To tap the wave of Indian consumers moving to online shopping, gold and silver retailers are dangling bite-sized offers to get them started.
In India, gold does not not have the same appeal to the young as much as it does to their parents. Hence, gold sellers have come up with creative ways to make the metal glitter again, by offering to sell gold for as little as one rupee ($0.14) or at 0.1 gram.
«A lot of people have been buying at one rupee. It's a low risk way to try the product» said Gaurav Mathur, managing director of digital platform SafeGold who was quoted in «Bloomberg».
Buyers will only get physical delivery of the metal once payments accumulate enough to purchase one gram of gold, currently valued at 3,200 rupees, explained Mathur.
Bite- Sized Offers
Other retailers such as Augmont, has offered to sell gold starting at 100 milligrams, one-tenth of the minimum purchase size offered in traditional markets. In addition, the company offers price comparisons on their online platform and delivery to 23 centres across India.
Such low barriers and delivery services are expected to boost sales of gold, as demand for the precious metal fell in the face of government measures and fading appeal among younger customers.
According to a report released jointly by Bain & Co, Google, and Omidyar Network in August, over half a billion Indians will come online in the next wave of internet users and shoppers. Only over a third of India's current 390 million users transact online, suggesting a massive untapped opportunity for retailers who sells online.
