Kirana shop goes mobile

The comfort of buying from a trusted neighbourhood grocer is irreplaceable. But if that can happen from the cozy comforts of the drawing room with a mobile app and the stuff is delivered within 30 minutes at one’s doorstep, now that’s digital heaven!

Developed by Vivek Shukla, Lipok Imsong and Kulasekhar Reddy of ‘PurpleTalk’, who got together and conceived the innovative ‘Nukkad Shops’ they knew that they were pioneering something that would come as Godsend to the retailer, more specifically the kiranawallh, ‘whose business has taken a big hit following the spate of online grocers coming under myriad garbs in the name of E-Commerce’, as Shukla, a Varanasi native, explains.

The ‘Nukkad Shops’ is an app that helps people access their neighbourhood shops, browse through the inventory, order and get goods delivered at their doorstep pronto. For retailers, the app provides the opportunity to digitise their inventory and make it accessible for their regular customers, points out Shukla while his partners Imsong from the North EaSt and Reddy, a Kurnool native, nod in complete approval.

Further, it allows the retailer to create specialised offers as well as enable loyalty programmes.
The vision of the app is to create top-rated local retail market place for India and a thriving local retail eco system. All the monetisation options that it sees allow the retailer to keep the revenue from sales.

Shukla goes on to explain that ‘the onslaught of virtual shopping has impacted local retail activity to terrible levels. The tragic experience of the once popular STD booths is vivid in one’s memory. We see that most shops that were selling mobile phones are now going out of business as people prefer to buy discounted phones online.’

‘Our USP is simple-spot the reliable grocer, counsel him to become gadget-friendly and facilitate his business growth. Mind you, we don’t charge anything from the retailers,’ says Shukla
‘Nukkad shops’ is currently operational in about 150 stores across Hitec City, Gachibowli, Chanda Nagar, Madinaguda, Kondapur, Kukatpally and Uppal.

The app is available on both Google Play and Apple App store. A wider spread is in the pipeline and it will be unveiled on Republic Day.