Line, the Japanese IM app, known more for its quirky little stickers than its IM service, is now stepping into grocery delivering service. Almost a month ago, it started an Uber-like service in Japan, thus indicating its plans that Line will not be just limited to an IM app.
Line’s venture into grocery delivering starts with Thailand, wherein it will sell a range of perishable and non-perishable goods via its messaging app. Line claims to have over 36 Million registered users in Thailand, which is one of the prime reasons for debuting the service here. The current setup is on a testing basis only, where Line would offer certain daily deals, and 2 bumper discount packages every week. Obviously, they will be expanding into more.
Sedong Nam, Head of service at Line Plus — the corporation’s overseas organization said in a statement,
This campaign is our first step towards moving into developing our channel exclusively for the emerging online groceries category. In the future, this platform would display all the region’s top food and FMCG brands in a digital food marketplace integrated with all the ease and convenience of mobile at the consumers’ fingertips.
Line will also push users to use Line Pay, its global payment service, to increase consumer traction for the same. However, Line is also looking to introduce the more popular, Cash on Delivery option soon.
Th company has promised free, next-day delivery to all the purchases made on its store. The logistical headache is being taken care of by aCommerce, which is Bangkok based which raised over $10 Million in December last year. The start-up has been associated with Line for other e-commerce ventures as well.
Line has been rapidly diversifying from being just an IM app, to being a complete IM app-based corporation. Apart from getting into the taxi and shopping businesses, the company recently acquired MixRadio from Microsoft, in a bid to push for its own online global music service. It already runs Line Music, a service it launched last year in collaboration with Japanese record label, Avex.
