Coming out of the technology bubble of early 2000, the past decade has been revolutionary by digitizing the way we live. This has influenced the way we communicate, collaborate, travel and even shop. As Bill Gates once said “In every one or two decades there comes a technology revolution which changes the way humans carry out their daily lives forever”. The 1950’s saw the advent of television that changed human entertainment forever, in the1960’s it was the computer that streamlined work structure and in the late 1970’s the internet was the start to  a change in the way humans communicated, shopped, advertised and conducted business online.  From the 70’s, leading into the 90’s, the internet saw a paradigm shift towards consumerisation. As a result of this transformation, an activity that was traditionally conducted offlinewas digitalized, like a number of others. The ecommerce space came into existence in the mid-90’s transforming the way people shopped. However, it wasn’t until the turn of the century that consumers got comfortable with making purchases and spending more time online.

While in the west ecommerce companies went through an evolution phase, in India the industry has experienced sky-rocketing growth. Ecommerce, simply put, has traversed a long challenging path over the past few years in India. Internet users are hooked on to explore this medium of shopping and experiencing irresistible services, socializing, expressing their views and opinions, and transacting online. Staying connected has become the mantra of the day and internet users are now slowly shifting to their mobile devices to access the internet.

Most of our purchases online are unplanned and on impulse. What drives this impulse? I think deal services like Groupon have given us that answer. It is primarily the irresistibility of a great offer. Irresistibility does not just mean an affordable service or product, but also brings with it value, availability and longevity. All these are factors we look for in our purchases. Take for example, products like lingerie and condoms. These are products that people would traditionally buy only when a store empties out. But now you can do that online without any inhibitions. That makes it irresistible to consumers.  What further adds impetus to buy these offers is the irresistible pricing which removes any barriers in the mind of consumers.

With its dynamic nature, irresistible product and service offers and ease of use, ecommerce has become a pivotal part of an individual’s life, right from walking down the street with friends and family or while driving, looking for a nearby restaurant or a gas station.

As the internet finds its way into our purses or wallets, ecommerce has established itself as a lifestyle enabler, spurring and driving impulsive purchases. At the end of 2011, according to ComScore, 27 million Indians accessed the retail category online from a home or work computer. This year, this number is expected to grow phenomenally. More importantly is the potential of the mobile phone. Improved security is driving people’s comfort levels with the online platform and this has become an intrinsic driver of traffic to sites like Crazeal.

As people increase their visits to ecommerce and discount sites, it is critical for the offers to be extremely irresistible to help them make an impulsive decision that helps create a lifestyle.