In a bid to expand its base, e-tailer Snapdeal.com has tied up with financial inclusion solutions and services company, Fino PayTech, to cater to the consumers in the low income groups.
The partnership will enable Snapdeal to reach semi-urban, rural and low income residential areas across the country. Under this partnership, the consumers will have access to the products on the website through the assisted e-commerce centres operated by FINO Paytech.
“Technology and innovation lie at the heart of Snapdeal.com and with this initiative, we are taking yet another step to revolutionize the e-commerce landscape of India. We are thrilled to partner with FINO to reach out to the larger population of the country in semi-urban, rural and low income residential areas. Together we aim to provide innovative, yet simple ways to reach and service those end-consumers who are still not exposed to the benefits of online shopping,” said Kunal Bahl, co-founder and CEO Snapdeal.com.
“Keeping in mind the expectations and needs of the lower income group customers, we have created a mixed assortment of aspirational and utilitarian products. FINO will assist in sales, payments and delivery of ordered products to customers through its network”, added Bahl.
Under this tie-up, the online marketplace will launch assisted e-commerce centers in 65 cities and in more than 70,000 rural areas by the end of FY14-15. Some of the locations that the company aims to target include Dharavi in Mumbai, which is also Asia’s largest slum, Varanasi, Valsad in Gujarat, urban villages of Noida, Gurgaon, Hyderabad and Jaipur.
The website will primarily offer products across categories such as kitchenware and gadgets among others. “Speakers, Juicers, Solar Lanterns, Diner Sets, Camera and Mobile Phones. These products offer a high value proposition and have been curated on an exclusive page requiring login by FINO agent, who would place an order, collect payment, receive and deliver to people who have no permanent address,” averred Bahl.
Commenting on the association, Rishi Gupta, COO and executive director at FINO PayTech noted, “The innovative assisted e-commerce model brings the ease and benefit of e-tailing to more than 70% of country’s population not connected to internet but is aspirational and willing to explore online shopping. We are pleased to partner with Snapdeal.com in its efforts to reach out and provide an assortment of relevant products to this new customer segment. This association is of strategic importance as it allows us to unlock the potential of our last mile delivery network. We believe this breakthrough initiative could be a potential game changer in ecommerce after the hugely successful ‘cash on delivery’ and ‘mobile app’ models”.
If executed successfully, Snapdeal intends to expand this service with other partners across different locations in the country in the future.