Paytm Mall to hire 2,000 people this year

Paytm Mall, e-commerce arm of the Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led One97 Communications, is set to hire around 2,000 people across divisions, including back-end tech, business development and marketing.

The company, which is also backed by Chinese e-commerce major Alibaba, recently inducted almost 800 personnel from its parent entity. It is also scaling up its partner network, adding 3,000 Paytm Agents, with plans to go deeper into tier-II and tier-III cities, digitising catalogues of neighbourhood shopkeepers and trusted brands.

It will leverage mobile technology to make this wide retail inventory available to millions of Indians, while helping these retailers reach a wider set of customers.

“We will make the largest selection of products available to customers on their smartphone, while empowering brands and local shopkeepers to sell online and offline with equal ease,” said Amit Sinha, chief operating officer. The company is planning to go hyperlocal (the jargon for focusing on matters concerning a small community or geographical area) in its approach, adding more local and smaller merchants in an effort to provide faster and more efficient logistics.

“Retailers also get access to valuable customer analytics for better targeting of existing users. Additionally, customers who walk into shops to scan the Paytm Mall QR code will be able to follow the store, place orders and get exciting offers,” the company states.

In May, Paytm commissioned a separate entity by the name of Paytm Ecommerce to address the potential in online commerce. Paytm Mall, the online shopping platform, Paytm Mall, raised $200 million from SAIF Partners and Alibaba Group Holdings.

The team looking after Paytm Mall’s operations include Saurabh Vashishtha for marketing, Amit Bagaria for customer experience, Bhushan Patil for logistics and Sunil Goyal for products and technology. This team will continue overseeing various categories.

In February, a Paytm Mall app was launched. The company had said consumers would be able to shop from 140,000 sellers for millions of products across categories — fashion, electronics, consumer durables and home furnishings, among others — at their convenience.

The Bazaar, unstructured shopping channel on the original Paytm app, is also featured on a new app.

The company has 17 fulfilment centres and would offer reach to sellers through its network of about 40 courier partners.  Logistics apart, in the next few months, Paytm’s product portfolio is going through a revamp. To take on Amazon, sources said, Paytm plans to add close to a billion products from across the globe to its shopping cart. To achieve that, sellers from all over Southeast Asia are being brought in.

Boosting sales

• Paytm Mall recently inducted almost 800 personnel from its parent entity

• It is also scaling up its partner network, adding 3,000 Paytm Agents

• It will leverage mobile technology to make its wide retail inventory available to millions of Indians