LoveLocal, one of India’s leading hyperlocal eCommerce platforms, has enabled over 7500 local retailers in Mumbai to continue selling online during the pandemic’s second wave induced lockdowns.
These retailers primarily belong to the daily essential category, ranging from groceries, medicine, fruits & vegetables, bakeries to local meat & fish shops. During this time, LoveLocal also helped the retailers by sending eCommerce certificates to stores & their staff, enabling them to continue home delivery for online orders without hindrance if questioned by the authorities.
The areas in Mumbai that received the highest number of enquiries to sell online were Kandivali, Dombivali, Kalyan, Malad, and Virar. The platform also saw an increase in the customer base by over 45000 during the second wave. LoveLocal is currently the only platform that offers a complete shop digitization solution for retailers that is completely free with no onboarding fees, margins or commission. The platform includes a user-friendly consumer app, complete customer service support, frictionless storefront creation, cataloguing, digital payments, logistics, and more.
Local retailers came to the forefront during the pandemic by catering to customers’ daily essential needs, as organised retail and large eCommerce platforms were unable to meet the surge consumer demands. Over time, consumers became conscious of the need for contactless service, to minimize the risk of infection, resulting in a 60% increase in search for ‘home delivery’ and ‘how to pay online’. For the first time, rural internet users in India surpassed the urban internet users by 10% in 2020, at 227 million, indicating that the entire country is moving online. Retailers, too, adapted to the shift in consumer buying behavior.
Akanksha Hazari, Founder & CEO, adds, “It is awe-inspiring to see how informed and prompt the local retailers are to embrace the digital transformation. During the second wave, we received over 40000 inquiries from the local retailers in Mumbai alone to sell online. Our customers were also better prepared for the second wave, as the average order value on the platform increased from Rs.400 to Rs.700 at the onset of the pandemic. The revenue of our popular local retailers reached Rs.8 lacs per month on our platform. We are grateful for the opportunity to make a difference to over 50000 households in Mumbai during the second wave.”
Kalpesh, Owner, Ratna Super Market, adds, “It took me less than 5 mins to set up my online shop and start selling online. Registration on the LoveLocal platform is free, and no margins/commissions are charged on products sold. Not only is the platform simple and easy to use, but the company also ensures a dedicated account manager for support and guidance throughout the entire process. They also promote my shop to new customers and provide deals and offers to my existing ones. This platform has greatly helped me sail through this pandemic and after.”
Akanksha, further adds, “We have given our retailers complete control over the end-to-end customer experience, as well as marketing and promotion options, in addition to assisting them in making a seamless transition to digital. We are completely transparent, and would never do anything to compete with our retail partners. We do not have any dark stores and will never open any. We take care of end-to-end consumer experience for our retail partners, as well as their marketing and promotions.”
LoveLocal is a hyperlocal ecommerce platform that is empowering local daily essentials retailers to provide the neighbourhood shopping experience of the future. The platform enables local retailers to provide free, on-time delivery to their customers. LoveLocal is present in 35 cities to over 1000 pin codes, with a 96% fulfillment rate across the board.
