Merchant of Innovations: Gizmobaba.com

Innovation is the most important and the biggest differentiating element for any business. There are very good examples of entrepreneurs who have shown us innovations that have transformed whole market or markets and societies. Now, there are very few entrepreneurs who only serves heavy doze of innovation in every product from their kitty. Alok Chawla, Founder of Gizmobaba.com is one of them.

Established in 2012, India’s only online shopping platform which only deals in innovative gadgets and gizmos. Gizmobaba caters as an interesting destination for enthusiasts who wish to use something interesting and something really new. “My aim is to pick and choose only those products which are technologically innovative and that can make my customer’s life easy and fun,” says Alok Chawla.

In an exclusive interaction with Faiz Askari, Editor, SMEStreet, Alok shared some key insights of ecommerce business, industry and Gizmobaba.com.

The edited excerpts:

How did you started this business?

In 2012, it all started with my visit to China and my interest in gadgets and gizmos. I was just trying to explore the market and available electronic products in an event in China and I found  few things really interesting. Within few seconds I got an idea to introduce such products into Indian market and bring something really innovative range of products which the Indian consumers have never, ever have used or experienced.

So we conceptualized and Gizmobaba.com and launched the portal.

Running an ecommerce portal in India is not something new. But definitely dealing in products that are innovative is definitely a attractive element. How is the market response so far?

The market has responded very well We have build, so far, a customer base of 50,000 size which are spread all across India. Infact, I am surprised to see the interest from remote parts of India. Although, we are spending on a limited basis on online promotion as well, Word of mouth publicity is helping us in a big way.

5 to 10 % of our orders are coming from remotest places of India. For example, remote locations of North East part of the country is also showing great interest in our product range.

What is the kind of revenue are you generating as of now? And what is the average spend of your customers?

We are doing transactions of around INR 25 Lacs on a monthly basis. In next 12 months time, we expect to achieve a monthly turnover of INR 1 Crore. One year ago, we were doing monthly transactions of less than INR 3 Lacs. So its almost 10 times growth that we have experience in past one year.

How the online buying behavior is changing or evolving in India?

Buying capacities are increasing. People are becoming extremely aware as the information is available everywhere. Now people are ready to pay for any product which can attract them or solves some interest. Also, the payment options are available at the interest level of consumers. Putting all this, customers have now much more trust and inclination towards online.

As a matter of fact, the online platforms are also offering their products with very appealing return policies. This is making customers even more confident for shopping online.

What is the average cost of the products available on Gizmobaba.com?

The average price range is INR 800/- and the products starts with INR 500/-. But the average revenue per user or the customer basket size is INR 1200/-. We are selling more than 2000 shipments every month.