CB BureauYesterday, when India’s two largest online retailers were celebrating their biggest sale days with much-hyped discounts, there were a few non-government organizations (NGOs) who had their fingers crossed. As these NGOs were listed on Gudville, every visit to Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon via Gudville meant that one per cent of the total value of the sale would go to these organizations. No, the shopper was not billed for that one per cent donation – it was the e-retailer who made the contribution on his shopper’s behalf. The shopper only had to select a cause that was close to their heart.
However, since not many shoppers from yesterday were aware of the Gudville way, a few causes missed out on the opportunity. Although a handful of conscious consumers did log in via Gudville, the opportunity to pass on about Rs 12 crore towards causes was largely lost. (The Rs 12 crore sum has been arrived at based on one per cent of the Rs 600 crore that Flipkart and Snapdeal each claim to have made in the course of the day.)
Most shoppers make random donations while shopping in a traditional brick-and-mortar retail format. While some do not mind leaving their change behind in coffee cups at sales counters, some drop low-value notes in donation boxes placed by NGOs at the point-of-sale or checkout points of various retailers. Charity while shopping online is a relatively new concept and is expected to pick up. Platforms such as Gudville are trying to make it a convenient experience while also enabling the shopper to choose their cause.
Indeed. Just as online shoppers select, compare and choose every product on their own, Gudville gives them the option to choose their own cause and select the NGO that they believe in, before going on to shop at their favourite retailer’s. All that a shopper needs to do is log on to www.gudville.com and go to the e-retailer’s site after selecting a cause. This easy diversion of about five to ten seconds ensures that one per cent of shopping proceeds go towards the cause that the shopper believes in.
‘In today’s hyper-connected world, it is possible for us to do good without having to go out of our way. Gudville aims to bring in innovative and transparent ways for individuals to make social impact and make it count,’ Subhash Dhar, founder of Gudville, told CauseBecause.
While the concept is picking up and shoppers are starting to realize how they can make a difference in the routine course of things, Gudville is working on another initiative. Called Shopping Marathon, the initiative will mark a day when the charities will get five per cent of total sales proceeds instead of the current one per cent.
The question is: will it help in raising the Rs 12 crore that NGOs just missed out on? It is not a matter of wait and watch, but one of taking action – that is, shopping via Gudville (or some other similar platform) on the day that counts.