Paytm Now Allows Businesses to open Brand Stores on their Platform

By siliconindia | Wednesday, 11 May 2016, 05:49 Hrs

BENGALURU: Since the genesis of this decade, lot of innovations has been rolled-out for the online retail market, revolving around the integration of payment gateways and ‘smart’ transaction methods. Companies partaking in online retail are gradually realizing how online stores, like traditional stores doesn’t require any other retailer for maintaining their online presence. Headquartered at Noida, Paytm, the e-commerce firm has addressed this concern with their recent announcement of partnering with 1,000 brands so that these companies can make use of Paytm’s platform to open their stores. The list comprises of big companies such as Puma, Samsung, Samsonite, Casio, and Lakme. Moreover, taking a look from a strictly regulatory perspective, with marketplaces not being allowed to control prices, ROIs can prove to be a significant entity.

"True power of online platforms is in connecting sellers and brands directly with the end customers. The platform that we have created for brands gives them complete control of their online presence," says Amit Bagaria, Vice President, Paytm.

The latest announced from Paytm is preceded by Flipkart’s move of entering into tie-ups with some of the renowned electronic and apparel brands including HP, Wildcraft, Peter England, Bosch and, @Home. This partnership will allow these companies to orchestrate brand hubs on Flipkart’s digital marketplace. A significant facet of the move is that the initiative will allow sellers not recognized by the platform to still do business through their personal seller store, analogous to the fashion prevailing in offline stores.

Bagaria adds, "From a customer perspective, the shopping experience on these stores is far superior, since the brands directly engage with customers, just like in offline stores."

The concept of brand stores was introduced in 2012 with Snapdeal’s launch, followed by companies like Flipkart and Amazon treading the same lines. Paytm’s move takes the same initiative to altogether different strata, combining utmost visibility into the process. Furthermore, with this move Paytm plans to shift 90 percent of its structured (branded products) to brand stores. These online brand stores enable brands to control inventory, pricing, promotions, and lastly sellers who can sell in their store. These independent online retail stores are also boosted with the ability to run promotional campaigns and tag their physical stores, enabling them to generate sales for their offline channels.