Askmebazaar to expand next day delivery to 50 cities, searching for local product mix

Last month ecommerce marketplace Askmebazzar announced plans to take its hyperlocal offering of ‘Next Day Delivery (NDD) at no extra cost’ to fifty cities in two months. The online company is on course to reach its target after launching in Ahmedabad recently.

The Next Day Delivery (NDD) service picks up the products of multi-brand retailers and wholesalers in an Indian city and delivers the orders to the consumer at no extra cost. Its platform is utilised by B2B and B2C buyers and has a product range which includes items such as white goods, kitchen appliances and vitrified tiles.

NDD Journey so far

• Over the last one month Askmebazaar launched the NDD service in 23 cities.

• It expects that the NDD service will increase its average daily transactions of 500 to ten times that amount by the end of this fiscal.

• The company plans to increase from the current 2,000 sellers to having 5,000 sellers on board by November.

Right Product mix

As the company rolls out the Next Day delivery service, it is placing three on-ground executives in each city to ensure it is able to soak up the local flavour and ensure the regional tastes and market trends are reflected in its product range.

“Each city would have a different product mix. For instance, if Ahmedabad does not buy a particular brand of mobile handsets, the platform would not list the brand at all,”said Marichi Mathur, head, Next Day Delivery (NDD), Askmebazaar.

Recently Askmebaazar announced that it would be getting into the fashion and travel verticals by 2016. Last year it ran a massive advertising campaign, using Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut as a brand ambassador to gain brand awareness. Its latest hyperlocal push is almost certain to further build brand equity and also enhance the new verticals it is set to enter.