PhonePe's Pincode: All set to Revolutionize hyperlocal ecommerce

PhonePe, a digital payments platform owned by Walmart, has launched Pincode, a new shopping app in collaboration with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), which is an initiative of the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce. Pincode is a buyer app that aims to offer a revolutionary approach to e-commerce by prioritizing local stores and sellers. Pincode is currently available for download on both Google Play and the App Store and will focus on hyperlocal commerce, starting with six major categories, including grocery, food, pharma, electronics, home decor, and fashion.

Pincode will help local hotels and restaurants digitize their operations with the open network technology, which will allow them to generate demand for merchants who have been digitized by various seller platforms in an inclusive manner. Customers can search for stores by browsing for category and can have multiple carts at the same time with one active cart per store. Buyers can also save multiple carts. Sameer Nigam, CEO and Founder of PhonePe, said that they aim to have one lakh orders a day by December on the app.

For hotels and restaurants, Pincode provides a platform for digitization, enabling them to offer their products and services to a wider audience. The app enables restaurants and hotels to showcase their menu and services to customers within their locality, allowing them to expand their customer base and increase revenue. By being on the app, hotels and restaurants can tap into the growing e-commerce market and leverage the benefits of online transactions with less commission. 

PhonePe's move to launch a new consumer-facing e-commerce app comes after the platform raised $1 billion in funding earlier this year, making it India's most valued fintech startup with a valuation of $12 billion. The company currently operates in the e-commerce space with "Switch" and has various services such as hotel and travel booking, food and grocery delivery, online pharmacy, metro booking, and other essential services live on it, similar to its biggest rival, Paytm. An ONDC foray will further put PhonePe in direct competition with Paytm, which already has an ONDC platform integrated with its application.

ONDC's rollout started with limited pincodes in Bengaluru last September. So far, apart from Paytm, IDFC, Mystore, Craftsvilla, and Spice Money are all buyer-side applications. In March, ONDC expanded into mobility as well apart from food, grocery, and e-commerce, as the network onboarded Namma Yatri onto the platform. While two cities are in ONDC's beta stage, 181 are in the alpha stage. PhonePe marks the first time that there is a dedicated app by a player for ONDC.