Paytm, primarily a mobile payment services major seems to have had a Good Diwali. The Paytm Diwali sale, which was held between 3rd November and 5th November, generated revenues of Rs 300 Crores across all categories.
The Alibaba-backed venture recorded highest sales in mobile phones and apparels category as expected, however motorcycles and bicycles saw relatively higher figures as well. With over 500 motorcycles and 1000 bicycles sold online, there were offline counterparts to deliver the orders to the customers. In the end, it was a win-win situation for both Paytm and offline retailers. Through the online-offline model, some of the products booked online were promised to be delivered by the offline partner stores within the two hours.
Paytm has also recently entered into ‘Hyperlocal’ business which aims to have stronger partnerships between online and offline entities.
What were the sales figures?
Topping the charts, mobile phone sales were highest Paytm has ever recorded and they claimed to have seen 5 to 6 times the sales as compared to a usual day. Following mobile phones, fashion apparels also saw a similar six times increase in sales. Overall, the electronics category garnered the maximum sales resulting in five-fold increase in the number of orders.
In terms of traffic seen on the website, at one point of time there were 6-8 lakh concurrent customers logged in, which is about 10 to 15 times the daily average. While Paytm had targeted around Rs 250-300 Crores in sales during Diwali period, they are hoping to surpass the Rs 1000 Crore mark owing to the two month festivity period ending December.
Benefits of Online to Offline Model
Saurabh Vashishtha, Vice-President of business at Paytm commented, “It’s the classic O-to-O (Online-to-offline) model and we’ve found from this sale that value added services are beginning to become important, not just the price,”.
Paytm has partnered with Mahindra Two Wheelers to sell Mahindra Centuro motorcycles and Mahindra Gusto scooters, much like Snapdeal’s recent venture into automobile space through Snapdeal motors. While bikes were priced competitively, there was cashback of upto 25% on bicycles. The customers could book their motorcycles or bicycles online and have them delivered from the dealerships.
Another advantage of the model was the reduced time of delivery. As promised to the customers, the delivery time were brought down to two hours and timely delivery was ensured by both Snapdeal and offline stores. Since the stocks were constantly depleting, there was a chance for offline stores to keep a quick tab on the sales and replenish high selling products.
Customers, on the other hand, reported mixed reviews. Some were extremely happy with their delivery times and accurate orders, quite a few were not satisfied. Even though Paytm does have a seller feedback form online, some sellers were seen to go past the promised times and deliver products in shabby conditions. Considering Paytm is relatively new in this industry, there are some roadblocks they need to figure out before rolling out offers that counter the market leaders.
