The Indian E-commerce market is a highly saturated market, where different giants are playing against each other to attain the goal of gaining even 1% of extra market share.
Now in India, we all know that to win a customer’s heart you will have to give them discounts. For businesses like E-commerce, there is no better way to build loyalty and attain a continuous flow of money than by providing Sales.
So now companies like Ajio and Myntra are extending their sales periods even after the end of the official festive season in India. They are now trying to leverage the wedding season at its peak by providing products at discounted rates.
Why this extended period of discounts?
Now the festive season in India basically ends in the month of november after the end of Diwali. But even in December, different E-commerce companies are running several discount offers to continue the high volume selling of products.
Different fashion-selling sites like Ajio and Myntra have declared the “Big Bold Sale” and “End of Reason Sale” respectively while offering clothes and fashion items at a discounted price. Different companies are also trying to tap into the market during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
According to the estimate of the Confederation of All India Traders, the overall sales between November 23 and December 15 will be around Rs. 4.25 lakh crore that’s about 51 billion US dollars.
Myntra is expecting to see 10 lakh new buyers on their site in this edition of EORS.
How discounts help businesses?
Now after reading these stories of E-commerce sales, one question that comes to your mind is – why? Why are brands even giving these extended discount periods?
Let’s decode that,
1. Better sales –
Offering price breaks is a tried-and-true strategy that may help your company sell more products, draw in more customers, and boost revenue. Giving you a discount makes you feel valued, which in turn makes them feel good. Research generally indicates that customers are more likely to feel happier and more at ease when they receive a savings offer. You will undoubtedly reap long-term rewards if these favourable sentiments are connected to your brand.
2. Increasing brand awareness –
Offering specials and discounts is a great way to maintain brand awareness and keep your product, service, or business in front of the people who matter most to you. Offering product discounts and exclusive offers can help you attract customers with ease. You can easily reach a large number of potential customers by promoting your product discount, depending on its size and method of advertising. It is highly likely that many of those potential customers will stop by your store to check out the deals you are providing, particularly if it is during a time when they are in desperate need of those goods or services.
3. Gaining loyal customers –
While it’s one of the simplest and most effective strategies for brands to increase customer loyalty, offering discounts and special offers is not without its risks. By introducing a loyalty rewards programme or offering weekly or monthly special deals and discounts, you can easily draw in and keep a large number of repeat customers. In addition to discounts and exclusive offers, you can increase customer loyalty by improving the customer experience, providing conveniences, regularly interacting with your customers on social media and other platforms, and rewarding your customers.
4. Getting an advantage over competitors –
A well-thought-out price reduction or special offers programme might help your company improve its long-term competitive standing. Customers are typically cost-conscious, which is why they are drawn to goods or services with reasonable prices. Offering alluring discounts, coupons, and exclusive offers will therefore help you draw in and keep devoted clients who will probably avoid your rivals in favour of your brand.
Side effects of providing discounts
Now, if you think that a discount is a sure shot and a great way to develop your business, then you’re not totally right. Providing extra discounts can actually cause damage to your business.
So, let’s discuss the disadvantages of giving discounts –
1. Increased cost of customer acquisition –
A company may need to make greater investments in marketing and advertising when it regularly offers discounts to draw in price-conscious clients. A company’s budget may be strained by this, especially if the discounts are large or offered too frequently.
2. Lack of exclusivity –
Discounts have the power to instantly change a customer’s opinion of a company or retailer. Lowering prices can only be detrimental to high-end or “luxury” products because it undermines the exclusivity that a high price tag conveys. Even though you might draw in new business, the more devoted, regular high-spenders will probably go elsewhere as a result.
3. Eroding reputation –
A retailer will come across as untrusting of their own goods if they consistently offer discounts. This lack of trust will then be interpreted as a sign of a product’s poor quality, unreliability, or even desirability. It is difficult to break out of this kind of downward spiral when consumers can no longer see a brand or product as anything but inferior.
Conclusion
Giving discounts is an age-old method to better sales, acquire new customers and build brand awareness but overdoing it can also lead to long-term damages.
This continuous offers is helpful for E-commerce businesses but it might not be helpful for others.