Shiprocket’s D2C marketplace Zop in pilot stage: CEO Saahil Goel

Zomato-backed ecommerce enablement startup Shiprocket is piloting a new D2C marketplace called Zop, managing director and chief executive Saahil Goel told ET. The platform, currently in its pilot stage, hosts around 200-300 brands.

“For the last six months, we have been focused on helping merchants with the creation of demand. So, in that endeavour, several such experiments or ideas will be launched from Shiprocket as we aim to find alternative ways to either improve merchant experience in terms of lower customer acquisition cost (CAC), better customer experience, better customer screening or generate new demand for them that they currently don’t have,” Goel told ET.

This was first reported by Inc42.


According to Goel, the aim is to build a brand discovery platform: "It’s a destination for consumers to find unique D2C Indian brands, explore their stories and products, and eventually provide merchants ways to promote products via ads or sales commissions, which we will figure out later,” Goel added.

It is expected to be officially launched in the next 45 to 60 days.

With this, Shiprocket will enter the marketplace segment, competing with major players such as Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho, and others.

On July 31, ET reported that the Gurugram-based company had set its sights on facilitating ecommerce transactions for the offline general trade segment. The company launched a WhatsApp storefront bot and is also rolling out a quick shipping service for small businesses and direct sellers.

It also rolled out the fast-delivery offering Shiprocket Quick across Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune.

In FY23, Shiprocket acquired retail software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform Omuni from Arvind Internet, and ecommerce logistics solutions player Pickrr. In FY22, it bought omnichannel user engagement platform Wigzo and supply chain management firm Glaucus.

Currently, a significant share of Shiprocket's revenue is generated from its shipping service, which caters to D2C brands selling online. According to company officials, for sellers, typically 10-15% is spent on shipping, 30-40% on marketing and promotions and 20-25% on sourcing.