Lo geL new con-
sumers and cusLomers
Cloud-based technologies to provide signicant sav-
ings on physical hardware/soware investments
- lnLernal employee neLworklng Lo have a seamless
ow of communicaon throughout the organizaon
Inter-oce video calling to bring employees across
diverse oces together
!.' With e-commerce, what one needs to have is just a
table space with a computer and Internet connecvity.
Most entrepreneurs sll prefer the tradional brick and
mortar business model, before experimenng with click
and morLar.' L-commerce has changed Lhe way of dolng
business altogether for some entrepreneurs. What once
used Lo be challenglng for buslnesses Lo reach ouL Lo new
cusLomers and markeLs, ls now easy wlLh e-commerce
and the Internet. Customers can nd, interact and
negoate online from their laptop at home, oce or on
Lhelr smarL phones.
1o begln wlLh, for an e-commerce buslness, one
needs Lo have a webslLe whlch wlll lnclude Lhe brlef
company prole, preferably with pictures of the products
LhaL Lhe company manufacLures, and mosL lmporLanLly,
conLacL deLalls. 1hls ls Lhe cheapesL and Lhe easlesL way
Lo showcase and brlng your company and Lhe work on
Lhe web. 828 slLes llke Allbaba.com provlde small busl-
nesses with opportunies to establish their presence on
Lhe lnLerneL by provldlng Lhem a one-sLop shop, lden-
fying potenal trading partners, learning more about
global trade, sharing trading experience and interacng
wlLh each oLher Lo conducL buslness onllne.
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COVERSTORY
828 e-commerce has made lL posslble for companles
in large cies and rural villages alike to connect and
Lrade wlLh cusLomers from around Lhe world. Many
companies in India are small. With less than 50 people,
they cannot aord expensive markeng strategies,
which include tradeshows, online or oine adversing
and sales oces. They need one reliable, simple and
cost-eecve soluon that help them nd customers in
India and worldwide. Many businesses are nding that
soluon online.
!"#$"%&&' ersonally l feel anyLhlng or any Lechnology
that helps us understand our customers beer. When
selllng on a webslLe, we are noL deallng dlrecLly /face-
Lo-face wlLh Lhe cusLomers, so LhaL somewhere leaves a
bllnd spoL for us, so for a buslness llke mlne, where we
have just started o it is very important to know who we
are Lalklng Lo, where are we selllng, how do we know our
customers, who are they? So any technology that rstly
helps you geL all Lhose answers rlghL ls for me Lhe mosL
important tech tool. We have some customized tools and
also Google Analycs helps us a lot there.
)*' 1he enabllng Lechnologles lnclude web browsers and
HTML, web servers and HTTP, CGI and Perl, JavaScript,
database , Java, PHP, Ajax, Cryptographic applicaons,
secure protocols such as SSL, etc. Rest everything is
mosLly based on Lhese Lechnologles.
+,' We host our website on Amazon Web Services
(AWS). I consider the following technologies to be
essenal for e-commerce:
Website, for which you can use web servers such as
Apache.
- SLrong daLabase
- lrameworks, such as MagenLo
- lnvenLory managemenL
- ulspaLch managemenL
Payments, accounng & nance
Eecve CRM
Indrajit Sabharwal, Managing Director, Simmtronics, Simmtronics Semiconductors
Ltd., shares the experience gained while selling tablets on e-commerce stores
Hiren Mehta
`Sales are Necessary to Drive in Both:
Physical & e-Commerce Stores
What are the
benefits obtained
in selling products
on e-commerce
portals compared
to physical stores?
1he ablllLy Lo see Lhe
producL before buylng
ls very lmporLanL for Lhe
consumer. 1hls ls avallable
ln boLh e-commerce porLals as well as ln physlcal sLores. l
conslder boLh markeLplaces Lo be equally lmporLanL.
Is it viable to depend solely on e-
commerce websites as a selling medium
and have no customer-facing stores at
all for an organization which cannot
afford to buy large retail space?
Sales are necessary ln boLh brlck-and-morLar sLores as
well as e-commerce sLorefronLs. Cne can'L solely rely
on e-commerce as a selllng medlum. A mlxLure of boLh
ls needed.
What are the decision-making criteria
used by sellers to choose an e-
commerce website?
We adverse through television and a large number of e-
commerce websites. We are trying to gain the maximum
reach posslble and hence Lhere ls no such declslon-
maklng crlLerla LhaL we are maklng use of.
Do you notice any trend indicating
that e-commerce websites offering
`Cash on Delivery as a payment
option result in greater sales of the
product?
l do noL see anyLhlng llke LhaL. ln my oplnlon, uslng a
credit card is a beer payment opon than using CoD.
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COVERSTORY
Capital firms are giving online merchants an advance on future credit card
orders, which allows the business of e-commerce to operate smoothly
Vikram Bhalchandra, Chief Marketing & Sales Officer, Xavient Information System
`Electronic Funds Transfer is
Changing the Landscape of
Transactions from the Bank
Account to the Business Entity
F
rom Lhe pasL few years, e-commerce has come
Lo clalm an ever larger parL of our llves. lor many
of us, shopplng or buylng goods ranglng from
dally needs Lo luxurles no longer lnvolves drlvlng
to malls miles away and ghng the crowds. Instead, we
prefer golng Lo our Cs or smarLphones Lo shop Lo our
hearL's conLenL. none of Lhls would be made posslble
wlLhouL e-commerce.
While the era of online shopping is sll developing
and capLurlng Lhe cusLomers' mlndseL rapldly, Lhere have
been new invenons in the e-commerce space that has
necesslLaLed developmenLs ln Lechnologles LhaL blnd
Lhe varlous vlLal componenLs of e-commerce sysLems
together as a funconing unit. No doubt, the payment
gateways are the backbone for transacons; there has
always been a demand of more secure, less dependenL
sysLems LhaL smooLhens Lhe process of paylng for whaL
you buy lnsLanLly!
LlecLronlc lunds 1ransfer (Ll1) ls changlng Lhe
landscape of money transacon from the bank account to
the business enty. When a customer makes a purchase on
a buslness' webslLe, Lhey can choose Lo have Lhe purchase
prlce Laken from Lhelr bank accounL as opposed Lo a credlL
or deblL card. Cnce Lhe Ll1 process has been sLarLed on
Lhe buslness' webslLe, Lhe funds wlll be Laken from Lhe
cusLomer's bank accounL a few days laLer. Also Lhere have
been advancements in Online Transacon Processing,
where capital rms are giving online merchants an advance
on fuLure credlL card orders, whlch allows Lhe buslness of
e-commerce Lo operaLe smooLhly.
Enablers of e-commerce
Internet markeng is another broad area enabling the e-
commerce buslness comprlslng anyLhlng a buslness does
online to aract more customers. In the past few years,
Internet markeng has expanded to include technologies
lnvolvlng search englne mechanlsms. ln Lhls veln,
pracces such as search engine opmizaon, pay-per-
click adversing and banner ads are examined for their
rates of ecacy.
Automated Data Collecon systems are another
lmporLanL arm of Lhe e-commerce Lechnology area. Cnllne
retail businesses use automated data collecon systems
that allow them to gather informaon about prospecve
and current customers. This informaon allows online
businesses to gure out the buying, browsing and online
search hablLs of cusLomers, whlch buslnesses Lhen use Lo
tailor targeted adversing to prospecve consumers.
ln Lhe noL-Loo-dlsLanL fuLure, e-commerce Lechnology
noL only wlll become smarLer and fasLer, buL could
compleLely Lransform Lhe way companles deal wlLh lnLernal
informaon and customer service.
Moreover, Lechnologles ln Lhe plpellne - such as
interacve company portals that can communicate with
other portals in real-me could drascally alter the
sales process.
73 J U N E 2 0 1 3 PCQUEST 73 pcquest.com twitter.com/pcquest facebook.com/pcquest linkd.in/pcquest pcquest@cybermedia.co.in
Both technologies can do wonders for your E-Commerce business by helping you reduce costs
and reach out to your customers wherever they are. We interacted with experts from Oracle
and AppStudioz to find out how.
Hiren Mehta
Importance of Cloud and
Mobile Apps for E-Commerce
(1) What makes the cloud a very
important technology for an e-
commerce business?
1he cusLomer's behavlour has changed. 1hey noL only
go online but also transact online. Take for example IPL
ckets. During, lets say the last 5 days of the tournament,
I can arrange for serving increased trac during such spike
periods and if need be, can scale down aer the same,
wlLhouL paylng upfronL. ln Lhe pasL lf a company needed Lo
seL up someLhlng llke Lhls, Lhey would need Lo approach a
Lechnology company llke us, pay a cerLaln amounL upfronL
and set up an infrastructure, the applicaons as well as a
plpe Lo connecL Lo Lhe ouLslde world.
Today its about converng
capex Lo opex. now l can say LhaL
my buslness probably ls golng Lo
scale to a predened limit at a cer-
tain point of me and hence I am
expecng only a certain number of
users Lo be accesslng Lhe webslLe.
As a resulL, now l can scale much
more qulckly lf lL was noL for a cloud-based model.
If I need to have an applicaon soluon that is going to
increase my eciency in terms of buying, receiving, own-
ing/using and recommending products by going social aer
purchaslng, Lhe besL way Lo scale up ls Lo use a cloud-based
model. l don'L have Lo make any caplLal-lnLenslve lnvesL-
menLs for Lhe same.
(2) What would you term as
decision-making criteria in selecting
a cloud provider?
1here are Lwo ways Lo look aL Lhls problem. Cne ls lnLernal,
the other is external. The answer to the previous queson
revolved largely around Lhe buslness deallng wlLh Lhe
consumer. There, CRM, customer experience applicaons,
eLc. come lnLo Lhe plcLure. 1hls
ls on Lhe exLernal slde.
Cn Lhe lnLernal slde, Lhere
are procuremenLs, people Lo
be managed, people Lo be re-
crulLed, wheLher Lhe compleLe
llfecycle ls supporLed or noL, are
nancials / human capital management / talent manage-
ment, sales force automaon, social, analycs, search
capabilies, etc. available on the cloud? Customers dont
want to talk to dierent vendors, they are looking at single
vendors who can provlde a compleLe sLack. Lven lf cusLom-
ers have to develop their own applicaon, they are looking
at somebody who can oer good infrastructure soluons.
With the bubble of e-commerce businesses already
bursL ln lndla, Lhere ls a sLruggle for survlval golng on rlghL
now. In such mes, the smarter ones apart from cung
costs and burning up the nanciers money are looking at
other avenues to gain tracon amongst customers.
Cne such avenue ls moblle apps. 1hls lndusLry has
been growlng aL a Lremendous
pace in India, almost exponenally.
When in the next two years the
moblle lnLerneL users are expecLed
Lo grow more Lhan C lnLerneL us-
ers, lf Lhese e-commerce compa-
nles don'L have a presence on Lhelr
moblle phones Lhey're already
dead, right? What most of these businesses require right
now is tracon. And with the web space already lled up
with so many deals, oers and websites, a smaller e-com-
merce venLure doesn'L even sLand a chance Lo be llsLed
on the rst page of the search results. What a mobile
applicaon does, is gives them a leverage to be there
wlLh Lhe consumer all day long. lL ls a fronL of Lhe mlnd"
reference on a phone's home screen LhaL resulLs ln repeaL
buslness. Cnce your app has been downloaded lL wlll ap-
pear on Lhe screen of your cusLomer whenever Lhey are
uslng Lhelr smarLphone. 1hls wlll lncrease awareness of
your brand and Lherefore Lhey wlll be much more llkely
Lo purchase from you. lL boosLs Lhe brand on Lhe hlghly
vlslLed Apple and Coogle lay sLores and also lncreases
your vlslblllLy over Lhe lnLerneL.
An app can be much more
Big-Data driven with way beer
analycs than a website, you target
specic audiences in an easier and
a more sureshoL way. 1hey are a
one-stop soluon for sales as well
as servlces.
By Using a Cloud-based Model,
You Can Cater to Spikes in
!"#$%&'( *'&+,- ./$0%"$
Having to Pay Upfront
George Varghese, Senior Director -
Applicaon Sales, Oracle
Having a Mobile App for Your E-
1%&&'(1' 2'3#/$' 1+, 4'56 $% 7'$
Repeat Business from Customers.
8 9+"(+30 9/,:0
CEO & Founder, AppStudioz
pcquest.com twitter.com/pcquest facebook.com/pcquest linkd.in/pcquest pcquest@cybermedia.co.in PCQUEST J U N E 2 0 1 3 74
COVERSTORY
Not only can reverse logistics generate more profit for a business, if handled cleverly
it can also help you to break into new and broader markets
Hitendra Chaturvedi, Founder & CEO, GreenDust
E
-commerce slLes ln lndla are golng LhaL exLra
mlle Lo make cusLomer experlence counL so as
Lo ensure repeaL purchase and word-of-mouLh
promoon. The money that has gone out of
the marketers kiy to lure new customers can only be
jused if the customer becomes a repeat buyer and / or
geLs new cusLomers.
Jabong has a no-quesons-asked 30-day return policy.
Flipkart has a 30-day replacement guarantee. Yebhi has
gone one sLep ahead and has a 100-day reLurn pollcy.
under such a scenarlo, reLurn and replacemenL pollcles be-
come plvoLal. lL's been seen LhaL ln a large number of cases
the return policies inuence the decision to shop with an
e-tailer. Having a sound reverse logiscs plan in place seems
no more a luxury buL a compelllng need for e-commerce
buslnesses ln lndla.
While ecommerce logiscs focus on delivering goods to
a customer, reverse ecommerce logiscs deal with geng
Lhe goods back from Lhe cusLomer.
Many companles are looklng Lo onllne sales as a po-
tenal cure for the malaise currently facing the high street.
However, those rms looking to cut their cloth and aempt-
ing to save cash by focusing on their commerce oering
may wlsh Lo work wlLh a provlder LhaL sLresses Lhe lmpor-
tance of reverse logiscs. Given that many businesses are
aempng to cut costs and avoid wastage this could prove
Lo be especlally presclenL advlce for reLall operaLors.
There are green benets to the process also, which
lnvolves Laklng a cusLomer's unwanLed or damaged producL
and nding alternave channels for prot using what could
oLherwlse be consldered a wasLed or useless lLem.
Even if youre just starng out in e-commerce youll
be conslderlng whlch sysLems can maxlmlze your revenue.
From ecient order fullment to cost-eecve pick and
pack servlces, Lhe chances are you'll be comparlng whaL
third party providers can oer in order to make your busi-
ness run more smoothly and opmize your prot.
This is a wise move. Whilst weve all heard success sto-
rles abouL onllne buslnesses growlng from Lhe llvlng room,
Lhere's only so much a one-man band can do ln Lerms of
meeng their retail fullment obligaons. There are third
parLy provlders ouL Lhere who are more Lhan happy Lo work
wlLh even Lhe smallesL e-commerce buslness Lo ensure ef-
fecve management of the returns.
Not only can reverse logiscs generate more prot for
a buslness, lf handled cleverly lL can also help you Lo break
brand into new and broader markets. Luxury brands, for
example, oen use the process to promote a dierent oer
to online communies without devaluing their main brand.
Presenng surplus stock in the context of clearance of-
fers, special seasonal lines and one-o deals are just some
of Lhe ways ln whlch you can maxlmlze your e-commerce
fulllment income with minimum capital investment. But in
order Lo do lL really well you'll need Lhe rlghL sysLems, Lech-
nology and experse and thats where an expert logiscs
provider can add serious value to the operaons.
ln recenL years, along wlLh Lhe lmprovemenL of Lhe
logiscs environment and the nance environment, the
huge advanLage of e-commerce ls gradually comlng Lo
appear, and developlng by asLonlshlng speed ln several
years. Powever, ln Lhe back of fasL developmenL, many
problems of the reverse logiscs in e-commerce bring
anxiety. At present, the emphases of e-commerce operaon
ln many enLerprlses ls mosLly before sale, conslderlng how
to make the merchandise ow to the consumer from the
e-commerce enLerprlse wlLh a much lower prlce, fasLer
speed and higher eciency, but the return and callback of
goods aer sale do not cause their enough aenon. But
many well-known enLerprlses abroad have already regarded
reverse logiscs strategy as an important means to
decrease cost, increase customer sasfacon and enhance
compeve advantage.
Reverse logiscs management is one of the fastest mov-
ing elds of supply chain management. Today, the reverse
supply chain includes everything from defecve and end-
of-llfe producLs, Lo shlpmenL overages and refused goods,
to reusable assets like pallets and containers seen oen in
automove and electronics. These goods could be refur-
blshed, resold, recycled, desLroyed, exporLed, or a hosL of
other disposion opons. Companies looking to save costs
and improve nancial performance would be wise to take a
hard look aL Lhelr reverse supply chaln.
`Aggressive Reverse Logistics
Management can Translate into Higher
Profits for Your Company
75 J U N E 2 0 1 3 PCQUEST 75 pcquest.com twitter.com/pcquest facebook.com/pcquest linkd.in/pcquest pcquest@cybermedia.co.in
Merchants must focus on security primarily in order to keep eCommerce progressing.
Growing consumer confidence can help grow your business by leaps and bounds
Srinivasa Boggaram, SE Team Lead, McAfee India
Growth in eCommerce =
Growing Security Threats?
O
nllne commerce has a greaLer lmpacL on our
llves as buslnesses are lncreaslngly Laklng
advanLage of new sales channels. lrom e-reLall
to mobile commerce, to creang stand-alone
mobile apps, eCommerce is the new mantra today. With
this in mind, we have idened four key things impacng
Lhe eCommerce lndusLry Loday. l have dlscussed Lhe
resulLs of each and whaL lL means abouL Lhe sLaLe of
onllne commerce.
Trustmarks
With the rise in identy thes, consumers are concerned
abouL shopplng onllne. 1rusLmarks play an lnLegral parL of
improving security and increasing consumer condence.
Cenerally Laklng Lhe form of a llvlng lcon or logo on your
webslLe, a LrusLmark or securlLy seal proves LhaL you are
a legimate organizaon, which abides by certain security
code or privacy regulaons. This helps in establishing trust
with your customer assuring them of a secure transacon.
1he brand of 1rusLmarks used also plays a cruclal role.
Security
With the increasing number of eCommerce related
lncldenLs, Lhe number of securlLy breaches ln general
have also rlsen. lL's clear LhaL consumers are noL Lhe only
ones who are unsure about keeping personal informaon
safe; businesses are also ghng against hackers. Website
vulnerability scanning is essenal, but its also important to
remember basic security protocols like rewalls and web
applicaon protecon. Businesses should think beyond
tradional security approach and should move towards an
advanced protecon mechanism like next generaon IPS,
next generaon host level protecon and applicaon level
protecon. By following good defense pracces, businesses
can oer a safer plaorm for eCommerce.
PCI Compliance
An lmporLanL parL of keeplng your onllne buslness safe ls
by following the PCI compliance regulaons for accepng
credit card payments. For example, Cloud World on the
same topic indicated that while there is a connecon
between security and compliance, there is sll a need
for more guldance. Pelp", SM8" and consequences"
were key terms associated with PCI and e in directly to
Lhe reallLy LhaL many merchanLs are sLruggllng wlLh Lhese
regulaons and oen lack proper knowledge about it.
8uslnesses should follow proper Lools Lo measure and
enforce Cl compllance ln Lhelr framework and servlces.
Mobile Commerce
While consumers are increasingly shopping online, they are
also embracing mobile commerce. Whether its purchasing
goods via a mobile website or using a nave app, the
pervaslveness of smarLphones has had an lmpacL on how
consumers shop. 1he mosL popular Lerm assoclaLed wlLh
mobile commerce supports this noon and indicates
that connued security worries sll exist. Like for your
eCommerce site, protecng any mobile oering is as
important, especially as this plaorm connues to expand.
Considering the fact, security tools and soluons in the
mobile space is lesser compared to tradional desktop/
lapLop devlces. Pence Lhe moblle space requlres foremosL
aenon to secure them.
To give a more holisc approach, merchants must focus
on securlLy prlmarlly, ln order Lo keep eCommerce progress-
lng. undersLandlng some of Lhe mosL pervaslve Lerms ln Lhe
lndusLry ls a greaL way Lo see where we are headed. Cne
needs Lo keep ln mlnd Lhe lmporLance of consumer safeLy
especially in trends like mobile commerce and resulng
which, consumer condence in your business will grow by
leaps and bounds hence glvlng a boosL Lo your buslness.
pcquest.com twitter.com/pcquest facebook.com/pcquest linkd.in/pcquest pcquest@cybermedia.co.in PCQUEST J U N E 2 0 1 3 76
COVERSTORY
Why Sales Through
e-Commerce are Less
Some key payment solution providers talk about the challenges faced in
ensuring successful digital payments and how this affects both the seller
and the buyer
Hiren Mehta
DIGITAL PAYMENTS: WHY IS IT SO
DIFFICULT FOR MERCHANTS TO
COLLECT MONEY?
!"#$%& ( )*#+",-. /*0&1%,. 2-#,03 4"$. "#$%& #'()" *+,
merchants nd payments a pain and payment companies
dicult to deal with.
Collecng online payments is a pain from both the
consumer perspecve as well as the backend
Consumers abandon shopping carts at mulple stages,
due Lo several reasons, known and unknown
Consumers seem to lack condence in online payments
ln Lerms of securlLy of Lhe daLa enLered (of cards) and
also ln success raLes and recoverles ln case of problems
The merchant meanwhile, has to also deal with signi-
canL success raLe lssues aL Lhe backend wlLh all hls Cs
and providers, somemes as high as 40-50%
He also has to deal with the rapid proliferaon of
moblle devlces-lads, smarLphones, eLc-LhaL make
his storefrontpayment issues even more dicult
Lo manage
- 1yplcally he has Lo use more Lhan one vendor for hls
paymentsa dierent PG for cards, another aggregator
for netbanking, and his team has to monitor both up-
mes as well as the enre selement and reconciliaon
process across all hls vendors
- lf he wanLs Lo swlLch a C provlder due Lo success
rate issues or beer economics, it is another round of
painful tech integraons and tesng using precious IT
resources LhaL would raLher Lake an unpald leave Lo go
for a rooL canal sans anesLhesla.
- 1here ls no way for hlm Lo geL a full plcLure of hls Lrans-
acons, stascs on preferred payment modes etc,
without doing internal analycs around this.
- And on Lop of all of Lhls, [usL when hls users are abouL
Lo pull ouL Lhelr walleL, Lhey are dumped from hls
shopplng carL Lo a paymenLs page LhaL looks noLh-
ing like his well craed site, unless he goes through
a painful PCI-DSS cercaon. Yes, those are the
behinds of four more staers headed to the doors for
volunLary rooL canals.
Many of Lhese problems apply Lo all geographles LhaL
have adopLed dlglLal paymenLs, buL Lhey are exacerbaLed
ln lndla and oLher emerglng markeLs as Lhe volume of busl-
ness isnt high enough to jusfy the pains, and the core in-
frasLrucLure lncludlng lnLerneL plpes and Cs aren'L robusL
enough to eliminate all but the exceponal errors.
We all know the data and the projecons: The Indian
dlglLal paymenL markeL, $20 bllllon Loday, ls expecLed Lo
grow Lo $30 bllllon by 2013, maybe even more. Consumers
are coming online in droves, oine instuons are
collecng money digitally, blah blah blah. Repeat the same
sLory for any emerglng markeL ln SouLhLasL Asla, and lL
would seem LhaL Lhere are Amazons belng creaLed around
every corner.
nope.
Payment pains for online merchants
Ask any merchanL dolng buslness onllne as Lo how he
handles hls dlglLal paymenL lssues, and you can be sure you
are o his Christmas party invitaon list. Steel yourself for
Lhe avalanche of complalnLs Lo follow, and keep a sharp
ouLlook for slgns of rlslng blood pressure such as abnormal
perspiraon on the forehead, quickening of breath, and a
barely conLrolled urge Lo Lhrow ob[ecLs agalnsL walls. Pere
ls Lhe glsL of whaL you may gaLher beLween angered gasps
and cuss words:
77 J U N E 2 0 1 3 PCQUEST 77 pcquest.com twitter.com/pcquest facebook.com/pcquest linkd.in/pcquest pcquest@cybermedia.co.in
1he comlng years wlll see Lhe emergence of LoLally new
sets of online merchants- educaonal instutes, hospitality
ventures, government enes - which have already started
making this shi, small retailers including department
sLores, supermarkeLs and speclalLy sLores. And Lhe problem
increases manifold and the eciencies, user sasfacon
levels, and hence rate of adopon keep geng limited.
Merchants should demand more from
payment partners
?es, lL really should be consldered a parLnershlp, where
each side understands the needs and movaons of the
other and builds trust in the relaonship to grow together.
A paymenL parLner should ldeally:
Work with the merchant to reduce drops and failures.
Analyze the enre drop funnel and eliminate all points
of concern
Ancipate market needs and be ready to support the
merchant as he expands on to new plaorms and geog-
raphles
Create products, applicaons and services that meet
Lhe compleLe need of Lhe merchanL
A merchanL, on Lhe oLher hand, should:
- CollaboraLe openly wlLh Lhe paymenL parLner Lo bulld a
growLh roadmap LogeLher
Be disciplined in conducng internal ROI analysis to
undersLand whaL should be ouLsourced and aL whaL
prlce. 1hls ls a wln-wln, you save money and resources,
and encourage your partner to invest in innovaon.
- 8e wllllng Lo experlmenL wlLh new concepLs and solu-
ons so as to movate payment companies to innovate
and experlmenL on how Lo change Lhe markeL
Wheres my phone, mommy?
Indian Internet mobile users set to double to 165 million
by 2013.
1he growlng popularlLy of smarL phones, LableLs,
noLebooks and Lhe unprecedenLed number of consum-
ers using plaorms like Android, BlackBerry, iOS and
Windows have le serious online merchants in a race to
opmize their sites, checkout pages, payment pages ac-
cordlng Lo Lhe varlous new devlces comlng ln Lhe markeL,
[usL Lo remaln relevanL.
1he merchanLs can choose Lo have a web slLe, a moblle
app or boLh. 8ulldlng responslve slLes LhaL change slze
and layouL ln response Lo Lhe user's devlce wlll become
imperave in order to remain visible in the consumers
mind-space and remain viable in the market; or he can
deslgn an app for hls repeaL cllenLele Lo have a deeper level
of engagement and frequency of interacons.
Moblle devlces are lncreaslngly becomlng Lhe prlmary
medium to access the Internet across age groups. With the
momenLum really only beglnnlng ln Lhls arena, people's
experience with mobile transacons are limited to the
use of moblle devlces for paylng bllls, dolng onllne bank
transacons and ordering meals using apps, etc. But the
day ls noL far when consumers would wanL Lo use moblle
phones to do everything else too, from subming online
applicaons, paying taxes, paying educaonal fees, booking
a hoLel, a hollday, paylng advances, and everyLhlng else. A
merchant should idenfy a payments partner that is ready
Lo rlde Lhls Lsunaml of user behavlor changes.
Who would work with you?
Cl-uSS compllance, good ul, near perfecL Lechnlcal Lxn
raLes, Lhose are Lhe meLrlcs of a good paymenL gaLeway
provider. But R&D, ancipang trends, innovang and
experimenng with soluons and managing both sides
of a merchant-consumer equaon with rigor, discipline,
quality and consistency? That makes for a holisc payment
soware innovaon partner.
THE FUNDAMENTAL CHALLENGES IN
ONLINE PAYMENT SYSTEMS ARE OVER
!"#$ &"'"((")*"(+ ,$-. /*"$01"(+ .234*0" "(4 4$0.-)50+
67"8/"9* talks about issues related to payments made
using the mobile phone.
Which are the technology-related
challenges in online payment systems?
The fundamental challenges, such as transming rich con-
tent over low bandwidth are over. However, condence sll
remalns low. 1here ls lnadequaLe LrusL placed ln Lhe organl-
zaons running the e-commerce website. The cart abandon-
ment rate is very high. Cash-on-delivery makes it dicult for
sellers Lo survlve because Lhere ls no cusLomer commlLmenL
to the same. As a result, protability is aected.
What changes/improvements are
expected in 2013?
The landscape will change. 2013 will be a milestone year
for onllne paymenLs.
How do you ensure security of cash
in the mobile wallet in case of theft of
the device?
We use mulple factors for authencaon, including but
noL llmlLed Lo:
SIM cards unique idencaon
- 1elephone(moblle) number
Handsets unique idencaon
User-dened PIN.
pcquest.com twitter.com/pcquest facebook.com/pcquest linkd.in/pcquest pcquest@cybermedia.co.in PCQUEST J U N E 2 0 1 3 78
COVERSTORY
`An Optimal E-commerce Payment Gateway
would Use Security Measures as Strong as those
Used by the Banking Systems
In a country such as India that has more than 150 million Internet users,
why are less than 7 million people buying online actively? Read on to find out
Varun Jha, Head- Marketing & Corporate Affairs, PayU India
F
or a country like ours which has a populaon of
over 1.2 billion, more than 300 million having
bank accounts and Internet penetraon which
exceeds 150 million; only fewer than 7 million
people acvely buying online is a miniscule number. What
is even more disappoinng is that with over 30 million
SMLs and around 3 mllllon freelancers ln lndla, fewer
Lhan 10,000 people sell onllne Loday. 1he LruLh ls LhaL Lhe
majority of populaon who is currently not transacng
onllne has a reason Lo noL LransacL onllne. ln facL, people
who can LransacL onllne Lend Lo choose cash-on-dellvery or
payment-on-delivery if given an opon.
The present scenario does not dierenate between
Lhe large company and Lhelr smaller counLerparLs. k?C
documentaon, payment gateway fees and other back-end
integraon work make online payment gateways out of
reach Lo a ma[orlLy of small-slzed merchanLs whlch fall lnLo
Lhe caLegory of MSMLs. 1hls scenarlo needs lmmedlaLe aL-
tenon and a lot of acon is needed in this direcon.
Also, considering the rate at which soware exports
are growlng, lL ls very lmporLanL Lo know lf you can recelve
and make paymenLs ln forelgn currencles, as 88l guldellnes
make lL Lrlcky for some of Lhe paymenL gaLeways.
1he growlng lmporLance of e-commerce has made lL
really lmporLanL for webslLe owners Lo devlse a paymenL
servlce LhaL ls secured and qulck. aymenL gaLeway solu-
ons allow a website to accept real-me payments from
customers across the world. It oers the most secure and
safesL way for webslLe owners Lo Lransfer Lhelr paymenLs ln
a manner LhaL ls secure and qulck. 1he growLh of SM8s ls
aected by the payment mechanisms on their websites and
Lhe professlonallsm of Lhe merchanLs.
Payment gateway should use security
measures as good as those used by
banking systems
ln Lhe emerglng onllne lndusLry, consumer preferences
drlve sales and ln Lhls, Lhe paymenL procedure plays
a plvoLal role. Consumer preference comes from Lhe
LrusL, convenlence, securlLy and prompLness ln maklng
transacons. An opmal payment gateway would use
securlLy measures as sLrong as Lhose used by Lhe banklng
systems to ensure data security and none of the informaon
can fall ln wrong hands. Lven ln Lhe case of daLa breachlng,
Lhe sysLem ls so sLrong LhaL lL desLroys lLself lnsLead of
shedding out the personal informaon of the users. In order
to make the transacon quick and convenient, one-click
checkouL mechanlsm ls used. lL lnvolves slgnlng up wlLh Lhe
payment gateway using idencaon and password and it
saves users from enLerlng Lhe card number, bllllng address
and other details every me they shop. Its important for
businesses to choose an opmal online payment soluon
whlch asslsLs Lhe webslLe Lo dellver Lhe besL ln Lerms of
security compliance, convenience and ulmately increases
Lhe converslon raLes.
Payment gateways deliver a complete line of soluons
deslgned from Lhe ground up Lo help SM8s auLomaLe and
manage Lhelr paymenL accepLance and dlsbursemenL needs.
1hey asslsL small buslness slLe owners and onllne merchanLs
to tackle PCI DSS compliance. This is done by oering hosted
templates that ensure that sensive cardholder data is
stored, transmied, and processed by the payment gateway
and noL by Lhe merchanL. As a resulL, merchanLs can sLay fo-
cused on fuLure buslness growLh lnsLead of webslLe securlLy.
ln mosL cases merchanLs wanL Lo provlde cusLomers wlLh
Lhe level of Cl securlLy, buL also don'L wanL Lo leL cusLomers
know that another player has entered the transacon proc-
ess. 1hls problem ls solved wlLh Lhe llnk embedded ln Lhe
checkouL LemplaLe so your cusLomers do noL have Lo leave
Lhe slLe durlng Lhe checkouL process Lo buy securely. 1hls
creates an ecient and secure transacon that meets key
expectaons of the shopping experience.
The soware technology used by gateway providers al-
lows buslnesses Lo keep close Lrack of Lhe sales and lncrease
the conversion rates. Somemes, in case of a transacon
fallure, Lhe webslLe ls noL able Lo provlde a reason for Lhe
fallure. And lL's seen LhaL more Lhan 30 of consumers do
not come back to retry the transacon in such cases. What a
premlum paymenL gaLeway does ln Lhls case ls LhaL lL Lells us-
ers the reasons for the failure of the previous transacon. This
resulLs ln a greaLer converslon raLe for onllne reLallers and also
enhances Lhe shopplng experlence of Lhe consumers.
79 J U N E 2 0 1 3 PCQUEST 79 pcquest.com twitter.com/pcquest facebook.com/pcquest linkd.in/pcquest pcquest@cybermedia.co.in
Want to get a taste of how an e-commerce portal functions without having to
pay any license fees? Then check out these E-Commerce tools. Theyre also
available on this months PCQ DVD for you to try out.
Compiled by Anil Chopra and Jayanta Ghosh
9 Hot Open Source Tools for
Building E-Commerce Sites
S
!"#$%&'( This one runs on Linux and other Unix-
like OSs, supports mulple databases (MySQL and
PostgreSQL), distributed object storage (in beta),
markeng and aliate tracking capabilies.
Zen Cart E-Commerce Shopping Cart: 1hls ls a P
based e-commerce shopplng carL bullL on CScommerce's
GPL code. Its easy to setup, highly customizable, and can
be run from your own webserver, Lhereby glvlng you full ln
control over its features and capabilies.
XOS-Shop E-Commerce Shopping Cart: 1hls ls an open
source shopping cart soware, wrien in PHP/MySQL, and
orlglnally based on osCommerce.
*&%+,-.$'#( A robusL, professlonal-grade e-Commerce
soluon with a full-featured back-oce applicaon to man-
age your onllne buslness, whlch lncludes lnvenLory, orders,
shipping, and customers--all in real-me.
/0&,1%2-&,( An Open Source E-Commerce soluon to
be used along with the famous CMS Joomla.
340+ 5676869( A popular e-commerce Lool based on P,
MySQL, ExtJS, jQuery and the Zend PHP framework. It has
feaLures llke a producL caLalog manager, producLs organ-
lzer, order managemenL, cusLomer mgmL, dlscounLs mgmL,
store stascs, and much more.
:; .$'#<-&, =6= >10?@ 55A( Heres a shopping cart ulity
for Lhe Coldluslon developmenL sLack, whlch ls currenLly
inacve, but mature enough to be used for online stores
today. A few key features of the soware include mgmt.
modules for producLs, caLegorles, cusLomers, orders,
wishlists, support ckets, taxes, and payment gateways.
Plus, there are modules for blogging, stascs, comment
moderaon, product reviews, and much more.
Magento Community Edion 1.7.0.2 / 1.8.0.0 Alpha
1: CreaLe advanced sLores ln [usL a few cllcks. Spend more
me entering product informaon instead of customizing
HTML code. Theres an easy to use Permissions Editor so
LhaL you can creaLe users for all your employees and Lhen
asslgn Lhem Lo groups llke lull Admln", CusLomer Serv-
ice, Warehouse, etc.
/-":-&, 56B( This soware allows users to easily install
and run an onllne shop, wlLhouL any Lechnlcal knowledge.
Built on CakePHP framework, the soware provides SEO,
unlimited categories and products, Mullingual and Mul
currency support, automac image resizing, coupons,
producL revlews, and much more.