India | 8th June 2020: Mobile app for small businesses, duNow, today announced, the launch of a retail focused module, that aims to transform the functioning of some of India’s 14 million local neighbourhood shops, that are aspiring to grow – Kirana stores, green grocers, quick service restaurants, home caterers, sports & fitness, stationery, pharmacy, etc.
The module aims to bring a positive change in the neighbourhood ecosystem, by integrating local shops, their suppliers & customers through a simple mobile application and provides a cost effective solution for the local neighbourhood shops to digitize & tap the increased demand of eCommerce, induced by the current lockdown.
Now, in less than 5 minutes and a meagre fee of Rs.20/- per day, local neighbourhood shops can set up their online store and do uninterrupted business 24X7, even in times of uncertainty. duNow can be downloaded from ‘Google Play’ (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=in.dunow.playstore) to avail a 15 day free trial.
In the long run, by adopting duNow, the local neighbourhood shops can easily scale up and enjoy a level playing field, to accomplish their ambition to become big retailers – on their own terms and conditions!
The retail Module of duNow is designed after intense research & market behaviour. Foremost, it offers integrated solutions for managing supply & stock, billing, payments (GST enabled), credit management, communication and has built –in customer service features to run offers, promotions & loyalty programs, that seamlessly collaborate with each other – saving costs, increasing sales and enhancing customer service.
Secondly, Local shops thrive on decades-long traditional relationships built with customers and suppliers, with a strong trust factor and credit line established between them. duNow does not compromise on this existing supply chain dynamics, but actually strengthens them and here’s how –
- Allows supplier credit line facility to the shops & to continue sourcing from existing suppliers.
- Retain existing customers and bring in new customers by offering easy & convenient online shopping. duNow will provide Search Engine Optimization to drive traffic to their digital store.
- Increase visibility & customer reach that’s currently confined to a radius of a few kilometers and also source from across geographies.
- Bring down working capital by tracking fast-moving and slow-moving goods and stock up products accordingly. No need for investing or installing a point of sale (PoS) machines.
- Dedicated & secure payment link to accept payments 24X7 without card swiping machines – from 45+ banks with multiple payment modes: Net banking, Debit/credit cards & UPI (BHIM, Phone Pe etc.,)
From a consumer standpoint, it helps them discover their nearest neighbourhood shops – enabling them to search by category, so they know which shop has the product they are looking for and provides an easy access to shop it online. There is no sorting by cost, unlike e-commerce platforms, and thus, no price war created between local neighbourhood shops.
The result will no doubt unlock never-before-seen synergies, increase margins as well as efficiencies for shop owners and make buyers happier.
Says Mr. Srivathsan Krishnamurthy, Founder of duNow, “We believe data & technology can transform economies. Our objective is to make technology available to everyone like water & electricity – the most deprived being the Home, Micro, Small & Medium enterprises, across all segments. Launching a retail specific module is another step forward in creating a more integrated economy”.“duNow is a progressive model that best meet the needs of local shop owners and will appeal to them both at an emotional and business level. The momentum to digitize is building now. duNow will be the fastest way for local neighbourhood shops evolve with the adoption of technology to serve the changing customer needs & aspirations”, adds Mr. Bharath Balachandran, Co-Founder of duNow.
