Earlier this year, we heard news about Snapdeal relaunching Shopo as a mobile app to sell all the popular categories like apparel, accessories, beauty & cosmetics, electronics etc. The idea behind this was to provide a platform for small and medium sellers who could not register and sell on the bigger online marketplaces.
From what we hear now, the online marketplace major will invest $100 million in Shopo’s zero-commission platform to enable as many as a million sellers to sell online.
“We launched Shopo in mid-July and we already have 20,000 shops on the platform. The response we have got, only from word of mouth, is overwhelming,” Snapdeal co-founder and CEO Kunal Bahl told PTI.
With the $100 million allocation, Snapdeal plans to expand Shopo in the following ways:
Anyone can start selling on Shopo – small shop owners, homegrown artists, housewives etc. Unlike the usual practice on online marketplaces, TIN/TAN number or VAT registration is not required to sell on Shopo. Once established, sellers can get the requisite documentation done to start selling on Snapdeal and this expand avenues.
The team behind building Shopo’s platform has been successful in building one that helps sellers to start selling in just a click, literally. There is no document submission and verification procedure, which makes it faster to start selling online.
Also, there are no commissions charged. Currently, it works on a chat-based model where sellers and customers can connect with one another. Eventually, the company will extend logistics and payment gateways services to users.
“Sellers can use our logistics and payment gateways, just like they would use any other courier service. It is just about making the seller experience a hassle-free one,” Bahl said.
After dwindling with her family business, into travel and hospitality, for more than 3 years, Pooja Vishant found her true love in writing. Happy-go-lucky and cheerful, she loves pink; so pink is the way to go if you want to get into her good books. The Associate Editor keeps track of even a leaf that has moved in the ecommerce world!
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