First conversational buyer app arrives on govt's ONDC network

New Delhi, June 26
Homegrown conversational engagement platform Gupshup on Wednesday announced India’s first conversational buyer app on the government-run Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).

The app will enable buyers to use a Whatsapp-based conversational UI to discover, browse, and buy products from sellers across the ONDC network, without needing to download any other mobile app.

"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," Beerud Sheth, CEO, Gupshup, said in a statement.

The Buyer App is currently in beta and will initially have limited availability, allowing users to order food & beverages like biryani on WhatsApp, the company mentioned.

Customers will be able to share their location over chat, browse sellers close to them, order food, and make payments right from WhatsApp.

"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”, said Gaurav Kachhawa, Chief Product Officer at Gupshup.

In addition, the company said that support for additional conversational channels such as "Google RCS and Voice is also coming soon".