"Quikr Attracts About 30 Million Unique Users a Month": Sarath Chandra Gudlavalleti

Tell us about the used-goods resale market in India, how big is it and what is your market share in it? And, what is the reason that the pre-owned market is witnessing growth in India?

As per estimates, the pre-owned-goods market is in excess of $17-18B. With the increasing demand for accessibility to aspirational brands and product the country’s appetite for pre-owned goods will continue to grow. Refurbished and Assured products that come with certification and validation like Quikr Assured are the new used goods and that is driven by trust. Such key trendshave opened the market for buyers to purchase pre-owned goods from across India.

Adding to it, today, people are well-informed and are open to reusing products that are easy on the pocket, comes with the warranty, are required for short term usage, and in-turn help save the environment.With nearly half (47%) of India online, India's millennial believes in digital, shared, rented, pre-owned economy, providing even the untapped tier II and III markets, better opportunities for businesses and an enhanced buying experience for consumers.

What are the fast-moving categories at your platform?

On Quikr, we see a lot of growth in demand for mobile phones, furniture like bed sets, sofa sets, dining sets & wardrobes; and home & kitchen appliances like TV, refrigerator, AC & washing machine among others. Based on our platform data, these categories are growing and will continue to see growth in the future too.

Do you have your omnichannel strategy in place if you can elaborate on the same?

We see a huge demand for quality tested new, unboxed & refurbished products across India and some customers still prefer to 'touch & feel' the product before buying. We wanted to build on this customer buying experience through a robust online-to-offline (O2O) strategy, thus bridging the gap between aspirations, affordability, and accessibility in several markets. Our QuikrBazaar retail stores which operate on FOFO (Franchise Owned Franchise Operated)modelare launched strategically in markets where there is limited access to brands, thus reaching out to consumers who hold high aspirations.

We started with Karnataka and opened our first QuikrBazaar store, followed by many more in Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and a few more in the North. By the end of this year, we will deepen our footprint in the market with plans to have 50+ QuikrBazaar stores across India to provide additional channels and increased accessibility for our consumers.

With some e-commerce giants looking to enter this space, do you have a strategy in place to thwart the challenge from their end?

Today, Quikr attracts about 30 million unique users a month and over 95 percent of this traffic is organically sourced. Quikr is the first to bring the convenience of e-commerce to pre-owned goods through offerings like Doorstep service, intercity options, Quikr Assured and retail stores. Also, the power of a diversified platform like ours is that while we attract consumers in one area, they end up using Quikr in multiple adjacent categories as well. The efficient channeling of our user base to cross-sell across categories not only fuels our growth but is also what sets us apart.