Hopes on Mass Moving Online

Created in 2004, the Internet & Online Association (IOA) is a non-profit organisation whose mission is to make the Internet a mass medium in India, positioned along with other media like print and television, rather than the niche medium it has been to date. Its goal is to enable 100 million Indians to get online by 2007 - a sharp increase from the existing 25 million Internet users as of this writing - and to increase the industry size to Rs. 8,000 corers from the present Rs. 1,000 crores. With founding members that include Rediff, Sify, Yahoo, MSN, HT.com, and Mediaturf, IOA addresses three sectors: interactive advertising, e-commerce, and mobile entertainment.

Conducted by the Deccan Herald (hereafter, DH), this interview with IOA's president Preeti Desai (herafter, PD) explores the organisation's plans, the Internet business scenario in India, and upcoming challenges and other issues related to growth of the Internet in this country. In short, this interview examines some of trends and strategies related to the use of the Internet for e-commerce in India.

To begin, DH asks how IOA plans to draw people to the Internet - to address the digital divide - and also do business online. PD responds that IOA's strategy begins with an understanding of the diversity of Indian society, and the ways in which the barriers of cost of access (income level?), language (English-educated?), and mindset (receptive to new technology?) complicate issues of access for consumers, businesses, and the government. In this context, IOA is developing two approaches, one that is focused on reaching out to the masses through programmes that are "essentially 'one size fits all' in nature." A second strategy is "to deepen our efforts by tailoring relevant programs for the different population segments to cater to their different needs, abilities and interests."

In response to a question about online marketing and communication, PD indicates that a shift is being necessitated among advertisers to cater to "the increasingly self-reliant consumer [who] is empowered and demands more detailed and balanced information." For IOA, this indicates "the beginning of what we believe may be a robust double-digit growth for online publishers....We believe over the next three years, we will see a major evolution in the way marketers use online media - and we will soon showcase it by cross media research and events." DH names some of the segments that may be well-positioned to tap into this potential growth; among them are financial services, travel and automotive industries, personal services, and entertainment. However, she acknowledges that "No matter how large the marketing budget, there is no replacement for a positive review from a human being - word of mouth."

The interview next shifts direction to a discussion of B2B (business-to-business) and B2C (business-to-consumer) e-commerce. (For a primer on these terms, click here to read Susannah Patton's "The ABCs of B2C" on the E-Business Research Center website). DH asks, "Though the B2B kind of activity taken off in a big way in India, we don't similar enthusiasm in the B2C market. Why?" PD replies that "growth in e-commerce, is currently spurred by increase in couple of categories travel and ticketing sales, electronic gadgets, household appliances and the popular gifting category plus a general confidence on the part of consumers. There is a still a perception that online e-commerce is not moving, which is not true as the per the current trend consumers love buying online and at least 8 per cent of online consumers are shifting their purchases from off-line to online."

IOA's strategy to help foster that growth will include, first, conducting consumer-led surveys to reach out to the Indian public concerned about security/privacy and, second, lobbying with the government to implement proactive legislative measures that address the tax norms in various States.