mobile phones
Pickaboo: Story of successful electronics eCommerce platform
Pickaboo, the largest omnichannel e-commerce startup has built its strong position in the mobile phones and tech gadgets category, which is believed to be the largest vertical in ecommerce. Started in 2016, Pickaboo has become one of the trustworthy e-commerce platforms for tech consumers in Bangladesh. Although there have been rumors in 2019 that the company was going to stop their operation as the parent company Edison group did not want to invest more in Pickaboo.
However, there were not any reliable sources for that rumor, but Pickboo did get external investment last year, hence they survived. Today, we will get to know the story of Pickaboo.
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According to Pickaboo, they claimed as themselves “the largest one-stop shopping destination in Bangladesh.” This e-commerce platform offers a wide range of products which includes household appliances to electronic items, cameras, the latest smartphones, accessories, health equipment, and more.
Pickaboo offers the most efficient delivery service via their own logistics system so that the customers get prompt and hassle-free product delivery at their doorstep. The company works with local and international vendors along with 200 brands and serves all over Bangladesh.
Nevertheless, the free return service from Pickaboo sets an example for Bangladesh’s e-commerce industry. They offer various payment systems, such as cash on delivery, card, online payment system, and bKash.
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How Pickaboo became the dominant player in the mobile and gadget sector?
Although Pickaboo has different product categories, apparently they were overly focused on a single category, which eventually worked in its favor. As a result, the company walked towards leading the market in the mobile and gadget sector. However, it faces competition from other top e-commerce players as mobile is the largest and most demanded category in e-commerce. But, among the competitors, Pickaboo is ahead as they constructed a strong position by using its domain expertise.
Usually, successful e-commerce platforms are often taking aggressive steps with the longest collection of products. For example, Amazon started their business with one vertical and gradually added more products to their line. Now they decisively grabbed almost all the product lines in the world. However, Pickaboo stayed exclusively on one product vertical and will continue to focus on that which is mobile and gadgets.
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By focusing on one product vertical, a company can compete better and can go deeper. And this is what Pickaboo applying in their business. Normally, a startup is a resource-constrained entity. Therefore, if a business has a limited product, there is a good chance that it will become an expert on that. And ultimately this applies to Pickaboo as they have been focusing on mobile and gadgets since 2016. Here comes the 80/20 rule to support them.
According to the 80/20 principle, 20% of the product brings 80% of the profit. Hence, concentrating on one element, instead of focusing on a broad range, brings success early. Pickaboo has been successful by applying this rule and has become a role model for the overall e-commerce industry in Bangladesh.
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Declining stage to comeback
Pickaboo had a declining phase in early 2019 when the parent company denied investing (according to a rumor/source). But the company returned to the track in mid-2019 as they received funding of $700k in the seed round. After that in late 2019, the company returned with a new website, new app, and new product in a completely different way. Further Pickaboo’s business-to-business and business-to-consumer website is underway too.
According to Pickaboo official, it has so far been just an e-commerce platform. From now on the site will take shape in the marketplace. The new investments were used to emphasize customer service, product procurement, and building new technologies.
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According to Pickaboo’s CEO Morin Talukder, Pickaboo’s core strengths are customer service, genuine products, and fast delivery. Pickaboo is the only marketplace in the country that ensures the highest quality products as well as fast delivery. Delivery service is being launched on the same day in Chittagong. If customers choose the fast pick option when buying the product, the buyers will get the product on the same day and the normal delivery takes 2 to 3 days. Pickaboo was able to provide this service as it uses its delivery system without relying on any other courier service or delivery chain.
Even though electronics and gadget items have been sold in Pickabu for so long, lifestyle products are added after the investment. All kinds of lifestyle products can be found in Pickabu. At the same time, a lot of new things will be added in the case of ordering products from the site. Further, if the business to consumer is launched, different merchants will be able to post information for selling their products on the site, the price will also be different. As a result, buyers can buy the lowest price.
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Started offline journey
After dominating the online mobile and gadget market, Pickaboo began its offline store in February 2020.
This time the domestic ecommerce site Pickabu.com also started offline. The company has launched online as well as offline shops for mobile phones and gadgets. Pickaboo plans to become the largest smartphone retailer online and offline where shoppers can shop with confidence. Pickabu.com is already a trusted place to buy mobile and electronic products online, that's why they expanded their business offline intending to provide the same service offline.
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Usually, ecommerce does not have any physical outlets. What Pickabu will sell online will also sell specialized products offline. Mobile and gadget retail shops will be offline. Currently, they have 7 offline stores in Dhaka and Chittagong, though, they had a goal to launch more than 30 offline shops in the country's divisional and major district towns. Buyers will be able to obtain the best customer satisfaction by purchasing products from these stores.
Final thoughts
According to Pickaboo, they will continue their expansion in the mobile and gadgets category. The company has included new features which include Tempt, Buy now pay later, fast pick, club points, official 12 months warranty, exchange program, and more. In the coming days, they aim to continue to innovate vertically and keep dominating the mobile and gadgets industry.
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3 years ago
Harmful Effects of Mobile Phones on Children’s Health
It often happens that we give our phones to children to entertain them. They watch cartoons or listen to music and use the phone as a toy. We underestimate children’s capability of learning things and don’t bother ourselves thinking about how mobile phones can affect their growth of mind. We care less about whether a phone is harmful or not for children’s health. But it's really alarming how phones can affect children's bodies and mind negatively.
Effects of Mobile Phone on Children’s Physical Health
Media use like movie and drama watching, video gameplay, doing everything on mobile, etc., can severely damage the physical condition of children. Different streaming services, gaming apps, and social media can be accessed from mobile phones nowadays. Here are some serious damages mobile phones occur to kids’ bodies:
Sleeping Issue
Cell phones with backlights produce light with short-wavelength, known as blue light. LED lights produce blue light, which is proven to diminish or delay a person's natural synthesis of melatonin at night, as well as lessen sensations of drowsiness.
Children are especially vulnerable to sleep difficulties caused by blue-light-emitting electronic gadgets. Many studies had shown a connection between using screen time before bed and increased sleep latency, which is the average time someone takes to fall asleep. Furthermore, children who are accustomed to using these gadgets at night often do not get enough sleep and feel weary the following day.
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Obesity
Spending more time on phones lessens children's interest to go outside and playing with other playmates. They are being habituated to play on phones and losing the innate nature of venturing outside and doing physical work. It has increased the rate of being obese among children.
Food marketing might also influence dietary choices that lead to children's weight gain. Advertising bombards teenagers' eyes via social media and various streaming videos or music material. Seeing the meal on phones with influencing colors and punchline marketing may elicit an instant desire. Advertising may sometimes be deceptive, conveying signals about a food's healthiness that aren't always true.
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Back and Neck Pain
Pain in the back and neck are caused by strain on a person's spine and is often known as cervical discomfort. Such pain has now become the most prevalent kind in a child's body. The use of devices for extended periods of time adds to each of these problems, resulting in greater discomfort. The constant use of devices contributes the most to the cause of this issue.
Poor posture when sitting, sleeping, studying, or using a smartphone for extended periods of time without changing their position and sitting incorrectly causes neck and back discomfort from a young age. Cervical issues at such a young age are very dangerous since they tend to last a lifetime, impacting the child's gesture for the rest of his or her life if not addressed promptly.
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