Gupshup, the world’s leading Conversation Cloud, has unveiled India’s first Conversational Buyer App on the ONDC network at their flagship event, Conversations 2024 in Delhi. This innovative app allows buyers to use a WhatsApp-based conversational UI to discover, browse, and purchase products from sellers across the ONDC network, eliminating the need for any additional mobile app downloads. Gupshup plans to extend this capability to its enterprise customers, enabling them to integrate conversational commerce into their chatbots.
“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.” said Beerud Sheth, CEO, Gupshup.
Addressing Digital Commerce Challenges
Despite over 650 million Indians being active on social media and messaging platforms, only 30% (approximately 200 million) shop online. Additionally, 50% of the remaining 450 million users haven’t used any apps beyond social media and entertainment. Furthermore, 65% of savvy digital users find app downloads frustrating, and 40% abandon a purchase if pushed to install apps. Gupshup’s Buyer App addresses these issues by providing a seamless, app-free shopping experience via WhatsApp.
“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”, said Gaurav Kachhawa, Chief Product Officer at Gupshup.
Beta Launch and Future Enhancements
The Buyer App is currently in Beta with limited availability, allowing users to order food and beverages like biryani on WhatsApp. Users can share their location, browse nearby sellers, order food, and make payments directly through WhatsApp. Support for additional conversational channels such as Google RCS and Voice is also planned. These capabilities will enable merchants and businesses to leverage the Gupshup ONDC Commerce Platform, accelerating their time to market.
ONDC, or Open Network for Digital Commerce, is a collaborative initiative developed by the Indian government’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. It aims to create an open and inclusive e-commerce ecosystem in India by bringing together various merchants and brands on a unified digital commerce platform.
Significant Traction and Growth
Since its official introduction in January 2023, ONDC has processed over 49.79 million transactions. Transportation services, especially ride-hailing apps like Namma Yatri, account for more than half of the monthly order volume. The food and beverages sector is also experiencing rapid expansion.
The collaboration between Gupshup and ONDC marks a significant advancement in digital commerce in India. The launch of the Conversational Buyer App on ONDC network is set to revolutionize the way Indians shop online, making digital commerce more accessible and user-friendly for millions across the country.
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