Not without reason. E-tailing does not need the prerequisites of a brick-and- mortar retailing operation. Location and infrastructure are no longer the drivers of success for e-tailing.

After all e-tailing is conducted in virtual space. While a retailer opens his shop and waits for customers, an e-tailer has to just attract prospects to his site.

However, the usual retailer loyalty is something that is hard to gain in e-tailing. For, a Net customer is savvier and is always on the lookout for the best deal.

That does not translate into savings for an e-tailer. True, an e-tailer can cut his overheads in the supply chain.

But, that is more than offset by the enormous investments he has to make in attracting a prospect to his site. Retaining that elusive buyer is another major challenge. However, e-tailing has a large scope for expansion. Shopping on the Net saves a trip to the mall and offers tremendous convenience of buying from within the comfort of a home.

Will e-tailing work in India? Industry experts say there is a need for a critical mass for success. And ground realities are grim: basic telephony services are poor and Internet penetration is not deep. And cities abound with retailers such as grocers and perishable vendors.

But, then there are segments such as music and books where the goods can be digitally delivered over the Net. For these products, the Net is a new market. This market is being created now and is expected to widen further as time goes by.

However, there are goods such as groceries and perishables which calls for efficient logistics and an effective supply-chain managment. It should take some time before these thorny issues are sorted out.