Hyperlocal e-commerce startup Zopper said it is set to more than double its gross sales to $250 million this year as it expands its city reach and at the same time, keeps its portfolio focussed on electronics.

Zopper, which allows users to shop from the nearest retail store, said it plans to expand beyond capitals to 45-50 cities in the next three or four months, and increase depth in its electronics category, which covers mobile phones to air conditioners.

Unlike its competitors including Paytm, Grofers and Flipkart, the company is also leveraging its tieups with offline stores to cross-sell its expanded warranty scheme ‘Zopper Assure’ to brick-and-mortar stores, where a customer pays an additional 8-10% of the product value to get an additional year of warranty beyond the brand’s commitment.

“We are trying to own discovery, fulfillment and post-buying ownership,” said Neeraj Jain, Co-Founder of Zopper. “Our warranty product gets us in a hugely profit-making position with gross margins as high as 80%,” he added. At the backend, the company is working with insurance providers and services retailers to fulfil requests.

According to Jain, almost 20% customers go for warranty programme, primarily the offline purchasers. “Our in-app warranty conversion rates are 3-4% and the rest is offline,” he said.

Zopper currently has 15,000 stores live on its platform including the Mobile Store, and local kirana retailers within a five-km radius.

“In the future too, we will expand to categories where the average selling price is high and consumers don’t trust traditional ecommerce channels or look into bulky products and products that require specialised installation and after-sale support,” said Jain.

According to him, India’s model of ecommerce will be unique, and not a copy-paste Alibaba or Amazon business. “Our offline retail structure is well-penetrated, and yet, highly-fragmented,” he said.

Source: The Economic Times