Zoho Corporation, the Chennai-headquartered global technology company, has announced that Zoho Commerce, its unified platform for e-commerce, will integrate with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) as a Technology Service Provider to help customers adopt and leverage the open network to reach out to a wider audience, said a press release from the company.
As a recent report indicates, India’s e-commerce market is expected to reach $120 billion by 2026, up from $38 billion in 2021. ONDC, a Ministry of Commerce initiative, will enable sellers to tap this massive market by offering an equitable and secure platform that integrates multiple sellers, buyers, and logistics players. Buyers will benefit from free access to a wider range of products and seller stores via a single application of their choice, and will not be influenced by the biases of private marketplace players. However, in order to be a seller on ONDC and reach millions of buyers, even small businesses will need to have an online storefront.
“Zoho takes pride in being a part of this e-commerce revolution in a thriving digital India,” said Anand Nergunam, Vice President, Revenue Growth, Zoho Corp. “We believe that ONDC will create a level playing field for small businesses and other sellers who have been vastly under-represented in the sector’s growth in recent years. With a robust platform like Zoho Commerce, retailers can quickly create online stores and establish their presence on ONDC. Our vision is to help businesses of all sizes and across categories to capitalise on the huge potential of e-commerce by supporting them with easy-to-use tools, covering the entire spectrum of commerce—from discovery to collection—at an affordable price.”
“We’re glad to be working in tandem with technology service providers like Zoho to accelerate and improve the end-to-end ecosystem experience and make digital commerce accessible to a wider audience of buyers and sellers across India,” said T Koshy, Chief Executive Officer, ONDC. “We will continue to drive forward in our aim to reduce entry barriers for sellers, and increase the variety of and accessibility to goods and services for buyers through the network.”
With Zoho Commerce, an e-commerce platform built entirely in India, business owners can create their online store as quickly as an hour by using the drag-and-drop website builder or customising available templates without writing a single piece of code. Zoho Commerce comes pre-integrated with Zoho Books and Zoho Inventory for a business’ end-to-end accounting and multi-channel inventory management needs, respectively. Users can also integrate with Zoho SalesIQ for live chat, along with other products in the Zoho ecosystem that have all been built on the company’s technology stack. Zoho Commerce also integrates with third-party apps like Google Analytics, Google Shopping, and MailChimp.
Zoho Commerce users in India will be able to get onto ONDC with a single click and showcase their products on multiple platforms with equitable visibility. It will offer support to retailers for onboarding to the network and seamlessly integrate their inventory to the ONDC-enabled buyer-side applications. The company is also committed to empowering and aiding sellers throughout their digital journey, in addition to, educating them about the open network.
“At KuKClean, we want to reach out to customers who are health conscious,” said Kirti Yadav, Founder, KuKClean. “With ONDC, we aim to increase our brand visibility, and reach the right audience by leveraging the network. Additionally, with all the buyers and sellers coming together, along with the integration of various services like payment getaways and logistics, the life of an entrepreneur would be made a lot easier. Zoho Commerce team has been hand holding us since our inception and we are happy that we are a part of the ONDC launch.”
In the coming months, Zoho will strengthen its participation in ONDC by onboarding other products from its portfolio such as Zoho Books and Zoho Inventory, with the aim of fostering and enhancing the e-commerce ecosystem in the country.
