Hyperlocal apps are carving a niche for themselves

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The world has changed in the past decade in terms of how businesses are conducted, however trust and relationships still form the basis of most the business transactions, this is especially true for retail trade in India. The local vendors provide not just a personalized experience to the customers but also value-for-money options.

A majority of the consumer base still relies on the neighborhood retailer for the trustworthy service provided by familiar store owners and of course because of the availability of local produce as well as the quality of the goods. With the push from the government to support small retailers, this trend is here to stay.

Innovation thrives in times of crisis and allows entrepreneurs to disrupt the status quo of existing services. When deliveries from E-commerce websites were delayed during the COVID pandemic, it was the local next-door vendor that came to the rescue. Every big retail network was put to test during these trying times but who really helped was the neighborhood store that was always available to supply essentials to its customers.

As the lives of people are getting busier, there is a need for on-demand services, yet last mile fulfillment that also takes care of the specific needs of its consumers is still a dream away. This is why hyper-local platforms like Qaddoo are becoming more and more popular.

Qaddoo is a mobile-based hyper-local social commerce platform based in Gurugram, Haryana and is available across hundreds of cities in India including tier2 and tier3 cities that caters to local residents and vendors by creating an opportunity for both to connect with each other. Tens of thousands of people are already on Qaddoo.

One of the prominent features of the app is that it can match up to the prompt demands of the people by providing access to the nearest available supply by streamlining the process. Whether you want to order groceries, order food from your favorite restaurant in your area or home-based Tiffin services, or buy anything from vegetables to home furnishings, all are available with one click. It is only limited to your imagination what you can find on Qaddoo.

It has been a task to get the local vendors on board. In some cases, the local shops are still run by the elders of the family who are reluctant to change and don’t understand this shift towards technology, while in other cases there are people who know that this is the way forward for them and they need to make their digital presence in order to make more sales.

One way that Qaddoo has been able to provide a solution for this is the fact that the process of registering on the app and creating your store is very convenient. There is no joining fee and an automatic catalog built up as customers place orders with the store. The user interface is so simple that even a person with limited knowledge of technology can register themselves by following simple steps.

When a person is conducting a search for products ‘Near me’, it indicates a shift in the buying pattern of consumers. The customers can easily see the stores carrying that item, with their offers, ratings, and delivery services, and can decide which store to order it from. People are increasingly looking for products or stores near them as they have the option to order from the same trustworthy stores from where they had been buying for decades.

The government of India introduced ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) recently, like UPI, it envisaged a standardized set of E-commerce protocols that will provide a platform to all kinds of application/service providers to give small retailers effective tools to compete with giants like Flipkart and Amazon. ONDC will allow various companies to create buyer and seller platforms applying the same set of E-commerce rules so that Kirana stores and other upcoming businesses will be able to get a platform to register and sell their products online easily. Even though the project is in its nascent phase, if applied correctly, it has the potential to be a disrupter in the industry. We at Qaddoo have extensive experience in E-commerce and have already been working on many of these features. Now with Qaddoo’s integration with ONDC, these capabilities will not only be available to it’s native users but be effectively shared across all users that come on board this standardized platform initiative.

The priority for Qaddoo is to provide the same personalized service to the customers that they get from their local vendors. Even though it is an online company, the importance of still being able to connect organically is paramount. Qaddoo provides people the opportunity to share their views of the marketplace and provide suggestions to each other.

It also allows store owners to connect with their customers and to market their business themselves to nearby users by posting videos and images and creating offers and rewards. Qaddoo also allows users to post comments and posts to share their experiences about local businesses and gives users an ability to create communities of like-minded people for discussions and social buying.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow