2016

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[EXISTENCE OF VIRTUAL RIALITY IN INDIA]

By: Madhusmita Das and

Ramneek kaur

Content

Pages

Abstract

Introduction

E-commerce in India from 1999 to 2016

Business to consumer

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4

Present trends of E-commerce in India

4-5

Virtual reality: Introduction

5-6

Virtual reality in India

6-7

Survey analysis

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Conclusion

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References

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E-commerce is a paradigm shift. It is an

innovation thats radically changing
traditional way of doing business. And
India is being a rapid adaptor of
technology in apace with the current
scenario of electronic data exchanges and
has taken to e-commerce.
After economic reforms explicitly took
place in India since 1991, resulted in
opening-up of the economy with a view to
integrate itself with global economy.
Therefore both policy and procedure
reforms has become the foundation stone
of Indias trade and fiscal policies.
In view of this, this article tries to present a
snapshot of the evolution of e-commerce
business indicating the present surfing
pattern of Indian consumers. It also
critically analyses the e-commerce with
major focus on B2C e-commerce and the
presence of Virtual reality application
among Indian consumers.

boom. Presently its an indispensable

ingredient of Indias trade facilitation
policy as mentioned earlier. As it is a
symbol of globalization, e-commerce
represents the cutting edge of success in
this digital age and it has changed and is
still changing the way business is
conducted around the world and in India.
Although business-to-business transactions
play an important part in e-commerce
market, a share of e-commerce revenues in
rapidly developing countries like India is
generated from business to consumer
transactions to a great extend.
Key Figures:

Sales in 2013: $16bn

Expected sales in 2023: $56bn
No. Of online shoppers in 2013:
20million
Expected no. Of online shoppers in
2016: 40 million
2016: 40 million

The study was done using critical research

followed by surveys.

E-commerce in India from

1999 to 2016
Internet
augments
the
traditional
businesses to be transformed because
incumbents (in market) and large firm
do not have the advantage just because
they were first there or by being big. The
effects of e-commerce are already
appearing in all areas of business, from
customer service to new product design to
what not. Internet growth is host of new
developments, such as decreased margins
for companies as consumers turn more and
more to the internet to buy goods and
demand the best prices.
India is still in its nascent stage, but even
the most pessimistic projections indicate a
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E-commerce continues to grow with new

technologies, and innovations and
thousands of businesses entering the
online market each year. The security,
connivance and user experience of Ecommerce has improved a lot since its
inception in 1999 by Rediff.com

Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
Railway and Airlines are playing a vital
role in e-commerce transactions in India.
Travel portals are exploding in India.
Recently, Make My Trip.com has shown
Rs 1000 crores of turnover. Travel alone
constituted 50% of Rs 4800 crore online
market in 2007-08. In India, online
services like ticketing, banking, tax
payment, bill payment, hotel room
booking, entertainment, online games,
matrimonial sites, job sites, etc. are
showing signs of development in businessto-customer transactions every day. There
has been tremendous boost in the online
business with the stock exchange coming
online too.
There is no doubt in the fact that total
value of the B2B transactions is much
larger than that of the B2C transactions,
because typically B2B transactions are of
much greater value than B2C transactions.
It seems that the B2C market in India will
take time to grow as compared to the B2B
market with time gradually.

Presents
Trends
Commerce in India

of

E-

India is developing rapidly and if

development is to be measured, how can
we ignore the role of e-commerce. The
internet user base in India might still be a
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mere 100 million which is much less when

compared to its penetration in the US or
UK but its surely expanding. The number
of new entrants in this sphere is escalating
daily and with growth rate reaching its
zenith; it can be presumed that in years to
come, customary retailers will feel the
need to switch to online business soon.
Insights into increasing demand for
broadband services, rising standards of
living, availability of wider product
ranges, reduced prices and busy lifestyles
reveal this fact more prominently thereby
giving way to online deals on gift
vouchers. Going by the statistics,
According to a statement released by the
Internet and Mobile Association of India
(IAMAI), the ecommerce market was
expected to touch Rs 46520 crore turnover
marks in 2011.
A.T. Kearney's 2014 Connected Consumer
Study showed just how much consumers
around the world are using the Internet,
and offered many key insights for retailers.

As one can see in the figure Indian

consumers are leaned more towards
fashion and apparel followed by services,
travelling and electronics.

Virtual Reality
So far, virtual reality is something that has
only really been encountered in the gaming
world, VR and AR are becoming the next
step in an increasingly digital world to
make sure consumers have most of it.
Recently Rebecca Minkoff and River
Island teamed up with Google Cardboard
as a way to exhibit their wares and new
collections. Having filmed the Rebecca
Minkoff Fall 15 runway show, users were
able to download the show on to their
smart phone and from a simple head
movement you could be given a sweeping
view of the entire show, from the runway,

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to the photographers, or to audience

members. Not to mention, the Cardboard
was given a high fashion makeover!
"Virtual reality is going to fundamentally
transform the human experience of
shopping," a report from digital agency
Sapient Nitro said, predicting that it would
"lift sales for those retailers who get ahead
of the curve."

Virtual Reality in India

In an ever-crowded online retail space
content is more relevant than ever
before. As a result content innovation is
moving rapidly as retailers look to find
new ways to engage with customers, build
brands and drive revenue.
With time not many but there are few
companies in India who have got into
Virtual Tryons to engage their consumers
and are trying to build Brane Value on
Virtual Reality, Lenskart and ShopperStop
are to name few.
Lenskart
Online shopping for eye wear brings just
one name to Indian mind, LensKart.com.
Pioneering a revolution in the online
market, LensKart.com has made what
most Indian Shoppers thought of as
impossible, a virtual reality now.
Introducing the Virtual Mirror, the first of
its kind on any e-commerce portal
LensKart.com lets you try on what you
buy,
before
you
buy!
The Virtual Mirror is LensKart.com s
next step into making shopping online for
Prescription as well as Fashion Eye wear
even more simpler. With every pair or
glasses you like, you now have the option

to try it on. Simply select the product,

click on the tab 3D TRYON, where you
it would ask you for the access for camera.
Then it would ask you to do simple
movements and the portal would record
you. It trys to make measures and all that s
needed, the whole process is not more than
5minutes. And then you are all set to go.
There is no limit to the number of tries or
to the range of products to choose from.
The Virtual Mirror is literally your online
mirror, where you can see yourself, move
your head to different directions which one
would do in a brick and mortal store and
have a look at the glasses on you from
every direction.LensKart.com guides you
through the entire process and helps you to
select the frame that suits you best. Its all
about the customers, and LensKart.com
makes it just that. With the largest
selection in Eyewear and Lenses, and now
its Virtual Mirror, LensKart.com promises
only the best at unbeatable prices and the
fastest of guaranteed services. Later when
you go back to search new frames the
whole website would have you in place of
the face of model so that now you select
which you like and after selecting the
frame you just need to check the frames
from different angles.
ShopperStop
They are bringing VR and AR to bricksand-mortar.
They have launched an innovative
augmented reality-based dressing room.
The Magic Mirror is an intelligent photo
booth that gives customers the option to
select and view apparel and accessories on
themselves without having to physically
'try on' the desired products.

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A first-of-its-kind in a department store in

India, the Magic Mirror will enable
customers to swipe through 1500 products,
which can be mixed and matched as
desired. Aanchal Kumar (Indian Model)
was spotted amongst the many festive
shoppers queuing up to try the Magic
Mirror. She said, "Shoppers Stop's Magic
Mirror is a really fun and fascinating
concept. I've virtually tried on about 25
dresses in a matter of seconds and without
needing to use a trial room at all. How cool
is that?
Tailorstore.com
Tailor Store is an online store where in you
can create and order comfortably your
personal made to measure shirt. All you
need is to select a fabric or garment from
the existing gallery, design your garment
in 3D designer, and add three easy
measurements to size: me guide or
measure an existing shirt. They provide
customization of shirts and suits using
virtual body form taking measurement of
your body, so the product you get is
absolutely fitting your body and is
uniquely designed for you.

In India, virtual reality is a new born

concept and it requires a lot of awareness
to completely take over the real hit and
trial world.
The survey was done for hundred people
all around India, especially in the
metropolitan cities. The female to male
ratio was almost equal. The age group that
responded most and is most active online
is the 19-25 year old categories. And the
study shows that students are the very
frequent users who often browse through
the internet.
Some major analysis reports:

Survey Analysis
A survey was conducted all over India,
about how the people respond to virtual
reality in India. The objective was to arrive
at a conclusion, that whether the people in
India welcome the presence of virtual
world in near future.
As the world is moving towards attaining
automation, then why not we move a step
up in the world of fashion and clothing.
Gone are those days when clothes doesnt
fit you perfectly or stand in long queues to
get your perfect measurement chart.

Most people about 80% do online

purchases as per their need. Sales
curve go high during peak seasons
of festivals and wedding seasons.
Clothing with 83% is the most
preferred category, reason being
ease of access and variety, which is
followed by electronics (43%),
reason being the brand value and
assurance.( when asked for, Mr.
Dimpu Vivek, Sr. merchandiser,
Raymonds, India speaks about it.
Other analysis is also based on the
talk we had with him.)
The study says people browse
through the internet and window
shop whenever they find some free
time. Its an easy and convenient
way to check what is new in the
market, what sells the most and it
gives a fair idea of cost too.
Moreover most people browse
through to check discounts and
offers as websites provide a lot of
it. Maximum people do window
shopping online once a month and
31% do not browse if they do not
want to purchase.
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The problems they face while

shopping online was with the
delays in delivery. 48% people face
problems with delivery. Many
others face the problem with size as
India doesnt have a standard size
guide, they follow European, US,
and UK size guide. Definition of
size differs from brand to brand
too. Ex- small for Aurelia (Indian
brand) is medium for Biba (An
Indian ethnic brand). Whereas
surprisingly people have less
payment issues. It seems that the
online sites are gaining over trust
of people to share their credit card
details by directing the payment to
a secure page.

To know the situation better we

selected two online websites who offer
virtual solutions. This was to check the
awareness among people towards
already existing virtual reality. One
was Lenskart and the other was
Tailorstore.

68% people use Lenskart

whenever they felt the need,
while 29% never used it.
The site provides with many
features including first frame
free, free eye checkups, free try
at home, and free 3D try on.
Maximum people(87%) tried
the first frame free option, 3D
try on was used by 43% . this
shows that though a lot of
people prefer 3D try on but the
number of people who never
tried leads the race.
People find the feature of 3D
better and do not feel the need
of try at home feature. It is

convenient and saves time too.

They find the results to be
accurate
and
trustworthy.
Maximum claim that this
feature turned their shopping
experience to be better.
While most people say yes to
virtual reality in different
categories, there are still 30%
people who are still confused
about it. May be a better
description or some additional
features and awareness could
successfully
knock
the
confusion out.
Comparatively 94% of people
have used tailor store as per
requirement.
This
clearly
supports the fact that clothing is
the most preferred category
online.
55% of people have tried
customizing their garment
according to their own size and
fit, whereas the other half of
people are still to discover the
magic of customization.
82%
of
people
prefer
customised clothes over ready
to wear garment. Reason being
quite obvious, who doesnt
want a garment with perfect
size and fit, which drapes
perfectly to your body and is
exclusively made for your body
type.

Conclusion
Though a lot of people (maximum)
show positive response to the
arrival of virtual reality, there are
still a few left who need to be told
the benefits of it. There is a lot of
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lot of scope for the online

companies in this field. They can
provide customers with hassle free
customization feature, proper size
and measurement guides, create
virtual arena where in people can
create their own virtual 3D body
form and try their outfits to check
how it fits them or look up on
them. Also a little awareness about
what actually virtual reality is ,
could increase the demand of it.
According to the analysis, future
India is ready for the virtual world,
so its time for the online websites
to buck up and start introducing
and
maximizing
the
scope
wherever possible.

References:

Chakraborty, K. D. and Chatterjee,

D., E-Commerce, B. B. Kundu
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E-commerce Business Models and
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Computing & Business Research,

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