Online Cake Order in Kathmandu during lockdown (2021)
As the capital and heart of Nepal, Kathmandu tend to pick up Western Culture more rapidly than the other parts of the country. Along with the modernization and advancement in technology, most of the population in Kathmandu are familiar with smart devices and acquire one. The use of smartphones has made it easier for the population to access the internet which is why almost 84 percent of the population has access to the internet. Due to this advancement in technology now there are thousands of e-commerce sites running in Nepal. According to the data of August 2020 more than 40,000 registered commercial websites can be found in Nepal.
Youths mainly in urban areas have adapted to online shopping in recent years. Since the lockdown was imposed in order to control the spread of Covid-19 in 2020 the popularity of e-commerce sites skyrocketed. The number has been growing ever since, which has created intense competition in e-commerce sites. Some of the famous e-commerce giants as of now are Daraz, Sastodeal, Hamrobazaar, Foodmandu, Gyapu, etc.
Because of this advancement in technology and the number of consumers buying online most of the bakeries in Kathmandu have adapted the online technology. So we can either find individual websites for most of the bakeries or they can be found selling their cakes and bakery products in pre-established e-commerce platforms or applications such as Foodmandu, Food Mario, Esewa, etc. On the other hand there to are companies that are established without a physical store and just take cake orders online and deliver the product to the customers. Some of the famous online cake stores in Kathmandu are Cakemandu, Yourkoseli, Esarabakery, Cakedeliverynepal, Cakesewa, Citycakes, Mrcakenepal, etc.
As per our experience, there is still a lot of improvement that needs to be done in the e-commerce site in Nepal while making an order online because most of the sites lack a lot of features and aren’t user-friendly. There seems to be a lot of confusion and the customer cannot do much customization of a cake and a lot of payment issues can be seen as well. Therefore, a lot of customers are either to call the provided number or have to look for an alternative option.
While making an order online the customer either has some design or the kind of picture of what they want in their mind else they would want the e-commerce site to provide them suitable options or give the option for technical help, which is rare to find. A customer either chooses a design or product listed on the site or calls the company for help, when the order gets finalized there are few options for payment. The customer can pay cash to the delivery driver, send a direct bank transfer, PayPal, or esewa the payment. As of now, it’s not a smooth service but e-commerce sites are working on the make the customer experience better.
Apart from e-commerce sites customer makes the order of cakes by visiting social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram or google to place the order. Most of the bakeries have their social media page where they post regularly and have a follower base, customer willing to purchase chooses a design and can send direct messages in the application itself inquiring about the product and how they want to proceed with the order. This has been the most convenient and most used medium to make the purchase of cakes online. Most companies do invest a lot of amount in e-commerce marketing or advertising on social media platforms to attract a lot of customers.
Online ordering has been useful and provided a great service to the people who are unable to attend a function or are abroad. They can place the order online and make the payment, the company then delivers the cake to the customer details which helps make a memorable moment. Some of the companies have the option to do delivery within 15 minutes after placing an order, while some companies deliver at midnight which can be a real surprise and a special moment.
So, for your next order do check the reviews of previous customers if you want to place an order from any bakery or e-commerce site, do schedule the date and time of delivery convenient for the person who will be receiving it. You can save a whole lot of time not having to go to the store, getting stuck in traffic, risk damaging the cake, and make the occasion extra special by surprising everyone by not even leaving your room or workplace.
