Jabong plans instant refunds for cash-on-delivery returns
First, India's fledgling ecommerce companies pioneered the concept of cash-on-delivery (COD) to woo markets. Now, Jabong.com is adding a new chapter to the COD process: its delivery person will come with wads of currency notes to instantly pay back customers whenever they want to return a packet. Starting this week, Jabong will begin giving COD customers in Delhi instant cash at their doorstep even as the delivery guys pick up return packets. In the coming months, Jabong plans to take this initiative across the country.
It was the COD system that helped ecommerce companies gain major traction in a country dominated by traditional retailing values. But COD consumers started complaining that whenever they wanted to return a product, it often took them long to get their money back.
"Customers started complaining that while they pay immediately for products, they had to wait for weeks for refund. They complained that it wasn't fair," says Vijay Ghadge, COO of logistics firm Gojavas, which will be managing the cash payments for Jabong.
Gojavas has been testing its instant cash payment system — called GoRupiah — in Delhi for four months and now says it is ready to actually roll it out starting in the Capital. The company has already formed a reverse-logistics team of around 250. Gojavas says Jabong, after clearing a refund, will transfer money into a separate account of Gojavas and the delivery company will pay the consumer.
Online retailers have pampered Indian consumers with initiatives such as COD and try-and-buy, among others, to gain business in a country fraught with challenges for the e-commerce industry. Currently, COD forms the lion's share of ecommerce transactions.
First, India's fledgling ecommerce companies pioneered the concept of cash-on-delivery (COD) to woo markets. Now, Jabong.com is adding a new chapter to the COD process: its delivery person will come with wads of currency notes to instantly pay back customers whenever they want to return a packet. Starting this week, Jabong will begin giving COD customers in Delhi instant cash at their doorstep even as the delivery guys pick up return packets. In the coming months, Jabong plans to take this initiative across the country.
It was the COD system that helped ecommerce companies gain major traction in a country dominated by traditional retailing values. But COD consumers started complaining that whenever they wanted to return a product, it often took them long to get their money back.
"Customers started complaining that while they pay immediately for products, they had to wait for weeks for refund. They complained that it wasn't fair," says Vijay Ghadge, COO of logistics firm Gojavas, which will be managing the cash payments for Jabong.
Gojavas has been testing its instant cash payment system — called GoRupiah — in Delhi for four months and now says it is ready to actually roll it out starting in the Capital. The company has already formed a reverse-logistics team of around 250. Gojavas says Jabong, after clearing a refund, will transfer money into a separate account of Gojavas and the delivery company will pay the consumer.
Online retailers have pampered Indian consumers with initiatives such as COD and try-and-buy, among others, to gain business in a country fraught with challenges for the e-commerce industry. Currently, COD forms the lion's share of ecommerce transactions.
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