A worker segregates and packs specially designed rakhis at a workshop in Hyderabad yesterday, ahead of the Raksha Bandhan festival which falls on August 10.
IANS/New Delhi
For years, girls and women went to the market to buy rakhis ahead of the festival of Raksha Bandhan. Now, in the age of booming e-commerce, a slew of websites have launched attractive offers that make rakhi-buying a simple online experience.
The annual festival is celebrated by sisters tying a colourful thread, or a decorative bracelet around the wrist of her male siblings as a sign of love and affection.
Praveen Sinha, founder and managing director of Jabong.com, says that “online shopping has not only saved the time and (helped people avoid) long queues at post offices (to mail them), but also made the experience worthwhile.”
“The online stores offer a refined variety of valuable gifts and rakhis to its customers. We are offering a limited and exclusive collection of rakhis as we know there are people who are looking forward to online shopping rather than buying rakhis from overcrowded markets,” Sinha said.
According to a report by industry lobby Assocham, the overall online retail industry in India is likely to be worth Rs70bn ($1.1bn) by 2015 and the credit goes to easy Internet access and the availability of broadband services.
Other than Jabong, portals like like Amazon, High5store.com, Giftxoxo.com and Giftsmate are also bringing smiles on customers’ faces by focusing on easing the process of rakhi purchases - by letting them choose from a wide array of products and delivering the products nationally as well as internationally.
“We see Raksha Bandhan as a great occasion to connect with our consumers. In line with our vision to enable consumers to find, discover and buy anything we have worked towards bringing more selection and variety in our rakhi store which is a perfect blend of traditional and changing trends,” Vikas Purohit of Amazon India said.
“Customers no longer need to fret over an appropriate choice of gift and especially wonder how to gift to their loved ones in faraway places,” he said.
Some like High5store.com and FabFurnish.com are even offering a complete pack with a gift, rakhi, sweets and tika (vermillion).
“People living in a city do not get enough time to visit relatives living even next to their block very often. In this culture, buying rakhi online is coming up as a much-preferred option,” Vineshkumar Kunhiraman, founder and managing director of High5store.com, said.