In world of coupons, find mega deals and discounts

A thriving e-commerce business with a potential to grow further has attracted international discount coupon companies to set up shop in India. Besides, a host of Indian companies like couponzguru.com, CouponRaja.in and others have come up and they aggregate and curate deals offered by restaurants, hotels, retailers, etc.

The increasing competition between the more than 40 sites that offer deals and discount coupons on a host of products and services spells good news for Indian customers who can end up with savings of 10 to 40%. On a lucky day, you can even save as much as 75%. Thanks to the discounts and deals offered, even luxury products and holidays are now quite affordable.   

With the third largest internet population and fast growing e-commerce, the potential market for discount coupons is huge in India. At present only 15% of the population is online and not everyone is comfortable with online purchases as of now. These numbers are set to grow. "E-commerce will grow by 50% over the next 5-10 years,'' points out Rohit Chugh, CEO, CouponRaja.in & CompareRaja.in.

Riding high on the e-commerce wave, today's discount coupons play a significant role in attracting customers. "Discount coupons help to give a nudge to the customer, thus helping companies get new users," says Prafulla Mathur, founder and CEO, Wudstay, an online budget accommodation company. "Generally, about 15% of the business is driven by discounts,'' says Mathur.

While deals and discounts have always been an integral part of shopping, the scope and extent of discounts offered in recent times has never been witnessed before. Wudstay offers special deals like the 'Rs 99/- only' deal for Goa and Srinagar launched in August, where people could book their holiday stay at a Wudstay property till 31st December if they made a booking by 23rd August.

Mydala.com, Coupondunia.in, FreekaaMaal.com, DesiDime, CouponRaja, CouponRani, GrabOn, CouponzGuru, PriceBurp are some of the 40-plus companies in the discount coupon space in India.

Besides, international players like Flipit.com and Groupon too have set up base in India. Several Indian start-ups in this space have even attracted venture funding.

"There are actually more than 40 coupon sites in India and this is not unique to India. This is the same scenario world over. Healthy competition is always good as it pushes you hard to innovate and excel in your domain," says Vikash Khetan, founder and director, CouponzGuru.com.

In a market cluttered with competition, the customer does end up as a winner. Apart from competitive pricing, companies have been offering an easy and hassle-free shopping experience to lure customers. The coupon companies curate the deals offered so as to check for the veracity and accuracy of information. "We make sure each and every coupon / deal posted at our website has correct and detailed information which provides hassle-free online shopping experience for our users as they don't have to try coupons randomly. This experience helps us in retaining customers,'' says Khetan.

Incidentally, the various coupon companies follow different business models. Thus, while a Groupon offers 'deep discounts' as high as 50-75%, other companies offer 'cash back' where a part of the commission is returned to the customer a few days after the purchase, or the plain discount coupon. "We offer a mix of discounts on products plus cash back to our customers. We also offer our customers offline coupons that can be used at the local beauty parlour or pizza shop," says Chugh.

While customers love huge discounts, Chugh feels that a "sustainable model is one that keeps both the retailer and the customer happy."

The discounts offered today are quite high as companies are in a race to build market share, but the discounts are expected to stabilise over the next couple of years. "Going forward, the discount percentages may decrease once the industry stabilises as e-commerce firms start focusing on profitability," says Khetan.

But as long as discount coupon companies offer a good deal to customers, their tribe is likely to increase. The bargain-loving Indians will surely agree that it is criminal to pay the full price when it is available at a discount.