PhonePe allows users to check for operational stores, home delivery of essentials
1 min read . Updated: 13 Apr 2020, 07:25 PM IST
Premium- The platform under the ‘Stores’ section has introduced two new filters ‘currently operational’ and ‘home delivery’
- PhonePe also said that its technology team is channelising effort in solving key pain points in the current environment
BENGALURU : Digital payments firm PhonePe has introduced new features to let its customers discover stores in their vicinity, that are operational and delivering home with the option of making remote, contactless payments.
The platform under the ‘Stores’ section has introduced two new filters ‘currently operational’ and ‘home delivery’. The ‘Stores’ section on the PhonePe app lists all local kiranas in the customer’s vicinity, as per their current location.
“We realised that customers want to know which shops are actually open and possibly delivering at home as they can't really assume anymore. We have solved this by introducing two filters in the Stores section "currently operational" and "home delivery". We keep this information updated as the situation is changing dynamically," said Karthik Raghupathy, VP Strategy & Business Development, PhonePe.
Along with this, Flipkart-owned PhonePe has also introduced ‘Pay Now’ feature on the ‘Stores’ page itself, allowing users to make payment directly on the page, and removing the need to scan any QR, after the order is placed.
A PhonePe spokesperson further said that information on whether a particular kirana is open is first communicated by local store owners, along with their working hours, through the ‘PhonePe for Business’ app. Then, PhonePe’s ‘fleet on street’ team reconfirms this information, and checks for home-delivery options with offline store owners through a phone call, since they aren’t allowed to step out, owing to the lockdown.
“The new features of ‘currently operational’ and ‘home delivery’ also solve the problem from the merchant’s side since they not only open shops as per government regulations but also as per stocking levels. They also want to tell all customers that they are possibly delivering at home once they are open. This is a win-win for both merchants and consumers," added Karthik.
Post launching these features, the digital payments platform claimed that it saw a three-fold increase in activity on its ‘Stores’ page, and a 50 percent rise in daily traffic on their mobile application platform.
PhonePe also said that its technology team is channelising effort in solving key pain points in the current environment, and will be launching more such features in the coming weeks.
