"No stock, low capital, low expenditure make market place model profitable"

Success stories are emerging in the e-commerce space and within this domain, market place model, with comparatively low operational cost, has proved to be beneficial, especially in the current sluggish economy.

GetitBazaar is an e-commerce website that functions on the market place model. It recently tied up with SingTel to bring Shopify, said to be the world’s largest e-commerce platform provider, to India. In conversation with exchange4media Kiran Murthi, CEO, GetitBazaar explains why the market place model has worked in the e-commerce sector. Excerpts. 

What are the recent trends witnessed in the online shopping space?
A number of trends have been witnessed in this space. The major trend has been the wide acceptance of online shopping. Consumers are now open to buying clothes, shoes, etc., online, which initially had the touch and feel constraint. Another trend that has come to the fore is that online sales is not just the sale that has been made on the internet through a computer, but also sale which took place on a mobile or was initiated by a voice ad or radio spot or print advertisement.

Why is the market place model more profitable as compared to the other models followed by e-tailing and e-commerce sites?
We are the definition of market place model, where sellers are given the opportunity to meet potent buyers. Different organisations have different definitions of market place. In our kind of a model, it is not retail but a market without inventory. Thus, with no stock there is low level of maintenance and thus, low capital requirement and low expenditure, which makes the model profitable.

A number of websites use the market place model yet offer deals. What are your views on it?
We might think about the deal and coupon system in the future. But as of now, we are a simple market place model website.

Please shed light on your business model.
We are focused on making sellers being able to sell online. We help them right from making the sale to delivering and collecting the case. We store their catalogue, process the order, take stock and connect and help in payment. Once the transaction is complete, we charge the sellers Rs 100 or 2.5 per cent of the transaction, whichever is more.

Where do you see GetitBazaar three years from now?
We hope to break even the operation cost and reach a minimum mark of 15,000 merchants in the next three years.