 "paytm")
Paytm Mall, the unit of Paytm E-commerce that partners with offline merchants to sell products online, will begin offering one- and two-day deliveries for electronics and appliances across 25 cities.
In an effort to strengthen its logistics arm, the company says it will invest $35 million to expand its delivery infrastructure. While it will, at first, offer expedited deliveries only on electronics across select cities, Paytm Mall will expand the service to 100 cities in the coming months.
“This will help local shopkeepers offer a more convenient shopping experience to their customers and enable brands to save up to 50 per cent on logistics, as they will be able to bypass inter-city logistics costs. In the coming months, we will rapidly increase the number of items and pin codes where customers can receive their orders the same day or next day,” said Amit Sinha, chief operating officer, Paytm Mall.
With the service, Paytm Mall is going after Amazon's Prime, which apart from giving customers access to video streaming, exclusive deals, offers free one and two-day deliveries on orders. Unlike Amazon’s subscription service, Paytm Mall will not charge consumers for the expedited service.
Paytm Mall, which is modeled after China's Tmall, is looking at partnering with local merchants to sell products online rather than incur heavy costs in shipping products across the country. As its base of merchants expands, the company will begin to have more vendors closer to its customers, making it easier to offer quick deliveries.
The company works with third-party logistics providers such as Delivery, Blue Dart Express and Xpressbees that serve around 17,000 pin codes.
While Paytm has been seen aggressively expanding its e-commerce business, experts say they have a long way to go before challenging India’s two top players — Flipkart and Amazon.
