ShopClues launches express check-out & wholesale program for merchants, ups the ante for online supremacy

Gurgaon-based marketplace ShopClues has launched an express check-out feature and an exclusive program for wholesale merchants. While the express check-out feature enables transaction in just two clicks, with the exclusive merchant program wholesale sellers will have access to the microsite for ShopClues wholesale.

The express check-out feature saves up to 80% of total transaction time. It picks up stored information about the customer’s

usage pattern and automatically applies it to the check-out process. Before directing to the check-out page, the feature quickly considers details like the customer’s preferred shipment address, payment type (with the option of storing customer credit/debit card details), available reward points and coupon codes at the backend.With a rich catalogue and a strong merchant base of over 32,000 merchants, the company hopes to get decent traction on wholesale too just as it is doing in B2C business. Backed by Helion Venture Partners, Nexus Ventures and Netprice’s CEO Teruhide Sato, ShopClues registered more than 600 percent growth last year over 2012.

Speaking about the check-out feature, Sanjay Sethi, CEO and co-founder of ShopClues, says, "We want our customers to get the best online shopping experience with minimum transaction time and with maximum security. Customers who access the

internet through mobile devices for online shopping, will find it especially useful since express check-out requires very little tying of information."

Last month, ShopClues revealed to YourStory that the company is transacting 15,000 to 18,000 orders on normal days while on peak days (during festivals, special occasions like Valentine’s Day) it does orders from 30,000 to 35,000.

Changing gears of online marketplaces

With rivalry intensifying for growth, e-commerce companies have been exploring various ways to differentiate from others. Earlier this year, Snapdeal and eBay launched a same-day delivery service which allows consumers to get products ordered on the same day in Delhi (NCR) and Mumbai respectively without any additional cost.

The launch of this service by Snapdeal and eBay came on the heels of e-commerce major Flipkart and Amazon’s roll out of premier shipping service (with additional cost) in India last year. Most recently, Ibibo-owned marketplace Tradus pivoted to mobile and location based marketplace from its previous online marketplace avatar. The company cited two reasons behind changing the model – proximity between buyer and seller and increasing penetration of smartphones in the country.

With leading online marketplaces changing their gears and strategies for differentiators to wow customers, YourStory anticipates other players to also join the differentiation bandwagon soon.

What’s your view on changing gears of marketplaces and the ongoing differentiator war between them? We look forward to your comments.