Snapdeal launches SME mobile marketplace, Shopo

Snapdeal has taken a step away from its online marketplace model to tap into India’s booming Small and Medium Business (SME) segment with Shopo – a zero commission mobile marketplace. Currently out of 32 million Indian SMEs, less than 0.1% sell online.

With a rather hasty product design time of 8 weeks, the app lets one list, chat and sell/buy goods from home entrepreneurs and SMEs. Imagine Quikr designed primarily for new products with assisted social media marketing. The app is currently available on Android and iOS.

A potential seller only needs to enter his/her name and mobile number. The app offers features like hand curated listings, seller and buyer ratings, time-bound offers, and online storefronts for sellers. The logistics would be coordinated between the buyer and seller. However, while Snapdeal claims it’ll keep a check to ensure only legal and authorized products are sold online, users can flag products they deem inappropriate.

“This is the vision we articulated when we partnered with Freecharge. We believe the purpose of the company should go beyond an app or website. India needs more digital platforms to bring consumption online”, Kunal Bahl, Co-Founder and CEO, Snapdeal.

When asked why the company needed a separate app altogether Bahl adds, “Intent driven purchases are better off in catalogue marketplaces. However, on a trip to the local market or mall we don’t know what we want. Hence the use cases are very different here.”

The company is not mandating minimum limits. “One may not know how many cupcakes they can make. We might however give sellers ability to indicate they are running out of stock. We’ll start with the least number of features and learn from feedback”, Anand Chandrasekaran, Chief Product Officer, Snapdeal says.

When asked if Shopo’s model was designed more for products than services Senior VP Sandeep Komaravelly thinks it can work both ways, “That’s the beauty of it. If you have a movie ticket you might want to sell, put it up. Someone in the vicinity might want to pick it up.”

About 30 days into the launch, the app currently features around 140000 sellers and over 30,000 listings with a new one popping every 5 seconds. The company aims to earn back the money it invested after a year with ad revenues and premium listings.