Shopo, the Snapdeal-owned mobile-only marketplace which works on a zero commission model for vendors, will get a massive $100 million investment from its parent Snapdeal to enhance tech and build brand.
Talking to PTI about his company’s plans with Shopo, Snapdeal co-founder and CEO Kunal Bahl says,
Over the next two years, we will invest about $100 million in ramping up technology and brand building. We are also working on a community of ‘Shopo angels’ to drive consumer engagement.
Shopo, as per Bahl, already has over 20,000 shops listed on its platform without any sort of marketing. Bahl says, that the response his company has received just via word of mouth, has been “overwhelming”.
Shopo, which went live a couple of months back, is a mobile only marketplace — developed by a 14 member team and acquired by Snapdeal a couple of year back. However, ever since its acquisition, the app remained in a sort of stealth mode, only to be re-launched in July this year.
The app lets SMBs and small shop owners to go online, without any requirement of official documents or verification process at first. Another advantage which these owners get via Shopo, is the zero commission model, wherein shop owners get to keep every penny they earn via Shopo, without sharing any amount as commission.
Shopo will also give Snapdeal, more sellers for its own business. As an example, small shop owners, homegrown artists, housewives or anyone who does not have a TIN/TAN number or a value-added tax (VAT) registration, can start selling almost immediately at Shopo. Once established, they can get necessary documentation done and graduate to Snapdeal.
Inspired by Alibaba’s (an investors in Snapdeal) Taobao marketplace, Bahl said about Shopo,
Sellers can use our logistics and payment gateways, just like they would use any other courier service. It is just about making the seller experience a hassle-free one,
Look at the Taobao model, we are just like them. We can look at options like advertising to make money. The idea of Shopo is to bring online as many sellers as possible.
While Shopo’s launch, Snapdeal had mentioned, that they are currently targeting to bring as many as 1 Million sellers online in the next one year. The app is currently available on iOS and Android.
