Mumbai: Gupshup, the Conversation Cloud, unveiled India’s first Conversational Buyer App on the ONDC network at Conversations 2024 in Delhi. The app lets buyers shop via WhatsApp without extra apps. Soon, this feature will be available to Gupshup’s business clients for seamless conversational commerce. This launch showcases Gupshup’s vision for a conversational internet aligning with ONDC’s goal of democratizing digital trade.
Beerud Sheth, CEO, Gupshup said, “India’s diverse population uses different mobile tools, varied languages, and possesses different levels of tech-savvy. But they all know how to chat via WhatsApp. Delivering conversational experiences via the messaging app is the only way to reach everyone. Gupshup’s Buyer App on ONDC brings the vast commerce network to users nationwide, usable in any language, quickly and easily. This will truly transform digital commerce on a population scale in India.”
Over 650 million Indians use social media and messaging platforms, but only around 30% shop online. Among the remaining 450 million, half haven’t explored apps beyond social media and entertainment. Moreover, 65% of tech-savvy users dislike downloading apps, and 40% drop purchases if asked to install apps.
Gaurav Kachhawa, Chief Product Officer at Gupshup said “Gupshup Conversation Cloud makes it easy for businesses to build rich conversational commerce experiences with AI-powered natural language interactions, in any language, over text and voice, with deep personalization, across the entire customer lifecycle. This ONDC Buyer App is the perfect demonstration of the significant impact of conversational experiences and the unique ability of Gupshup’s platform to enable them.”
The Buyer App is in Beta with limited availability for ordering food & beverages like biryani via WhatsApp. Customers can share their location, find nearby sellers, order food, and make payments on WhatsApp. Support for Google RCS and Voice is coming soon. Merchants using the Gupshup ONDC Commerce Platform can join the ONDC eCommerce ecosystem quickly.
ONDC, or Open Network for Digital Commerce, unites merchants and brands on a shared digital platform developed by the Indian government. Its aim is to cultivate a diverse and accessible e-commerce environment in India.
Introduced in January 2023, the initiative has gained momentum, processing 49.79 million transactions to date. Transportation services, especially Namma Yatri ride-hailing apps, contribute significantly. The food and beverages category is also rapidly expanding alongside other sectors.
