online shopping

Paytm Mall is the latest online shopping portal to launch in India. Pic: Ruslan Grumble/Shutterstock

India: Paytm launches online shopping portal Paytm Mall following Alibaba investment

By | 28 February, 2017

DIGITAL payments provider Paytm has unveiled its long-awaited e-commerce offering – a mobile app and online shopping portal called Paytm Mall.

The marketplace will give customers access to 68 million products from about 140,000 sellers and deliveries will be managed through 40 courier partners and 17 fulfillment centers some owned by sellers and others by third-party warehouse providers

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba recently led a US$200 million investment in the marketplace and the offering borrows from Alibaba’s business-to-consumer portal TMall with a focus on structured categories as well as brand-authorized stores.

“We have defined the quality criteria for sellers and are building strict controls over warehousing and shipping for products sold on Paytm Mall,” Saurabh Vashishtha, vice president at Paytm, told The Economic Times.

The group will also be releasing an unstructured shopping channel called PayTM Bazaar on a new application as well as an upgraded version of the Paytm Seller app. The new app will allow anyone with a smartphone to set up an online shop on Paytm Mall and will be available in seven regional languages.

While Mall will focus on electronics, top fashion brands and consumer goods, Bazaar will provide things like home furnishings and goods from small sellers.

SEE ALSO: India: State Bank accused of monopolizing digital payment space as it disables Paytm top-ups

The launch was followed by some further good news for the company as it crossed 200 million users yesterday.

“Reaching 200 million registered users and more than half a million users on a daily basis is a great showcase of the country’s trust in our payment solution and reaffirms our belief in the need for a quick and easy cashless payment method,” Deepak Abbot, senior vice-president told The Financial Express.



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Edd Gent is a science and technology writer based in Bangalore, India. His main areas of interest are engineering, technology and biology. He has been published by The Economist and the BBC, among other publications.

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