STEP BY STEP
experience.” He adds that the app has been built on four basic principles aimed at ensuring sustainability. They are convenience (allowing a service to be booked in two-three steps), service guarantee, technology: (for seamless user experience) and flexibility (allowing users to book slots as per their preference).
One of the key challenges faced by the industry is that the customers and partners take their relationship offline after being introduced which results in attrition of repeat usage, points out Sheenal Chhabra, home services expert, RedSeer Consulting.
Harminder Sahni, founder and MD, Wazir Advisors, points out taxi aggregators are offering fresh businesses for drivers while with home services or furniture the vendors have their own customers. He adds in India a taxi service is being created by the likes of Uber and Ola though in the West the aggregator model is more about offering people with idle assets and time a chance to make money. Across sectors, he argues, better services with good margin will largely be available in urban markets where people are more liberal with spending.
“The process of buying furniture varies from a metro to a tier-III town, where people can go far and deep for the best possible price, not necessarily the cheapest. They are different worlds altogether. So you have to look at the need gap, frequency of buyer, money they spend etc.” The key then is to be able to offer a differentiated product at great prices at scale.
Saurabh Srivastava, chairman, Indian Angel Network, says the aggregator or marketplace are sound models.
Limitations such as data speeds and low smartphone penetration added a layer of difficulty for Uber, which focuses on ensuring its app works well on all models and even with poor connectivity
After setting up its distribution and carpenter networks, Pepperfry is aiming to expand its offline presence and set up the largest omni-channel business in the segment
A key challenge faced by UrbanClap is the training of professionals in terms of skills and availability of tools. It invests in this to deliver customer experience