Pincode, PhonePe’s dedicated app for the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), has made significant strides in its expansion. Following a successful launch in Bengaluru, the app has now extended its operations to a total of 10 cities. This achievement highlights the positive outcomes and growing demand for Pincode in the digital commerce landscape.
Although Pincode had initially planned a 10-city expansion three months ago, the company explicitly stated that it would not venture into additional regions during its first year. The primary objective was to focus on enhancing operational efficiency rather than simply increasing its scale.
With that objective in mind, Pincode proceeded to enter significant cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, Chennai, and Hyderabad. Additionally, the company announced that its services would also be made available in Ahmedabad, Pune, and Kolkata.
Lalit Singh, General Manager, Pincode, said, “The initial response and rapid consumer adoption of Pincode has given us the confidence to expand our services. Pincode is committed to growing the ecosystem, and we will continue expanding our category offerings and scaling our presence nationwide.”
“In the coming months, we have ambitious plans for expansion into more cities,” he added.
Pincode’s decision to expand its operations comes at a time when the company is relatively smaller in size compared to other apps like Magicpin, which is backed by Zomato.
Previously, Pincode had stated that it was fulfilling 5,000 orders per day, significantly lagging behind Magicpin, which claims to handle 30,000 daily orders and holds the title of being the largest seller app on ONDC.
It is worth noting that over 70 percent of the overall orders on both platforms consist solely of groceries. Categories such as pharma, fashion, and electronics, which generally have a higher average order value (AOV), represent a comparatively smaller portion of the orders.
For ONDC to achieve its desired scale, expanding both in terms of categories and cities is crucial. Previously, ONDC stated its objective of increasing the e-commerce penetration rate from approximately 5 percent to 25 percent within the next two years. This ambitious goal involves reaching 900 million buyers and having 1.2 million sellers, ultimately resulting in a projected gross merchandise value (GMV) of $48 billion.