Since the birth of the pandemic, the world has become stagnant, and the losses of the companies have increased. People started losing jobs, schools & colleges were closed, and migration from one place to the other was restricted. Due to the rise of the e-commerce market, physical stores and daily vendors began to face financial crises. Only those sellers and shopkeepers who were financially stable could use the online e-commerce sites to sell their products. Hence, in May 2020, an application came into the market as a helping hand to all the home workers, merchants, vendors, and sole proprietors. Let us know about the app, how to use and avail of its benefits.
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WHAT IS DUKAAN APP?
Dukaan App is a one-stop destination for all the retailers, merchants, and customers willing to set up their e-commerce store. The app follows the do-it-yourself (DIY) system that allows the users to sell any product or service through its platform and Whatsapp communication. It focuses on redefining India and encouraging the Vocal for Local movement by leading India towards digitalization. The application provides job opportunities for entrepreneurs and assists more than two million small and medium-level businesses in India. It values customers, emphasizes teamwork, scalable solutions, best pricing models, & on-time delivery. The app operates under the ownership of Growthpond Technologies Pvt. Ltd. and manages companies like OYO, CRED, One Plus, Product Hunt, Bewakoof, and Razor pay.
Dukaan App offers more than 7M products in 2000+ cities and manages more than 2M stores that have completed delivering 9Lakh+ orders. Here users can find groceries, fruits, vegetables, electronics, clothes, shoes, jewelry, furniture, pharmacy, handicrafts, and home decor stores. Travel agents, private tutors, interior designers, medical stores, stationery items, and homemade essentials are also available on the app. The app requires a business name, address, product list, store link, and mobile & Whatsapp verification for registration purposes. You get a notification for new orders and mark the order as delivered once the order reaches the customer.
FOUNDING MEMBERS
Dukaan App came into existence in 2020 and is functioning from its headquarters in Bangalore, Karnataka. Suumit Shah is the founder that is now one of the best retail and e-commerce platforms in India. Since early childhood, he worked with his uncle at their shop and aimed to establish a company when he acquired the skills. Suumit has an engineering degree and specializes in web designing and development. He also started his business in partnership with Subhash Chaudhary, called Recemetric, in 2014. Subhash is currently the chief technology officer of Dukaan and has worked as a digital entrepreneur for Sony, Oyo, Cred, and McDonald’s.
During the lockdown, Suumit received an email from the Jockey outlet with an attached PDF File saying that now they will deliver orders via Whatsapp. Analyzing the difficulties of physical stores due to the pandemic, Suumit decided to set up an online platform for any user and seller. It is a platform where anyone from an 18-year-old kid to a 60-year-old person can buy or sell its products. The company has gained financial assistance from Matrix Partners India and Light speed India Partners. It has also received funding from Haresh Chawla (Network18), Shashank Kumar (Razor pay), Sandeep Tandon (Free charge), Kunal Shah (Cred), and Prabhkiran Singh (Bewakoof.com).
FEATURES OF THE APP
Any type of business willing to sell its products and services can register itself with the Dukaan App. It does not charge any fees or commissions from the sellers and assists in delivering the orders to the customers. It does not allow the sales and transition of illegal and immoral items like adult products, alcohol, animals, currency, firearms, and grey-market products. Prohibited items include narcotic drugs, reptile skins, wildlife products, passports, intellectual property, radioactive materials, and a sex determination kit.
Dukaan App has its reach in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune, Chennai, Surat, Indore, Agra, Nasik, Patna, Kalyan, and Ghaziabad. It covers Vadodara, Mirzapur, Bangalore, Rajkot, Gwalior, Amritsar, Mysore, Kota, Srinagar, Meerut, and Aurangabad. In addition to this are Solapur, Bareilly, Guwahati, Faridabad, Kochi, Warangal, Agartala, Jhansi, Udaipur, Hisar, Panipat, and Rajahmundry. Currently, the company is offering various job opportunities and expanding its team members. You can apply for posts like R&D Engineer, Android Developer, Backend Developer, Data Scientist, Frontend Engineer, iOS Developer, and Site Reliability Engineer.
SERVICES IT OFFERS
Dukaan App uses various plug-in to add automation, customization, and functionality to the platform. Plugins include Hellobar, Drift Live Chat, Facebook Pixel, Google Analytics, Countdown Timer, All-in-one SEO, and Intercom Live Chat. In addition to this are Privy Ecommerce Marketing, Ad words Conversion Tracking, Google Merchant Center, Pin code Based Delivery, and Dunzo Hyper local Delivery. It also uses special tools like Free Slogan Maker, Invoice Generator, Background Remover, GST Calculator, QR Code Generator, and Product Description Generator. The app offers an advanced feature called the Dukaan Premium that assists every business in expansion and advancement.
The premium package comes in two variants, i.e., a quarterly and a yearly plan with 14 days of the free trial period. A quarterly subscription allows you to link existing domains, access unlimited products, plug-in & themes, and build your own App-APK. It also provides a custom domain facility with extra charges, up to Rs 400 Dukaan Credits, desktop access, ratings & reviews, unlimited Dukaan Pay Limits, and Pin code-based delivery charge. The yearly subscription provides free custom domain, Rs 1000 Dukaan Credits, and unlimited products & Dukaan Pay Limits. It also allows access to plug-in, themes, ratings & reviews, linking existing domain, customized App-APK, and external payment gateway. The quarterly plan is available at Rs 2499/- and the yearly subscription for Rs 6999/-.
SAFETY AND SECURITY
Dukaan App focuses on safeguarding the user’s personal information. Essential details like email address, phone number, business name, and delivery address. Usage Data includes IP address, browser version, websites visited, and mobile device. Cookies are the small files with unique data codes that a browser sends to track information and user authentification. Users are free to accept and block the pop-ups and cookies from the browser settings.
Dukaan App works under the control of the Data Protection Authority and the European Economic Area (EEA). The company uses third-party service providers like Google Analytics to monitor users’ actions. It also offers parental control features and usage restrictions for children fewer than 18 years of age. The app also restricts the transfer and disclosure of information by any employer. If you are facing issues in the app, you can get in touch with them here.
SELLING ON DUKAAN APP
Dukaan App allows the users to become a seller on its platform and become an independent entrepreneur. You can start your business with registration, adding inventory to the store, and managing sales of the products. Users can sell anywhere in India through its delivery partners like Dunzo and Shiprocket. You also don’t need to have a business license to start selling your products, and it accepts all types of payment options. The sellers must have a Dukaan Plus GST registration certificate to start selling and using the benefits of Dukaan Plus.
The app also provides an exclusive Dukaan Plus feature for the sellers. It assists in understanding the market, knowing the commercial process, devising adaptable technology, and managing digital sales operations. It is free to register on the Dukaan Plus platform, but the sellers need to pay commission, platform, and promotion fees. The resellers and social media influencers promote the products and increase the sales of the sellers. Dukaan app manages the delivery and shipment of the sellers and settles payments the next day after successful delivery of the order.
CONCLUSION
The application is user-friendly and allows setting up a store without any legal formalities. It is safe to use and offers millions of products from all over India with just a click. The premium subscriptions make the shopping experience more engaging and hassle-free. The company has also been in controversies with the Khatabook Company due to the same franchise name. It resulted in taking down the name and stopping the operations from any online platform. But after the off-the-court settlement, Dukaan resumed its business operations and is available for download from the Google Play Store. It aims to associate with more than 15 million merchants by the end of the year. So, give it a try if you are unaware or hesitant to use the application.
