PhonePe's Pincode winds down B2C quick commerce operations

Fintech platform PhonePe on Friday said its subsidiary Pincode is winding down its consumer-facing quick commerce operations, as it looks to focus exclusively on expanding its B2B business solutions for offline shops.

“Pincode’s mission is to empower Indian offline shopkeeper with advanced technology solutions to help them grow their businesses and remain competitive against new-age ecommerce and quick commerce companies. To this end, operating yet another B2C quick commerce app ourselves was distracting us from our core mission, which is to help offline business partners achieve operational efficiency, improved margins and visibility and growth in their existing offline business,' shared Sameer Nigam, PhonePe Founder and Group CEO, in a press note.

PhonePe launched Pincode—a dedicated hyperlocal consumer app linked to the Open Network For Digital Commerce (ONDC) protocol—in April 2023, at the height of consumer and investor interest in quick commerce.

Earlier this year, the app rolled out a 24-hour online medicine delivery service in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Pune, offering both over-the-counter and prescription drugs. It enabled consumers to place orders for medicines at any time and receive delivery within 10 minutes from their nearest medical shop.

Other players like Ola Consumer and magicpin are also tapping into the ONDC protocol for their food delivery operations. However, no significant pace has been set for running quick commerce on the network.

Pincode would use neighbourhood stores to service its orders instead of relying on dark stores like its quick commerce peers. While good in theory, the lack of control over inventory is a steady issue that platforms in the space are navigating, an industry source explained to YourStory. Moreover, additional challenges with the

customer experience also persists with operating on the ONDC protocol.

“As part of this strategic decision, we will now focus the entire Pincode team’s resources towards accelerating the build-out and scale-up of a suite of B2B business solutions for offline businesses across India. Pincode already provides inventory management, order management and other ERP solutions to businesses, and is offering B2B direct sourcing and replenishment solutions for certain categories,”  said Vivek Lohcheb, CEO of Pincode.