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The election fever seems to have gripped the country's online and offline landscape alike. And, the online retail world is surely making hay while the sun shines. In the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, political merchandise, fashion clothing with a voter awareness theme and spoof videos featuring leaders are selling like hot cakes on e-commerce portals.
Leading websites like Flipkart, Snapdeal and Myntra have been hawking poll-related products for some time. And now - as if the market wasn't hot enough with Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal apparel, besides other memorabilia - Narendra Modi-branded packaged tea and pain-relieving balm are set to vie for buyers' attention.
These 'Modi' brand of products, which have been launched across 20 cities of the country, are soon going to be available on the online marketplace platforms like eBay, Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal.
Prakash Upadhyay, a 49-year-old Mumbai-based businessman behind the idea of the Modi tea and balm, describes himself as a "die-hard fan" of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) prime ministerial candidate for the coming general elections but claims he has no affiliation with any political party.
Modi has been a favourite across online retail sites. Snapdeal, for instance, had a few months ago exclusively opened pre-bookings for 'Smart NaMo Saffron' phones. These are designed and marketed by Modi fans, says Tony Navin, Snapdeal's vice-president for business development.
Besides, products like Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) wall clocks; mobile and tablet covers (both BJP and AAP) are also very popular among online buyers. Snapdeal was also the sponsor of online YouTube channel that produced 'Dharna all night' - a spoof of AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal's dharna at Delhi's Rail Bhavan - that went viral.
Recently, Bluegape.com, a website specialising in brand merchandising, launched a Rahul Gandhi store to sell products related to the Congress vice-president. The company had launched AAP and NaMo stores earlier. Other key players in the brand merchandising business, such as printvenue.com, are also key suppliers to political parties and individuals.
Online fashion retail company Myntra has started selling t-shirts with messages that aim to increase voter awareness and encourage people to vote. "We believe it is our responsibility to remind the youth to vote rather than only supporting a political party. Through our in-house 'Kook n Keech' brand, we will promote voting among the youth," said a spokesperson for Myntra.com.
According to industry estimates, the RaGa (Rahul Gandhi) store has yet to see much traction, while AAP's merchandise scores over the NaMo (Modi) brand of products in cities like Delhi and Bangalore, besides parts of Haryana. NaMo products are more popular in Mumbai, Hyderabad and parts of Uttar Pradesh. Also, there are more women buyers for AAP merchandise than NaMo's, say Bluegape founders.
While enthusiasm of political volunteers is behind the niche e-commerce category, an increasing interest among the youth in elections is said to be driving the sales of poll merchandise across e-commerce sites.
