What do kids want? | The Flipkart Lil' Stars Launch

We know what men want, thanks to all those websites. We know what women want; there's a movie dedicated to it. What about kids? Do we know what kids want? Nope, not even parents.

Especially if one has to shop for them. Having to find a toy for my almost two year old daughter is becoming increasingly difficult as the day passes. Thanks to all of the cousins, neighbours, the newspaper print ads, the advertisements on TV, the vibrantly decorated window displays of the stores in the mall I am even more confused what and when to shop for my daughter. Had she be going to school by now, her school friends and classmates would've been added to the mix. Moreover, the more digitally savvy kids these days are the more are the demands. These are the source of all the There will be more and more such sources of influencers, and these influencers will sway your child's mindset and in turn your purchasing decision.

In my opinion, here is a list of the key trends/factors that influence parents like me while shopping for kids:

Convenience - Shopping online saves you from the traffic, the endless rickshaw flagging, the parking woes, the sale rush and the limited payment options. Just sit back, relax with a mug of tea, click, click, scroll, add to cart, add address, payment, and wait for delivery.

Try and Buy /Return Policy - Some e-commerce retailers let you try the merchandise on the time of delivery and only pay for it, if it meets the requirements. Even if it happens that you did not like the fit/ colour or the product was not up to the mark, you can return it within the stipulated time frame.

Pre-ordering: Sometimes getting your hands on the latest merchandise before the rest adds to the glee of shopping. This feature is not seen on offline stores.

Discounts: Sorting products in any category according to their level of discounts or price is great for those on a budget yet want to shop online.

Reviews: Product reviews really really help in making the purchasing decision a more informed one. Especially, reviews which are by certified buyers help you sift the wheat from the chaff.

Gift Vouchers: Thanks to the paucity of time and resources, more and more employers like to gift e-GVs (Electronic Gift Vouchers) to their employees for various occasions.

Granted with double income backed parents with less time on their hands to shop offline, online retailers happily indulging their child(ren) with the latest in apparel, toys, books and more.

Interestingly, India's leading e-commerce brand Flipkart.com had published an article on the 5 e-commerce trends to watch out for in 2015. As we come to the end of 2015, we can see the success of most of the predicted trends especially Mobile Commerce flourishing with the likes of Flipkart's Big App Shopping days. Which is currently running from December 21-23, 2015 exclusively on Flipkart's app.

PC: Indiblogger.in

Flipkart in association with IndiBlogger hosted a meet for bloggers to announce and launch the Flipkart Lil' Stars - with a keen focus on cracking what the kids want.

.@Flipkart India's largest ecomm store is all set to launch 'Flipkart Lil' Stars' - Store for lil' shoppers. #FlipkartKids @FlipkartStories

— Gauri Kamath (@missalpao) December 19, 2015

And trust Flipkart to know running a kid's store is no child's play! Take a look at this FlipTrends 2015 info-graphic that depicts the top selling brands, top searched kid's products and the top selling toys on Flipkart.

PC: Flipkart.com

What's more according to Technopack's report:

Mechanical puzzles such as the Shengshou Mirror Cube and Rubik's Cube were among the top five toys sold in 2015 on the online platform. Helicopters and remote-control driven cars are other favourites. Categories related to children and young mothers are the fastest-growing categories in India at present, according to Arvind Singhal, chairman of Technopak.

So on 19th of December, I was one of the bloggers invited to witness the launch of Flipkart Lil' Stars at popular resto-pub Blue Frog, Lower Parel. Revisiting this place after a year, brought back fun memories of the last IndiMeet held.

The meet started with veteran blogger Kalpana Behara taking the stage to talk about her journey as a blogger and how on becoming a mother changed her blogging style. She also spoke about how a blogger struggles at times to write.

At the #FlipkartKids @indiblogger meet @ #bluefrog. Now listening to @justkalpana on Writer's block. pic.twitter.com/pFPaUJxzXz

— Gauri Kamath (@missalpao) December 19, 2015

After which we had representatives from leading kids brands Disney, Mattel, Chhota Bheem and Flipkart join for an open discussion on what influences parents' decision while shopping online for their kids. And the same points as mentioned above cropped up in the discussion.

Panel of 4 experts from @flipkart @mattel @DisneyIndia #chhotabheem talking at @theblueFROG. @FlipkartStories pic.twitter.com/rK6An0Xc2R

— Gauri Kamath (@missalpao) December 19, 2015

Next up the IndiBand 'Blunder in the Code' enthralled us with unplugged version of some hit songs.

After that, we were engaged to a fun session of Ad-Mad, where we had to create an advertisement presentation on showcasing Flipkart's new kids section by featuring certain products.

This Christmas try #FlipkartSanta aka #FlipkartKids and buy everything you need or greed @indiblogger pic.twitter.com/odm8BLbhru

— Ekta Khetan (@NumeroUnity) December 19, 2015

Here, my team opened up their bag of tricks and presented a skit named #FlipkartSanta. With
'Age of Innocence' as the theme, we represented the various stages of a kid's childhood and the product associated with every age.

So the meet was fun with my fellow blogger friends Shaivi Sharma, Priyanka Purkayastha, Ekta Khetan, Jhilmil D Saha, Amreen Shaikh, Geeta Sridhar and Sujata Tawde. As always, it was great to meet them again.

And as a token of remembrance of the meet, we got to keep the plush toy of Chhota Bheem from his upcoming movie - Chhota Bheem and the Himalyan Adventure, due release on January 8, 2015.

With this I wish all my readers a very Merry Christmas! 

Your Child's Career Planning- Are you on the same page as your child?

Once we become a parent, when someone asks us the best moment in a parent’s life, we would most probably say the day our child was born. And some years down the line, if you were asked what the next best moment in your life is? You would most probably say, the day you saw your child well settled in life.

And as parents, you would want nothing but the best for your child. Be it a shiny new toy, the best clothes, the best schooling, the best locality to live in – you will desire all the best things in life that you can afford for your family. And you always strive to do the best. Even when one fine day your child comes to you and tells you that he/she wants to become an Astronaut. You smile and say to your little one, to keep dreaming that dream and that one day you will make it happen for them, come what may. Your child continues to pursue on their passion and dream of becoming an astronaut one day when he grows up.

But have you thought about the best higher education for your child yet? Have you started planning for the finances for your child’s education? Did you #DoYourHomework for your child’s future?

Is your version of being future ready for your child’s higher education a mere education loan?

These and more questions were addressed through an interesting exercise for the new investor education awareness campaign called #DoYourHomework by Axis Mutual Fund.

A while back, I was invited to Axis Mutual Fund’s Blogger’s Meet at Axis House, Lower Parel in Mumbai to do my homework for my child's future.

About the Exercise:

The spacious room where the meet was hosted, had lined up six pairs of easels with their backs to each other.

Parents and their children were invited over and were asked to paint what they thought their child wanted to be when they grew up. Likewise, their children were asked to paint what they wanted to be when they grew up.

When they were done, their paintings were displayed for all to see.

Through the results, parents realised how different their opinion of their child’s ambition is from their child in most cases.

Through this experiment, parents realised whether or not they were on the same page as their child when it comes to their child’s aspirations.

In conclusion, I came to understand that children of this generation have the complete freedom to choose the career of their choice and keeping this in mind for my child - though I will undisputedly support it emotionally - I’ll have to also support it financially as well.

Try it out for yourself!

In case you found this interesting, just try this exercise with your child. You might just be surprised by the results!

After reading this post, you can head to the #DoYourHomework micro-site and explore the fun side of doing one’s homework with story books, colouring books for your kid and the #DoYourHomework calculator for parents.

Alternatively, you can also download the Homework App on your mobile.

You and your spouse work hard day in and day out. Now is time for your money also work hard for you. Get started on planning for your child's future, because it's is never too early!

All the best!