Blinkit, the quick commerce platform owned by Zomato, has launched a new feature called Brand Stores, which aims to help D2C startups and FMCG brands connect better with their customers.
Through the platform, brands listed on Blinkit can create customisable pages where they can showcase their products and engage with their customers in various ways. The startup believes that the new platform will make it easier for customers to find what they are looking for and enable brands to create customer-relevant content on the Blinkit app.
Brands can create custom pages or flow on the page that allows them to highlight different products, use their design language, and design assets to make the brand store experience more immersive for their customers. The brands also get access to real-time analytics around the performance of their pages, including insights into sell-throughs and supply chain tools, giving them a real-time view of their performance across the app and various geographies.
BlinkIt, said, “We had a lot of fun building it and we hope this is a big win-win for our customers and our partner brands,”
Albinder Dhindsa, CEO of BlinkIt, said “Blinkit has become a preferred platform for advertising and engagement for over 500 brands. These brands, large and emerging, use us to build brand awareness and to also push their sales on the platform with performance advertising.”
Blinkit has been able to attract over 20 brands to create their brand pages on the platform, including popular brands such as Maggi, KitKat, Plum, Dettol, Sleepy Owl Coffee, and The Whole Truth.
This move by Blinkit follows the launch of a similar brand-specific segment, Swiggy Minis, within the app of one of its competitors, Swiggy’s Instamart. Interestingly, Blinkit’s new platform comes at a time when it has started looking at advertising income as a meaningful source of revenue.
In the third quarter of fiscal year 2023, Blinkit’s order volume grew 21% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to 3.16 crore, offsetting the 2.6% decline in average order value (AOV) to INR 533. The startup, which is operational in over 500 localities, is looking to expand its dark stores reach by 40% in the next 12 months.