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To strengthen its base in the growing e-commerce sector in India, popular e-tailer <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword> has bought Wishpicker—the largest online gift shop founded by <keyword id="6431668" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="IIT-Delhi">IIT-Delhi</keyword> graduates Apurv Bansal and Prateek Rathore. 
 This is Snapdeal’s first acquisition after Japanese telecom and Internet giant <keyword id="163404" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Softbank">SoftBank</keyword> poured in $627 million in the online retailer this October. 
 The acquisition amount of <keyword id="2059416" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Wishpicker">Wishpicker</keyword> deal hasn’t been disclosed yet, reveals a PTI report. 
 
This fifth acquisition of Snapdeal comes at time when the industry is expected to reach at a value of $43 billion over the next five years. 
In 2010, Snapdeal made its first acquisition by acquiring buying site Grobbon. In the later years, it bought sports e-tailer esportsbuy.com, Shopo.in, a website that sells handmade items and fashion discovery site Dootzon. 
 Reports in the Internet world suggest that Snapdeal, which is also aiming to take on its rivals like <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword> and <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>, would use the <keyword id="6362476" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="investments">investments</keyword> from Softbank to expand its base in India. 
(Image: takingwings.com)

Popular e-tailer Snapdeal Acquires Wishpicker

Come Valentine’s Day and people (read men) are in a tearing hurry to buy the most offbeat and perfect gifts for their loved ones at the very last moment. But most of us fail to think out of the box and the outcome is a pile of all-too-predictable <keyword id="464407" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="gift-items">gift items</keyword> that tend to infest our homes on each and every occasion – be it Valentine’s Day or Christmas, Holi or Diwali. If you want to find the most suitable gifts without the least hassle, try <keyword id="2059416" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Wishpicker">Wishpicker</keyword>, a 9-month-old, Noida-based start-up that curates and aggregates gift items &amp; gift ideas from reputed merchants and helps you find the most relevant gifts as per your choice/preference – so that you won’t have to hunt for another shop – online or offline. But unlike other gift sites, this one does not sell gifts. Once you find something suitable and decide to buy it, you will be redirected to the merchant site for making the purchase. 
 Wishpicker uses an <keyword id="2059433" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Automated-machine-learning-system">automated machine learning system</keyword> for its <keyword id="2059417" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gift-recommendation-engine">gift recommendation engine</keyword> – so that it can identify usage patterns and come up with most <keyword id="2059425" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Relevant-gift-ideas">relevant gift ideas</keyword> based on age, relationship, occasion and other parameters. As a result, the start-up is able to maintain a conversion rate that is much higher than plain vanilla e-commerce stores. And the gift suggestions can be really exotic at times – right from buying a piece of land on the moon to getting your sweetheart’s face printed on a flower petal. Want to know more about Wishpicker and its offerings? Here is a snapshot that captures the start-up’s vision and viability. 
 
Who runs Wishpicker (www.wishpicker.com): A team of nine young enthusiasts led by co-founders Prateek Rathore and Apurv Bansal. While Prateek is a <keyword id="163598" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="computer-engineer">computer engineer</keyword> from IIT Delhi, Apurv is a <keyword id="6405797" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="civil-engineer">civil engineer</keyword> from the same institution and was Prateek’s batchmate. Prateek also holds a post-graduate degree in Management from the <keyword id="2059415" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="IE-Business-School-in-Spain">IE Business School in Spain</keyword>. The duo later roped in Tejendra Singh, a B.Tech in Computer Science from IIT Patna, as a core technology member. 
 Earlier, Apurv had worked as a consultant but finally left his high-paying corporate job at <keyword id="122749" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Bain-Company">Bain &amp; Company</keyword> in Mumbai to start Wishpicker when Prateek returned to India after finishing his management studies. The duo started working on the concept in early 2013 and Wishpicker.com went live in June last year. “Initially, we were operating from the terrace of Prateek’s parents’ flat in Delhi. But we shifted to Noida when the team grew,” recalls Apurv. 
 
What inspired the venture: Personal misadventures. Both Apurv and Prateek faced great difficulties when it came to finding the right kind of gifts for friends and families. “We were at a loss about what to buy and searching for gifts online simply stumped us. We were overwhelmed by the number of options available across the sites. Also, each site claimed it was selling the ‘best gift’ but that personal touch was somewhat missing,” reflects Apurv. “That’s when we realised that a lot of people face the same problem and we should do something about it. Wishpicker is here so that buying gifts turns out to be a happy experience instead of a harrowing one,” he adds. 
 
What’s the pitch: The name reveals the business pitch, according to the co-founders. As the site is helping people ‘pick’ the right gifts for their loved ones (that’s what you wish, don’t you?), Wishpicker is just the right name for it. And the ‘intelligent’ gift recommendation engine offers a never-before curated experience of gift-buying, helping you become a better gift giver who is both thoughtful and creative. “At Wishpicker, you will find a <keyword id="2059442" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Readymade-gifting-inventory">readymade gifting inventory</keyword> from across the Internet and you can customise your search for best-ever recommendations. That’s our USP for driving business,” explains Apurv. 
 
How it works: What we like about this site is the all-too-simple user interface in spite of a complex backend. For one, you need not register or log in and can start gift hunting right away, from a wide range of gift items, <keyword id="858869" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="gift-vouchers">gift vouchers</keyword>, <keyword id="2059445" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Experiential-gifts">experiential gifts</keyword>, etc., provided by some of the best companies and brands. Gifts can be broadly searched based on age, occasion and recipient’s relationship with the giver. You can further fine-tune the search by setting up various other parameters such as personality, budget, type of gift, product category and so on. Gift recommendations are also made based on the likes and interests of the recipient on Facebook. This is a real-life reflection of his/her personality and helps you select gifts that the recipient will actually ‘like’ and cherish. Wishpicker has already tied up with 20 or so merchants/e-commerce partners, including <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>, <keyword id="2059448" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="HappilyUnmarried">HappilyUnmarried</keyword> and <keyword id="640104" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ferns-n-Petals">Ferns N Petals</keyword>, among others. It is now planning to increase the number of tie-ups. 
 
As gifts are curated from some of the best brands, users can access the very best that is available across the Web. What’s more, you get all at one place, essentially making Wishpicker a one-stop shop for the best gift ideas. The recommendation engine, based on automated machine learning, has been internally developed by the Wishpicker team and is constantly worked upon to ensure a never-before user experience. 
 
Claim to fame: Stickiness, traction and conversion. Wishpicker wishes to be a Google for gifts and seems to be making decent progress in these three key areas, as per the numbers divulged by the company. 
 
Show me the money: <keyword id="6399165" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="revenue-generation">Revenue generation</keyword> happens through commission per sale. According to the co-founders, the site sees more than 150,000 unique visitors per month and it is growing at 80% month on month. The annual <keyword id="2059458" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="GMV-run-rate">GMV run rate</keyword> is now Rs 1.5 crore and this is expected to double in the next 2-3 months, given the current growth rate. 
 Wishpicker is self-funded till date but will be raising its first round of <keyword id="6364511" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="angel-funding">angel funding</keyword> by the second quarter of CY2014. “We put together a <keyword id="572926" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="seed-capital">seed capital</keyword> of Rs 15 lakh and we are now looking to raise under a million dollar for the next round of development,” says Apurv. The money raised will be mostly used for enhancing the technology platform and venturing further into the global market. 
 “The problem we are trying to solve – deciding what to gift and how to find it easily – is globally relevant. Moreover, we have an extremely scalable model as our platform is totally Cloud-based. So we are planning to go global in a big way soon after cracking the <keyword id="47445" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indian-market">Indian market</keyword>,” details Apurv. Even now, Wishpicker has a significant presence in the US, the UK and the Middle East as people from these countries send gifts to India. But in the next phase of global expansion in the third quarter of this calendar year, the UK market will be the primary focus of the start-up. 
 
Biggest challenge: There are loads of gifting sites in India but most of them work like normal e-commerce sites, instead of aggregating and curating gift information, powered by an intelligent recommendation engine. “For gifting sites, the <keyword id="5189" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="competition">competition</keyword> evolves around stickiness – it is essential to ensure that one finds the right gift for the right occasion and comes back often. But a site with a limited inventory cannot assure that and that’s where we are ahead,” affirms Apurv. 
 
He, however, thinks the biggest challenge is to build the right team. “Without a great team, your business is bound to fail. When running a start-up, you will never be short of work, and will constantly feel the need for more people. But the key is not to hire in a hurry and make sure that the candidate is not only talented and hardworking, but also gels well with the culture of the company. Because a wrong hire will push you two steps behind,” he reflects. 
 
Tips for budding entrepreneurs: There is no perfect time to start your own business. If you believe that you are solving a problem that’s affecting a large number of people and have the confidence that you can execute it with perfection, you should just go for it. Age, capital and experience are more of psychological constraints. Once you begin, everything else will fall in place.

Want To Buy Your Beloved Land
On The Moon? This Start-up Helps You Find The Perfect Gift

“Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it a meaning,” a famous quotes suggests. And in India, there is a huge controversy around this word and its various interpretations. The country’s history, architecture and literature are steeped in various allusions to love. But, this liberal outlook towards one of the most important human emotions died somewhere in the middle ages, here. Thereafter, our ancient tradition of love was highly suppressed and frowned upon. 
 
Thus, despite having our very own God of love, our youth fell back on a rather obscure martyrdom of a Christian saint from Rome to celebrate love. It was somewhere in the 1990s that Valentine’s Day began making an impression in India, before that hardly anyone celebrated it here. The rise of economic globalization, the birth of a new class of rich people and the emergence of satellite channels all contributed to the increasing popularity of Valentine’s Day in India. Later, with the advent of the new middle class and its growing buying power, it predictably became a refreshingly great marketing strategy and opportunity for many businesses. 
 
Today, we not only have a day to celebrate love, we have a whole Valentine’s Week, which has grown in to a multi-million dollar business in India. According to surveys the Associated Chambers of Commerce &amp; Industry of India(ASSOCHAM), the Valentine’s week, which had already become a Rs 12,000 crore business in 2011, swelled to Rs 15,000 crore in 2013, and it was pegged at Rs 18,000 crore in 2014. 
 
Why online shopping comes as a better option for Valentine’s Day? 
Just as consumerism was reaching an all-time high in India, growing Internet penetration gave Indian buyers a new option in shopping—the online store. This new retail market makes a better option for shoppers generally, and particularly on Valentine’s Day. While discounted rates, free home delivery and cash-on-delivery are major lures of online shopping, these are made even more attractive during Valentine’s Week with special offers. There is also the advantage of saving time and being able to shop from the convenience of your home. In fact, if you wish to give your partner something more intimate like lingerie, then you can shop for it online in your own private space, without feeling awkward in a physical store among real sales people. Moreover, you can surprise your partner by directly sending a gift-wrapped order to his/her address without any additional costs for delivery. 
 
Another important benefit of online shopping during Valentine’s Day is getting valuable shopping advice from other shoppers on shopping communities, said Mehul Jobanputra, CEO and co-founder of <a href="http://www.desidime.com/">DesiDime</a>, India’s largest shopping community. 
 
Trends expected in 2015 
With so many compensations on offer, it is little wonder that online shopping companies show a marked increase in sales during Valentine’s Day every year. This year too, certain industries are expected to see immense traction during Valentine’s Day benefitting both shoppers and industry stakeholders. Consequently, Mehul Jobanputra shares a few insights and analyzes the top 4 industries: 
 
1. <keyword id="2174941" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="gifting-industry">Gifting Industry</keyword> In 2015, shoppers can expect horizontal players like <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>, <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword> to give around 50%-60% off on soft toys, upto 40% off on perfumes and around 60-70% off on sunglasses. Some of the gifting options preferred for men would be silver cufflinks, ties, wallets, key chains, perfumes, and sunglasses, while for women jewelry, cosmetics, soft toys, and flowers would make ideal gift options. 
 
Websites to visit for gifting items: Flipkart, <keyword id="6388367" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jabong">Jabong</keyword>, Snapdeal 
 
2. Intimate Apparel Industry 
More often than not, men, who want to give something more intimate like lingerie to their partners, feel embarrassed to shop for it in physical stores. However, online shopping solves this problem for them as the intimate apparel industry is growing in the online arena. Shoppers can expect discounts as high as 60-70% off on lingerie and nightwear during Valentine’s Day this year. 
 
Websites to visit: Zivame.com, Jabong.com, Prettysecrets.com, Myntra.com 
 
3. Personalized Gift Industry 
One of the best ways to make Valentine’s Day even more special is to give a personalized gift. Gifting personalized items has become a lot easier, as all you have to do is select an appealing design and a beautiful memory to go with your chosen present. Shoppers can expect upto 35% off on customized gifting options. 
 
Websites to visit- Printvenue.com, <a href="http://printland.in/" target="_blank">printland.in</a>, wishpicker.com 
 
4. Flower, Jewelry and Cosmetics Industry 
While shoppers can expect upto 25% off on cosmetics this year around Valentine’s Day, they can also expect around 35% off on jewelry. 
 
Websites to visit:FernsNPetals, CaratLane, BlueStone, <a href="http://nykaa.com/" target="_blank">nykaa.com</a> 
 
So, this Valentine’s Day shop more in a smart way. If you still want some last minute advice or quick heads up on where to find the hottest Valentine’s Day deals and discounts, then visit <a href="http://www.desidime.com/festivals/valentines-day">DesiDime.com</a> and other such websites—there you will find all Valentine offers aggregated on a single page. In addition to this, you will also get to interact with fellow online shoppers in real time. 
 
About the author: This article has been written by Vandana Baria, Content Marketing Specialist at DesiDime.com. 
 
(Image: Thinkstock)

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