E-Commerce Goes Rural

A new breed of marketing and distribution companies is using tech to connect brands with villages.

- Goutam Das

AN ASHOK LEYLAND DOST truck, loaded with refrigerators, washing machines and mobile phones, is briefly stopped by a procession of cows crossing a narrow lane to Mamandur village, 47 kilometres (km) from Vellore town. This sleepy hamlet farms mostly groundnuts. It has a primary school, two kirana stores, two temples, bright yellow, green, and pink houses. All of a sudden, it bustles.

Rekha Balaji, who lives in a house with no furniture, is delivered a Samsung Galaxy J2 smartphone. A second phone is delivered to Jayashri, Balaji’s neighbour. Behind a Krishna temple, nearby, a Whirlpool refrigerator is delivered to Valarmathi Thangaraj who lives in a half constructed house. Her living room is empty barring a lamp and a fan. She cooks in open air; a wood fired oven is preparing lunch.

It is a village spectacle when their photos are clicked with the products delivered. Small crowds gather around. But what seems celebratory has a purpose.

The goods were delivered by Raja Mohammed, an affiliate of rural e-commerce company In three based in Chennai. Rural e-commerce firms are a new breed of marketing and distribution outfits that use technology to connect brands with villages. Brands and larger ecommerce companies find it tough to reach remote villages, or even generate demand in areas where there is no Internet. Rural e-commerce start-ups have stepped in with their own order management and logistics network. On one hand, they have tied up with the brands. On the other side, most have partnered local retailers such as the kiranas and medicine stores.

Their apps are loaded on phones, tablets, and desktops at these outlets. When customers walk in to buy grocery or medicines, they are shown the e-commerce app and prompted to buy. This model is sometimes referred to as “assisted commerce”.