duNow, a mobile app for small businesses, unveiled a retail-focused module, that encourages local neighbourhood shops to digitise and tap the demand from e-commerce, induced by the lockdown.
The mobile app aims to transform the functioning of some of the 14 million local neighbourhood shops that are aspiring to grow viz kirana stores, green grocers, quick service restaurants, home caterers, sports and fitness, stationery and pharmacy, said the company in a statement.
“Now, in less than five minutes and for a meagre fee of ₹20 per day, local neighbourhood shops can set up their online store and do uninterrupted business 24X7, even in times of uncertainty. duNow can be downloaded from Google Play to avail a 15-day free trial,” said Srivathsan Krishnamurthy, founder, duNow.
Asserting that they were planning to digitalise 20,000 shops in two years, Mr. Krishnamurthy said the retail module was designed after intense research and market behaviour. Currently, it has presence in 34 States, 1,000 clients and a customer base of 5,000.
From a consumer standpoint, it helps them discover their nearest neighbourhood shops, enables them to search by category and provides an easy access to shop online. There is no sorting by cost, unlike e-commerce platforms, and thus, no price war is created between local neighbourhood shops, he said.
duNow offers integrated solutions for managing supply and stock, billing, payments (GST-enabled), credit management, communication and has built–in customer service features to run offers, promotions and loyalty programmes that seamlessly collaborate with each other thereby saving costs, increasing sales and enhancing customer service, he said.