Snapdeal Unveils Zero Commission Mobile Marketplace, Shopo.in in India

Targeting the SMB and even smaller sized organisations, Snapdeal has launched Shopo – a zero commission mobile based marketplace. Shopo, an open marketplace brings an interesting combination of chat and commerce to the consumer on their smartphones.

Currently less than 0.1% of the SMB’s in India have online presence, and Shopo is trying to address this opportunity by creating a platform which is very easy and convenient for the shop owners to set up their shop.

Shopo takes zero commission, zero fees and single step easy listing. Individuals can become sellers at the click of a button and can start selling their products ranging from cupcakes to pickles to handmade toys to collectibles, day to day fashion and utility products. With the help of Shopo, Shop owners can chat and sell to prospective customers, directly interact with prospective buyers on the platform and choose a mutually convenient mode of transaction as well as delivery.

Shopo helps in discovering amazing range of products from scores of sellers near and far. Through chat, the idea is to enable buyers get more information, negotiate for a better price, arrange for pick up and close transactions - just like in real life.

Introducing Shopo, Kunal Bahl, Co-Founder and CEO, Snapdeal said, “We are building the most impactful digital commerce ecosystem in the country and are committed to make the experience convenient, efficient and mutually rewarding for consumers and sellers. Mobile is one of the key drivers fuelling the growth of e-commerce in the country. In line with this, we have launched Shopo - a mobile based open marketplace that will allow businesses as well as individuals to harness the power of the internet instantly and at zero cost. We are very excited about this launch and are confident that Shopo will add a new dimension to India’s digital commerce ecosystem. Our aim is to bring 1 million shops online in the next 1 year.”

The retail sector, comprising primarily of small and medium sized businesses, contributes over 13% to India’s GDP. However, a major segment of this market is fragmented and unorganised. Roadblocks like packaging norms, distribution logistics, inadequate knowledge of newer marketing mediums, lack of sufficient resources etc, restrict their growth and reach.

Snapdeal has been focussed on helping SMBs overcome these challenges through its digital commerce ecosystem. Taking this to the next level, Shopo will enable seamless direct interaction between buyers and sellers spread across the country through its marketplace platform.

Speaking about the launch, Sandeep Komaravelly, Senior Vice President, Shopo said, “The ecommerce space is evolving at a fast pace in India and the industry is moving towards open and free models of ecommerce. Shopo aims to build a platform to help millions of small businesses, home entrepreneurs, artisans, individual sellers set up their online shop in the most convenient way and grow their business.”