The Silicon Review ^Asia

The queue outside kirana store appeared never ending when the lockdown was announced People were very scared that they stocked up months of essential supplies. But with the lockdown period being extended to uncertain period due to increase in corona virus cases, even the kiranas stores have limited the number of walk-ins. Fear not as even kiranas stored are going online to keep-up with the sales and meet the demand.

Platforms like Instamojo, Coutloot and Shopmatic, who specialize in facilitating online synergies for local kirana shops, pharmacies, vegetable vendors and even individual vendors, helping them list out  inventories, facilitating bargains, and in some cases, even tying up logistics.

Mumbai-based CoutLoot, an offline-to-online enabler, introduced an “essentials” service category on its platform allowing offline sellers to deliver essential goods sold through CoutLoot as a helping hand in this heated situation. With over 50,000 vendors including grocery shops, medical stores, and vegetable vendors listed under its essential services category, the platform allows consumers within in a 3 km radius to place orders for essential good and gives them the option of picking up the goods themselves, or having them home delivered. On the supply side, CoutLoot has also tied up with logistics partners and vendors.