India’s rise as a digital economy is nothing short of remarkable. As the nation inches towards going digital with its day-to-day transactions, Fynd, the unique fashion e-commerce portal has joined its hands with the government to drive the cashless economy in the country. From 20th Jan 2018, Fynd has put an end to accepting cash on delivery (CoD) for all the new orders placed on its app and website. This move is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s idea of transforming India’s cash dependent economy to a cashless one. A dip in orders is seen due to cancellations or returns has prompted the omnichannel e-commerce portal to adopt digital payment methods as seen in the graph
According to a note by research firm RedSeer, the e-commerce sector in India had touched a gross merchandise volume (GMV) close to $20 billion during 2017. However, of the $18.6 billion GMV clocked by the Indian e-commerce industry during the year, over 30 percent was lost due to cancellations and returns of orders. While Fynd has welcomed doorstep as well as digital payment methods since its inception in November 2015, over the course of time, it made sense for Fynd to promote digital payment modes like net-banking, credit & debit cards and e-wallets more as compared to cash on delivery (COD). Thus leading to higher rates of order fulfillment.
In September ’17, out of the total orders received, Fynd faced 60% leakages due to problems like cancellations, frauds and RTOs etc. However, in March ’18, while Fynd received less overall orders, the fulfilment rates were higher thus overtaking the overall numbers of the previous months. This not only helped in controlling the leakages which went down to 3% as seen in the graph [1.2] but also helped in bringing down the operational cost as the order getting returned at the doorstep by customer still has the operational cost incurred.
Commenting on the cashless initiative, Fynd Co-founder, Harsh Shah, said, “Embracing only cashless payments has its own benefits. Throughout these years, while Fynd has witnessed high shopping volume, there have been problems witnessed due to delivery frauds and other payment vulnerabilities. After moving to cashless payments, we have seen a sharp dip in leakages and rise in order fulfilment. We believe that the cashless payment methods will open up new opportunities for us, benefit the customers and further drive our sales.”
Overall, adapting only digital mode of payment has been beneficial for Fynd as well as the customers. Apart from making transactions hassle-free, customers are able to pay the exact amount without worrying about having no change or getting money in return from the delivery boys. For Fynd, too, CoD involved additional cost and the risk of returns or thefts was higher in this form of payment. By adopting the digital-only strategy for payments, Fynd aims to boost cashless transactions and make the transition as smooth and convenient as possible for all its customers.
