Paytm, Shopclues’ Sunday ‘Flea Market’ a big hit with shoppers; fulfill 1-1.5 lakh orders

With ecommerce competition heating up like never before, a ‘differentiator’ is what most online marketplaces need to stand out. Looks like Paytm and Shopclues have found their differentiating factor – Sunday Flea Market.

Shopclues’ ‘Sunday Flea Market’ and Paytm’s ‘Sunday Bazaar’ are a big hit with online shoppers. Buyers from especially small towns and cities are lapping up the deals offered by the two etailers at throwaways prices.

Radhika Aggarwal, Co-founder and Chief Business Officer at Shopclues stated,

“The Sunday Flea Market is a flagship brand in the merchandising scheme and one of the best performing deals with over four million visits every Sunday.”

Processing nearly 1 to 1-5 lakh orders every weekend

Both the marketplaces are focusing on small/local brands rather than big brands. Why? So that they can offer a wide range of products at low prices, few priced at as low as Rs. 15! Similar to the weekly bazaar in small towns & villages, these flea markets have managed to grab online buyers’ attention.

“Shopping in India is a lot more than brands, which constitute a small share of the overall products sold. Our objective as a true commerce platform is to connect all types of segments of buyers and sellers, and unstructured goods play a very important role in that,” asserted Sudhanshu Gupta, VP – Paytm.

Here are some interesting facts about Paytm and Shopclues’ flea markets:

• Shopclues receives around 1.5 lakh orders every Sunday; average selling price is Rs 800

• On Paytm, 1 lakh products are sold per day during weekends; average selling price is Rs 200

• Top selling product categories are kitchen utilities, bed-sheets, chargers, decor items, pen drives, and other small electronic items

• At times, the shipping charge is more than the price of the product

What about ‘not influence the price of the product’ clause?

Ever since DIPP has instructed that ‘marketplace will not directly or indirectly influence the sale price of goods’, etailers have stayed away from offering deep discounts. This makes us wonder how Paytm and Shopclues are getting away with it.

Aggarwal clarified,

“Huge discounts are not a reflection of a compromise in quality but a willingness on the merchant’s side to clear off limited stocks at discounted rates, proving to be a win-win situation for both the customer and the merchant”.

Paytm too made it clear that the discounts offered during Sunday Bazaar are offered by the sellers and not promoted by the platform.

Paytm and Shopclues sellers, let us know if you have participated in the marketplace’s flea market sales. Were you forced to offer discounts? Was it profitable? Please leave your comments.