Zomato-backed e-commerce enablement unicorn Shiprocket is introducing “Shiprocket Quick," a same-day shipping service for merchants across India, as a step to enable small and medium business merchants to participate in the quick commerce rush.
MD and CEO Saahil Goel said that irrespective of the fact that the merchant is selling five or hundred boxes a day, the service would be available to all, enabling the SMBs to compete and create a healthy marketplace. He added that despite the rapid growth of quick commerce in the metro cities of India, there is still a long road to go when it comes to the non-metro population, which is still evolving with the growth of the e-commerce landscape.
He stated that 5 per cent of the company’s business is same-day delivery across various categories; however, there is no rush within small and medium businesses to participate in quick commerce due to a lot of inherent challenges. However, the company has taken cognizance of the e-commerce rush and is equipping itself with all the components that it can use when the demand for quick commerce in SMB arises, which might start reflecting in half a decade or so.
The company is trying to bridge the gap between SMBs and buyers by helping them equip themselves with the tech stack to reach and sell to the audience in the remotest parts of India.
Chief product officer Praful Poddar stated that Shiprocket is constantly trying to analyze consumer behavior and turn it into lessons for the logistics start-up. “Even for the farthest locations, when the product has to travel from a distant city to another distant location, the maximum delivery time is up to 5 days, and we are working on creating the trust factor amongst people that if the delivery is powered by Shiprocket, it will be delivered within the promised time frame.”
The start-up claims to have 100,000 active sellers each month, with a focus on categories like beauty and personal care, fashion and apparel, and electronics, serving 120 million customers.
