Blogs

19/05/2021
How Technology and Innovation are helping modern-day shopkeepers?

People, in general, have always been caught up in the variety of changes in this world and with different speeds in the adoption of technology given the circumstances of the countries that they live in. For the Aam Janta, it was first the computers and internet that has transformed a certain section of people and slowly penetrated corporates, SME’s and has become a need for the middle-class segment of households in India. No matter the technology we adopt, there is always a newer, better, faster, and easier innovation around the corner.

That is when the mobile phones started to change the whole game which started with feature phones facilitating phone conversation and USSD payments. Before even we could realize the speed of technology innovation, Smartphones & 4G defined the order of the day for many sections of people, building mobile apps for various services. Technology and Innovation have time and again proven that opportunities for every business to acquire new customers, engage better with existing customers, reduce the cost of operations, and improve employee motivation along with various other benefits that have a positive influence from a revenue and margin perspective.

This technological era presents opportunities for retailers to introduce more noteworthy degrees of operational effectiveness and client centricity in their plans of action. As a first step towards managing their transactions, shopkeepers embraced digital payments like G-pay, Pay TM, BHIM, Phone pay, etc. very particularly post Note Bandi in November 2016. Honestly, these digital tools have brought in transparency in transactions with a great speed of payment settlement.

People including the shopkeepers started using various platforms like Dunzo, Swiggy Genie, etc to deliver/courier various commodities to their customers. Whatsapp business is also widely being used by shopkeepers for order booking. Shopkeepers began using apps like Vyapar, KhataBook, etc to maintain the ledger and day-to-day transactions. All these changes are incredible and purely with the advent of technology and innovation. The last decade has demonstrated to the world how swiftly and steadily people and business operators have come in terms with various tech-houses to pioneer their growth.

While nature is healing in pandemic times, people are forced to adapt to the new norm of virtual business across sectors largely and quickly. Shopkeepers are no exception and explored various available options to move their business online be it procurement, sales, delivery, etc. As much as 40% of respondents were keen to partner with online delivery and supply chains, according to a survey of Kirana store owners across 12 cities by a leading consulting firm EY. This led to the faster digitization of 12 million kiranas, which form the bulk of retail trade in the country. 20% of Kirana owners in metros and non-metros started leveraging online platforms to get a steady supply of goods.

The inception of QWIPO is only meant to provide further thrust to the growing adoption of shopkeepers and their business. The pandemic year has been good for QWIPO as we have seen a huge transition in the number of people accessing various apps to procure daily essentials. Our platform is robust and provides a user-friendly experience to all our customers as we studied their understating and expectation. There has been a phenomenal increase in our customer base owing to the various benefits of the business model and platform around. Our field warriors have exhibited in large numbers to our clientele how technology can weave unorganized elements into a seamless aspect creating value for everyone.

Today with a sizeable presence we continue to aspire to be a One-stop-shop/ an all-in-one destination for Groceries, FMCG, Vegetables, and fruits. It is a great feeling to witness how QWIPO can establish a virtual Business to Business ecosystem and how a single click can ease their pain of traveling or commuting for several hours just to make sure that all their goods are in place for their customers. A vast majority have seen embracing technology through their mobiles (digital) as an enabler of better customer service or greater operational efficiency and hence transcended themselves from traditional methods of purchasing goods from various markets to adopting or imbibing a culture of purchasing daily essentials from one unique platform called QWIPO.

For the majority of vendors, most of their productive time gets lost in follow-up calls, transit, and so on. With QWIPO in their hands, they can order groceries, FMCG, vegetables, and fruits all from a single-stop shop and the best part is all this can be done by sitting comfortably under their roofs. We accomplish on-time deliveries backed by technology, ministering to ever-changing customer demands all the while keeping the promise of freshness and quality. Retailers also get an opportunity to quickly compare prices between various brands of a single SKU and thus get the benefit of choosing the right brands at economical prices. At QWIPO we believe that our growth lies in the growth and development of our customers.