Not content with what your favourite online store has to offer, but not enthused about having to check out each store in the neighbourhood for a better option either? Then this app could be your knight in shining armour, irrespective of whether you are a local or a visitor.
Designed to connect the discerning shopper with the best of local stores, ‘Dekkoh’ hopes to come to the aid of brick-and-motor retailers, who have a host of options to offer, but not the technological launch pad to reach out to the growing online customer base.
Presently being piloted in Bengaluru, the core team behind Dekkoh Innovation Technologies Pvt. Ltd. consists of three people — Varun Mathew, Anirudh Dasu and Aditya Chalasani — all graduates of the National Law School of India University, BITS Pilani and the University of Southern California respectively.
How the app works is simple: download it from the Google Play store; key in a query (could range from ‘Where do I find the best blazers?’ to as specific as ‘Which store has the best red wedges?’) and wait for responses. Alternatively, head to the discover section and browse for it yourself — distance-wise too.
The app now has over 50 stores from the city onboard since its formal launch in mid-September. These stores, some of them very well-known ones, can get to know which their most-viewed products are and where the viewer is from.
But why only retail? “Offline shopping in India still accounts for over 90 per cent of all retail operations in India. While there are apps for restaurants etc., retailers have no such infrastructure. Starting and maintaining a website is also expensive,” explained Mr. Mathew. With a mobile store-front (mobile app) of its own, these stores can now chat with customers, sharing inventory details and pictures, and market their products via the app, he added.
Supported by the Ministry of Tourism (for whom the team has also designed maps), the cities next in line are New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai, probably by December.
