Shopsy steps up efforts to reach millions of shoppers in rural India | Start Ups

“The Bharat shopper probably does some e-commerce transactions today, but it’s not exactly like the metropolitan consumer, who is arguably now an e-commerce native. We are looking at those consumers and asking ourselves if we can be the horizontal hyper-value platform for all their needs,” Agarwal said.

The primary focus is on the Bharat consumer, particularly households with an annual income of less than Rs 10 lakh.

These consumers are in Tier II and lower-tier markets. Shopsy said it aims to meet their needs effectively with the right price and product range.

For instance, the platform has expanded into multiple categories including kidswear, budget mobile phones and large appliances, enabling it to meet the basic needs of the Indian consumer. It is also expanding into large appliances and electronics.

“We are opening a lot of categories almost every quarter. We have noticed that entry-level prices and models are gaining traction immediately, reflecting the preferences of our Shopsy consumers,” Agarwal said.

In fact, the e-commerce sector in India is poised to experience five-fold growth, from $59 billion in 2022 to around $300 billion in 2030. This will be driven by “mass” consumers looking for value, says a report by Redseer Strategy Consultants. Shopsy is competing with SoftBank-backed Meesho and Amazon Bazaar to tap into this market.

“I don’t focus on what is happening behind the scenes with the competition. I think we have a good value proposition and we offer it to the consumer,” Agarwal said.

“There is a Bharat in every state. In my previous experience, I have analysed each Bharat and determined what is the unmet need that the consumer is looking for and then proceeded to fulfil it. I believe there are enough opportunities.”

Nearly 70 percent of Shopsy’s customers are from tier 2 and tier 3 cities such as Bhagalpur, Bankura, Kurnool, Nagaon and Dhule, and 90 percent of its new customers are millennials and Gen Z.

In 2024, Shopsy’s highest orders came from UP, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Bihar, with over 60 percent of customers hailing from Tier III cities.

Promotion and facilitation agency Invest India underlines the growing importance of rural-centric e-commerce and anticipates that a significant portion of demand will originate from Tier II to IV cities and rural areas by 2026.

Since its launch in 2021, Shopsy has achieved over 330 million downloads. It leverages Flipkart’s extensive supply chain and diverse product range to build strong customer trust.

This has helped it offer affordable products across 1,300 categories, expanding its reach to over 19,000 zip codes.

It has a community of 1.4 million sellers (including Flipkart) from cities and towns across India. Its product portfolio spans over 160 million products across categories.

Agarwal said Shopsy is committed to technology-driven improvements, making the platform accessible, efficient and tailored to the needs of its diverse customers.

For example, Shopsy focuses on providing a seamless shopping experience on affordable devices by continuously improving its app to make it more efficient and lightweight.

This allows customers to easily locate and purchase products, even in areas with limited Internet access.

The platform optimized the size of its application last year by 15 percent.

The focus is also on an intuitive user interface and strong support for vernacular languages ​​to meet diverse customer needs.

Using AI and machine learning, Shopsy offers personalized product suggestions for consumers in Bharat.

First published: August 7, 2024 | 22:48 IS