Buying veggies, groceries online catches fancy of Bareilly residents

Bareilly: Juggling with her classes and tending to her sick parents, MBA student Shubhi Rastogi hardly gets time to visit the market to purchase daily necessities. However, she is is not worried about going to the market as she has “another economical and convenient option". “Every day, I just have to spend a few minutes on WhatsApp to place an order for vegetables and groceries.The items are delivered at my doorstep without any extra charge, and I don’t have to compromise on quality, quantity or price,” said Shubhi, who resides in Ramayan Vihar colony.
Instances of city-based residents purchasing vegetables, groceries, medicines and toiletries online or on WhatsApp are not unusual these days. Unlike other small towns where online shopping is confined to purchasing clothes, books and electronics, a new trend has been emerging in Bareilly where locals are turning online or to WhatsApp to buy vegetables, groceries, medicines and toiletries rather than moving from one shop to another.
The trend has recently caught the fancy of city-based youngsters who have launched websites and provided WhatsApp numbers with lucrative options like ‘free home delivery’ and ‘cash on delivery’. Online platforms like www.onlinepansari.com offers wide range items like groceries, home and hygiene, beauty and personal care, and food and beverages. While www.khargose.com provides fresh fruits and vegetables, www.onlinedawai.com is for medicines and health care devices.
Launched on August 15 this year, www.onlinepansari.com is being run by 19-year-old Prateek Boobna, a BCom student, and his uncle Aniket Goel (30), a software engineer. “I wanted to open a shopping complex, but my father suggested me to go for an online site. We have not even completed a month since we started operating, but the response is overwhelming. We get at least 40 orders a day on both the website and WhatsApp. Our clients are mostly housewives residing in different parts of the city,” said Prateek. If an order is placed before 6 pm, it is delivered the same day. Order above Rs 250 is delivered free, but if the order is less than that, customers are required to pay Rs 25 per order. Special discounts are also offered for combo offers.
Similarly, customers are increasingly visiting www.khargose.com, which has been also in the market for less than a month. Currently, the website and WhatsApp together receive 35 orders for vegetables daily. “During a conversation with other members of my family, I learned that prices of vegetables in the city have drastically gone up. But when I compared the cost of vegetables with that of adjoining areas, I found that there was a huge gap in their prices. Vegetables prices are high in Bareilly because of the involvement a huge number of middlemen. So, I decided to provide a platform where locals can buy fresh vegetables at reasonable prices,” said Anirudh Agarwal (22), a BTech who started the website on August 13 this year.
Agarwal's cousin Ishan Gupta (22), who is acting as a coordinator, added that they are in touch with farmers and directly get vegetables from farms. “As vegetables are perishable items, we dispose of the unsold items to hotels at nominal prices," said Anirudh, adding fruits and other eatables will soon be offered. There is free home delivery if orders are placed in a given time slot, but customers have to pay additional charges for instant delivery.
Www.onlinedawai.com is in operation since November 2014. It is the brainchild of three city-based engineers — siblings Shashank Saxena (20) and Mayank Saxena (22) and their childhood friend Akshay Singh (23). “We are planning to relaunch our website by adding more features and by exploring new areas,” said Mayank. The trio have entered into a contract with three dealers who provide them with medicines and health care devices. “When we get an order, we ask our client to send a copy of prescription on WhatsApp or show it to us at the time of delivery,” said Mayank.
The growing popularity of online shopping for daily necessities is due to many factors such as convenience, economical and availability of options at one place. Esha Vaish, who runs an NGO, likes to purchase goods online as it is hassle-free. “It saves time and energy. Now, I don't have to run from one shop to another in this hot and humid weather. Besides, the prices are lower and I don't have to indulge in bargaining,” said Vaish.
Kavita Goel, a housewife, prefers online shopping as she can buy goods sitting at home. "The entire process is easy and comfortable," she said.