Paytm Set To Roll Out Its Hyperlocal Business; Expects 50% Sales Via Hyperlocal Business By 2016 End

Alibaba backed mcommerce platform Paytm, plans to roll out its hyperlocal business.

Paytm had launched a similar app earlier, but they pulled down the beta version from Google Play Store in sometime.

For now, Paytm’s hyperlocal segment will focus on food ordering, table booking, cinema tickets, and deals in the neighborhood.

For this, the company has entered into partnerships with BookMyShow and Zomato among others for successful delivery of its hyperlocal services.

Paytm envisions clocking 50% of its total sales via this channel by 2016.

Speaking on the launch, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder & CEO of Paytm said,

Hyperlocal commerce is the proverbial, “next big thing” in mcommerce. It perfectly blends the convenience of buying from vendors in the vicinity and the ease of virtual retail. From groceries to consumer electronics, we expect majority of transactions to be driven by hyperlocal commerce in the near future. To tap into this extremely promising market, we are all set to launch our hyperlocal business.

According to Sharma, Paytm, which ventured into ecommerce in May 2014, said that its hyperlocal business is expected to generate an annualized GMV (gross merchandise value, or cost of goods and services sold) of $4-5 Bn in the next two years. The company plans to invest close to $100 Mn over two years towards marketing and getting merchants on board. Paytm had recently crossed 100 Mn Paytm wallet users who carry out over 75 Mn transactions every month.

Hyperlocal startups connect customers with supermarkets and restaurants through apps and deliver products on demand.

Of late, apart from established players in the segment, companies like Ola have also marked their entry in the segment with their hyperlocal delivery app Ola Store.

Ecommerce marketplaces like Flipkart and Snapdeal have prepared themselves to enter the much coveted hyperlocal category.

Last week, Flipkart went live with its grocery delivery app Nearby. The app is presently functional only in Bangalore that delivers groceries, electronics, clothes, personal & healthcare products, wellness & baby care products and household supplies.

Snapdeal too is planning to enter the segment as it bought minority stake in hyperlocal grocery firm PepperTap, last month.

Industry experts believe that the hyperlocal segment is getting overheated and overcrowded too soon. According to Tracxn, there are more than 25 food and grocery delivery startups operational in India that have together raised more than $160 Mn over the past 10 months.

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