TradeIndia (TI), B2B online marketplace platform, has formally announced its entry into the B2B e-commerce space by launching TI Shopping, a state-of-the-art e-commerce platform where customers can buy products directly onsite on the TradeIndia platform. Focused on the FMGC category to start with, the B2B trade and ecommerce player has also partnered with ePayLater, to offer interest-free credit to both buyers and sellers.
The TI shopping platform focuses on capitalizing on the B2B ecommerce market in India as the rapidly burgeoning sector where small and mid sized businesses like kirana stores, hotels and restaurants, offices, etc are targeted online, creating a $60 billion revenue opportunity.
The Indian retail ecosystem is a $1 trillion market of which food and grocery comprises a substantial 65 percent share. About 96 percent of this market remains unorganized and is served by over 14 million kirana stores; the rest 3 percent comprises of organized brick & mortar retail, also called modern trade, and the remaining 1% constitutes B2C e-commerce.
On an average, a kirana store procures about Rs 6 lakh worth of supplies every month. If 50 percent of this purchase is transferred online and even if the kirana store orders online on a daily basis, the average order value will still be at Rs 10,000. This is an order of far greater magnitude than that of consumer-led online grocery.
Commenting on the launch, Sandip Chhettri, CEO, Tradeindia: “The TI shopping platform will enable buyers and sellers in the shopping process but also offer interest-free credit to both. We have long been associated as the leading emissaries of the B2B circuit but now we are ready to plunge deep into the realm of B2B commerce.”
With this latest move into the B2B space, TradeIndia has on-boarded more than 1000+ sellers and over 4000 SKUs with the aim of connecting a vast number of small businesses to interact and procure directly from manufacturers and suppliers and also help them to gain access to credit.
Enabled on TI Shopping platform, ePayLater offers credit lines of up to Rs 25 lakh through a simple process which can be completed by buyers anywhere in India within 10-15 minutes, they claim.
Customers such as Kirana shops will now have the opportunity to purchase products directly on the TI shopping portal with TradeIndia paying on behalf of the procurer and later receiving payment from the buyer within an interest-free duration of 14 days. This will be realized through TradeIndia’s optimization of advanced AI technology that will help both buyers and sellers locate promising leads and avail credit facility, respectively.
