4 min read
OK! Click n Collect has launched Pakistan’s first AI and geo-fencing powered retail application that allows shop owners to set-up their shops online instantly, complete with product SKUs (with photography), prices, and product variants. With e-commerce and fintech gaining rapid acceptance, an increasing number of applications have recently been launched targeting the retail sector. Despite this flurry of new applications launched, there are still no applications that actually enable MSME retailers (kiryana shops, road-side vendors, and others) to participate online and benefit from this vibrant and emerging ecosystem.
Instead, most retail e-commerce applications are cutting out MSME retailers and distributors completely and launching their own retail operations online. The founders and management team of OK! Click n Collect wanted to address this and develop a platform that comprehensively enables MSMEs retailers to join the ranks of the fledgling e-commerce wave. The founders wanted an application for the masses of Pakistan, easy to use and full of all essential functionalities complete with neighborhood e-commerce and online “Khata” records. The application has successfully completed the pilot and testing phases and has been launched for use throughout Pakistan.
In a matter of a few simple clicks, vendors and distributors are able to establish their operations online with OK! Click n Collect, complete with product SKUs and pricing. In addition to an existing library of thousands of SKUs covering multiple product categories, the app also allows vendors to photograph and create their very own SKUs right from their phones. Vendors can use the manufacturer’s suggested retail prices or re-price their assortment right from the app itself. OK! Click n Collect uses a proprietary algorithm that identifies shops that sell competitively priced products in their localities, and geofencing allows users to view shops in their immediate vicinity offering the best deals.
The use of AI and geo-fencing further strengthens the capabilities of OK! Click n Collect, and equips neighborhood small retailers with cutting-edge technology to run their businesses successfully online.
“We wanted the neighborhood customer and retailer to transact online, and support local businesses in our neighborhoods. Small businesses are the backbone of our local economy and we aim to facilitate them in marketing, operations, and securing supply chain as well as short-term financing,” said Syed Mohammed Ali Raza, founder of OK! Click n Collect, at the launch of the app.
To further facilitate MSME retailers in taking their businesses fully online, OK! Click n Collect also allows vendors to record the credit they extend to customers, with the ability to generate customized reports and send SMS / Whatsapp-based payment reminders to customers with overdue balances.
From creating online stores instantly, with a full assortment of SKUs, to recording “Khata” entries conveniently, the combined local e-commerce and fintech capabilities offered by the app make OK! Click n Collect the very first application of Pakistan that comprehensively addresses multiple and diverse needs of MSME retailers and under-banked/unbanked customers.
With a total of under 2 million credit cards issued across a total population of over 200 million, documented credit is a novelty in Pakistan. In stark contrast, almost 80% of the MSME retailers extend credit to their customers and regularly transact successfully. Presently this entire informal credit activity is undocumented and with OK! Click n Collect’s easy-to-use “Khata” module vendors will now be able to record these transactions and customers will receive in-app notifications every time an entry is made. By providing real-time transaction notifications and instant reports, OK! Click n Collect removes ambiguity and disputes between vendors and customers and facilitates the long-term transition of informal lines of credit into mainstream banking channels.
“With experience in international e-commerce and Pakistan’s fintech sector, I’ve witnessed first hand the disadvantage MSMEs businesses and unbanked customers face. OK! Click n Collect, with its Khata functionality overcomes these disadvantages”, said co-founder Abdus Samad Khan. “OK! Click n Collect brings the power of AI and geo-fencing to neighborhood local e-commerce and enables small retailers to effectively compete with big tech”, said the Chief Technology Officer, Tousif Khan.
The focus of the app is clearly on MSMEs and underbanked/unbanked customers, with the team summarizing OK! Click n Collect as “apna muhallah sasti dukaan”.
For further inquiries and information please contact:
Sagheer Ahmed
Manager – Digital Media Communications
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 0316.162.5391
