Political parties take cyber route to shop for cool gifts & trinkets

LUCKNOW: A tee-shirt’s an obvious, a cap with a neta’s face staid. To impress the young voter this time, numbering 15 crore, parties are borrowing heavily from gift ideas online to create a snazzy set of poll merchandise. Trinkets must qualify as ‘cool’ .

Among the merchandise are partysymbol embossed iPads and mobile covers too. “We have products like Aam Aadmi wall clocks; BJP, AAP and Congress iPads, mobile covers and public address systems,” says Tony Navin of Snapdeal. com. The company first grabbed the young voter’s imagination when it invited pre-bookings for a range of Smart-NaMo Saffron phones some months ago. “In the past year, the young have stepped into political movements in a big way. Our sellers list products catering to this section,” says Navin.

Following the need for the ‘cool’ tag are big orders from parties to online gifting stores. Delhi-based website ShopTo-Surprise .com claims getting bulk orders from various parties and organizations with political affiliations . “This is a new phenomenon. Parties are looking to use the infrastructure of e-commerce operators . We’re equipped with machines that can provide stylized products at nominal costs. Delivery time ranges between one to three days,” says Rajni Kant Sinha, co-founder of the company. Adds Navin: “Sale of such political merchandise has increased four-fold in the past one month.”

Orders came in a flurry once poll dates were announced, says Saurabh Kochhar , busy meeting deadlines. Co-founder of PrintVenue.com, he’s working on a range of products, from T-shirts , photo mugs and caps to mobile covers, laptop skins other customizable items.

“Retail value of orders ranges from Rs 100 to Rs 450. Parties are opting for ecommerce players over a roadside store,” he says, adding that 70% of these deals are offline . Factors such as brand value, guaranteed quality and quick delivery are added advantages.

The bulk order may be offline , but once available on the site, it sees an increase in individual buyers too who want to flaunt their political leanings.