Pincode will focus on the hyper-local commerce market, the beta version of the app is now available to customers in Bengaluru.
PhonePe on Tuesday announced the launch of its e-commerce app ‘Pincode’, a consumer app built on the government’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) platform The app will pilot in Bengaluru with categories such as grocery, food, pharmaceuticals, electronics, home decor and lifestyle, according to the statement made during the conference.
The company plans to limit its expansion to no more than 10 cities in the first year and also plans to target one lakh transactions by the end of the year. The company said in a press conference that it took eight months to get a trademark on ‘PINCODE’ since it’s a common term. Pincode will help local shopkeepers and sellers digitally connect with neighbourhood consumers who otherwise buy from them offline.
Demonstration of the app during the press conference.
Akash, product manager of Pincode said, “The price listings in the app will be made by the merchants and sellers themselves, we won’t be playing any role as far as the prices are concerned. We will provide a minimum discount when a person joins the app.” Akash added that third parties like Magicpin and Innobits are providing us with the data of the merchants and Pincode deliveries will also be made through third parties like Dunzo.
He also said that it will help the consumers with a better and wider selection of products, and will include known national brands, as well as locally manufactured products. This will not only provide a stimulus to the local retailers, but also to the entire local ecosystem including MSME’s and farmers.
Arinban Chakraborti is the Digital Business Head of Sangeeta Mobile who has been awaiting such a platform and is excited to use it.”This venture will help us discover the huge consumer base, through this app we can offer the right prices and information to the right customers.”
ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) is the next big thing and it will lead to the democratisation of e-commerce in India, said Nandan Nilekani.
PhonePe believes that ONDC can foster the rapid growth of a new hyperlocal e-commerce business model. Apart from local buyers and sellers, it will benefit other ecosystem participants like the last mile logistics and inventory management players.
PC Rao, President of Bruhat Bangalore Hotels Association said during the press conference, “The commission rate will go down, bargain rates will be better and we heartily welcome this venture.”
Speaking at the launch, Sameer Nigam, CEO and Founder PhonePe said, “We are very excited to launch Pincode. Pincode is a brand-new shopping app and offers a revolutionary new approach to e-commerce, which puts all the local stores and sellers at the heart of the digital shopping growth story.” He further added that Pincode is built on the ONDC network, which will allow them to generate demand for merchants inclusively digitized by various seller platforms while creating new opportunities for growth and driving innovation at scale.
Pincode is planning to invest significantly in digitally enabling every Indian shopkeeper over the next few years.
Nandan Nilekani, the non-executive officer of Infosys said during the press conference that the QR system is inter-lockable throughout the country which is different from any other in the world. He said, “It un-bundles QR code for the consumer app which means a seller or a merchant can invest money from anywhere, it’s a spectacular success.”
