First Conversational Buyer App Launches on Government's ONDC Network
Gupshup, a homegrown conversational engagement platform, has unveiled India's inaugural conversational buyer app on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a government initiative.
The new app introduces a WhatsApp-based conversational user interface, allowing buyers to effortlessly discover, browse, and purchase products from sellers across the ONDC network without requiring additional mobile app downloads.
Beerud Sheth, CEO of Gupshup, highlighted the transformative potential of the Buyer App on ONDC, stating, "Gupshup’s Buyer App on ONDC brings the vast commerce network to users nationwide, usable in any language, quickly and easily. This will truly transform digital commerce on a population scale in India".
Initially launched in beta with limited availability, the app enables users to order food and beverages, such as biryani, directly through WhatsApp. Customers can utilize chat functionalities to share location details, explore nearby sellers, place orders, and facilitate payments seamlessly within the messaging app.
Gaurav Kachhawa, Chief Product Officer at Gupshup, emphasized the app's utilization of conversational experiences and Gupshup’s platform capabilities, noting, "This ONDC Buyer App is the perfect demonstration of the significant impact of conversational experiences and the unique ability of Gupshup’s platform to enable them".
Looking ahead, Gupshup plans to expand support for additional conversational channels, including Google RCS and Voice, in the near future.
