There is a transition to online purchase from customers and this trend is here to stay because it is the future.

Director of Him Electronics, an entity of the Golchha Organisation, Seema Golchha is business woman who believes in bringing fresh ideas into the commercial landscape of Nepal. Him Electronics produces its home grown brand Himstar and is also the authorised dealer of Samsung Electronics for Nepal. She holds an undergraduate degree in Political Science from Delhi University and an MBA degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Golchha moved to Nepal in 1991 after she got married. She previously and where she had a career in advertising in India. Golchha is also President of Zonta International Nepal which works for women’s empowerment and holds humanitarian goals. In an e-interview with B360’s Dibesh Dangol, Seema Golchha talks about the digitisation of Samsung Plaza, safety measures that Him Electronics is taking for in-store sales at Samsung Plaza and delivery of online orders, payment mechanisms, and advantages of online selling. Excerpts:

How has Covid 19 impacted the sales of Samsung products in Nepal?

Globally the economy has been badly struck by the pandemic and Nepal is also not untouched. Long months of lockdown severely affected our business, but since the market has opened, we are seeing a very positive change.

Samsung Plaza started its own digital platform where customers can purchase from Nepal and abroad from July 2020. What have the results been like?

Seeing the global trend, we had been working on Samsung Plaza’s website for some time. But the pandemic made us push the development of the website much faster than our earlier pace. The reason behind this initiation is to make shopping more convenient for our customers. They won’t have to come to the stores physically to shop. The whole range of Samsung offerings is there on the website and they can choose to order from home. For our customers who reside outside Nepal, it is now convenient for them as well to order for their loved ones residing in Nepal.

Is Him Electronics partnering with any Nepali e-commerce platforms? Are online payment gateways easy to work with, or what are the challenges?

Currently we have partnered with Daraz and SastoDeal for online sales and delivery. Regarding online payments, we have partnered with Himalayan Bank so that customers can make payments via their debit/credit card or bank transfer. Currently, we aren’t working with other payment getaways like eSewa and Khalti.

What safety measures are you taking for in-store sales and delivery of online orders?

We have been extra careful when it comes to maintaining WHO standards regarding Covid 19. Mandatory sanitisation of hands, wearing masks and temperature checking are being done before anyone enters the store, be it the Plaza employee or the customer. We have also disinfected the whole store and will again be doing so periodically. There is also a restriction on the number of people entering the store to ensure that social distancing norms are being followed. As for the delivery of online orders, the delivery personnel are being extra careful by wearing disposable gloves, mask and repeatedly sanitising hands while entering homes of customers.

Do you think the transition to online purchase from customers is here to stay?

Yes, there is a transition to online purchase from customers and this trend is here to stay because it is the future. Compared to the other countries, it came a little late in Nepal as people still like to touch and feel the product before buying. But for the new generation who is on-the-go, this trend is picking up.

How has your marketing and advertising strategies changed in the new environment?

We have been using social media for our advertising activities and engaging customers through various apps because if we are prompting customers to buy online, we also need to advertise and promote our products online.

What are the advantages of online selling?

One of the advantages of online selling is that we can display a wide range of our products on our website. Our range is so vast that it is difficult to display everything in the physical store but the virtual store can give another dimension to the customer where they can check out features and specification of all the products and compare the products which make it easy for the customer to decide while sitting in the comfort of their home.