India being the second-most populous country in the world is home to a large number of small retailers, hawkers, and vendors. These people form the backbone of the economy but have been lately losing out on customer walk-ins and sales.

This impact is majorly driven by digitisation, which has prompted e-commerce giants to take the charge. However, to retain these consumers, Qaddoo works as an enabler for neighbourhood street vendors and migrates them to a digital platform via the Qaddoo App.

“The application is an easy way to regenerate the interest of consumers because it allows setting up a digital store as well as interacting directly with retailers for the orders,” inform co-founders, Sumit Kapoor and Anurag Gupta. They add, “Qaddoo is based on a hyperlocal model and the company is building a local ecosystem to enable the sellers to go digital without complications.”

The need for small retailers, and fruit and vegetable vendors cannot be overlooked in India. These merchants are often situated in close proximity and eliminate huge time spans for delivery. Also, they often quickly arrange any product or service they do not even possess because of personal relationships. Qaddoo’s approach, thus, empowers them by providing a platform that virtually enhances their chances to generate more sales.

“India has a huge population that relies on these outlets,” explains Anurag Gupta. He adds, “As these spaces go digital, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could also rapidly improve, and Qaddoo is, therefore, committed to not only saving businesses but is also helping the Indian economy grow.”

As per Google search report, in 2020 searches for shops “near me” multiplied by 8 times, while searches for home delivery saw a hike of 60 per cent. Interestingly, in the same year, the number of internet users in rural India also crossed the number of users in urban India by 10 per cent. These searches also indicate that most people on a day-to-day basis keep looking for new options, including most commonly finding new food joints.

Qaddoo’s platform is, therefore, not restricted to only small hawkers, but extensively allows entrepreneurs like home chefs to take advantage of this opportunity. Up until this point, no digital platform has been able to look after segments this diverse.

Using the Qaddoo App allows all businesses to run their personal digital spaces. In India, a large number of service providers including home care and painters etc. also function remotely. These businesses often remain out of sight following their inability to mark any digital presence, but the app totally overturns this scenario. Furthermore, the company does not charge any commission and the transactions are end-to-end encrypted between retailers and consumers.

Co-founder Sumit Kapoor says, “If it was not for nearby stores or service providers, the pandemic would have caused even more problems.” He adds, “With the advent of COVID-19, India has learned the need for neighborhood Kiranastores and hawkers, which stepped out and provided essentials despite the risk to their lives. Also, with new e-commerce setups being introduced every now and then, customer expectations are growing fast. Therefore, due preference will always be given to platforms that deliver the products at faster rates and Qaddoo’s hyperlocal approach hits the bullseye, opening up new possibilities.”

Traditionally, small vendors have faced hard competition because big hypermarkets and e-commerce marts have always had the resources to reach a wide array of audiences. But with Qaddoo, local retailers are now able to take charge of their brand.

“Small businesses account for more than 40 per cent of employment in our country, which makes local retail a core to our economy,” informs Kapoor. He adds, “Indian e-commerce will grow to approximately 84 per cent in the next four years, and the company looks forward to promoting a fair competition even for the unorganised sector of the industry.”

Evidently enough, Qaddoo has tapped the core of the Indian economy. The company today enables each retailer situated in any nook and corner to go digital using the app. Moreover, the idea of fair competition regardless of the size of business and complete eradication of monopoly is getting attention.

Now, as consciousness increases about supporting local businesses, this hyperlocal e-commerce app would draw more support than ever before.