Made in India 'Dukaan app' enables merchants to set up e-commerce store using smartphone
Suumit Shah, CEO, Dukaan App, is offering a new made in India marketplace for all Indian sellers and buyers through his commerce platform. Excerpts from an interview with the 30-year-old entrepreneur:
How and when did you get the idea for Dukaan?
Though the major players were able to take the blow and mitigate much of the risk during the lockdown, it was the small and medium enterprises that suffered the most. And so we started Dukaan — a DIY platform which enables merchants with zero programming skills to set up their e-commerce store using smartphone. It took us a little over 48 hours to launch the platform and since then, millions of merchants have started using Dukaan to sell online.
What are the different product segments that the app covers?
Currently, the product enables businesses across 19 categories to set up their shop and start selling online, some of which are Kirana, Grocery & FMCG Stores, Fashion Stores, Mobile & Electronics Stores, Fruits & Vegetables Sellers, Restaurant & Hotels, and many more. We are seeing an amazing response in categories like Grocery, Fruits & Vegetables, and Restaurants.
Is the app being used in rural areas?
Over 70 per cent of registered businesses on our app are from Tier 2, Tier 3 cities, and beyond, as Dukaan’s user interface is intuitive and easy-to-use.
What all is included in the suite of services you provide to the marketers?
Businesses can share customisable marketing designs on Facebook, Instagram , and WhatsApp Stories to increase their visibility. To run promotional and sales events online, they can create discount coupons to increase sales. For restaurants and hotels, our Restaurant Dining feature helps them to get dine-in orders directly from the customer’s table with a QR code enabled menu. We have also empowered businesses to accept online payments. As of today, over 17 per cent of the orders are paid online.
Tell us about your latest feature of contactless payment.
We rolled out the online payments feature to make it easier for businesses to accept orders as more and more people are preferring to pay online via UPI and Debit/Credit cards. As a seller, you can start accepting payments by verifying your details in just a few clicks, and the money is directly deposited to your linked bank account as soon as the order is marked as “delivered”.
What future do you see for the Indian digital marketplace?
I feel a lot of new age entrepreneurs will come up with their “Digital” stores and start selling online in the coming days. Legacy brands, who have been functioning the business in a traditional way are forcing themselves to follow the Digital Path. For example, a lot of wholesalers have started selling products online to their retailers through Dukaan and ultimately the retailer is trying to adopt the same “digital” way for selling products to the end consumers — so there is an in-built network effect.