Snapdeal targets artisans and local manufacturers with commission-free platform Shopo

After acquiring Sequoia-backed Shopo in 2013, Snapdeal has finally re-launched this Chennai-based estore as a mobile app-only marketplace at an event in New Delhi today. With Shopo, Snapdeal is targeting various regional manufacturers and artisans who lack the infrastructure to operate as an independent company, but have good quality products in their arsenal.

Shopo is an app-only commission-free marketplace where such independent small-town manufacturers and artisans can connect with the buyers and sell their goods. It has been referred to as India’s answer to Etsy.

Snapdeal claims that it already has over 400,000 merchants in its radar who would be really keen to join Shopo. There merchants were initially turned down by Snapdeal because they were not organized enough to register themselves as merchants on the etailer’s website. Commission-free transactions, fast registration process, chat between buyers and sellers, and attractive online storefronts for buyers are some of the salient features of Shopo.

For selling a product on Shopo, a seller can register on the app in a few minutes (a live demo of Shopo at the event highlighted this fast registration process), click a picture of the product he wants to sell, add the details, and submit it. The product is then displayed on the merchant’s storefront and he can spread the word about the product via various social media channels.

An interested buyer can reach out to seller, negotiate, and close the transaction via chat. They can share their numbers and coordinates with each other once a deal is struck. The payment methods and logistics are decided upon by the customer and merchant; Snapdeal plays no role in these processes. Buyers can seek products in their neighboring areas or throughout the nation.

There are, however, a few concerns regarding the quality control process, security issues, and product monitoring. Sandeep Komaravelly, senior VP of marketing at Snapdeal claims that merchants delivering sub-standard items or behaving rudely can be given low ratings. Merchants who continually receive low ratings will be flagged and removed from the marketplace. He also assured that Snapdeal will monitor the content and products shared on Shopo. Illegal items would be flagged and immediately taken down. Kunal Behl, CEO and co-founder of Snapdeal, states: “There are questions that we don’t have the answers to yet, as we have just launched Shopo, but we will have the answers soon as we grow.”

Craftsvilla and FabFurnish, are some similar players in this segment. Craftsvilla raised about US$18 million in April this year from Sequoia Capital, existing investors Lightspeed and Nexus, and new investor Global Founders Capital.

This year, Snapdeal has been involved in seven acquisition deals – online product and price comparison website Smartprix, luxury fashion estore Exclusively, payments and mobile top up startup Freecharge, digital financial product distribution platform RupeePower, logistics firm GoJavas, mobile technology startup MartMobi, and mobility solutions startup Letsgomo Labs.

Snapdeal currently has more than 40 million registered users and around 150,000 sellers. It raised a whopping US$627 million last year from Japanese telecoms titan Softbank.