CouponDunia forays into brick-and-mortar retail, launches app for discounts with offline retailers

With e-commerce boom in India, ancillary segments like digital coupon business also thrived and has now come a long way. According to the annual Online Shopping Growth Trends Report by Google and Forrester Research, the coupon business is 13.5 per cent of the total e-commerce shoppers in India, growing at the rate of 62.9 percent with 7.6 million unique users a month (source).

Riding high on 'couponing' growth, Times Internet backed CouponDunia witnessed significant growth over the last 12 months. Sameer Parwani, Founder & CEO, CouponDunia, says,

Last May, we were about a 50-person company. Now we’re at about 190. Our revenue in that time has doubled and we have made large investments in moving into the offline space for restaurants and retailers.

The company does a little under 10 million sessions a month between its mobile and web apps. Currently, the platform lists 2000 plus online stores and 5000 restaurants. “For offline, which till today had only been restaurants, we have been doing a couple of thousand transactions a day,” adds Sameer.

Besides restaurants, CouponDunia just forayed into brick-and-mortar retail and launched a new app which will push live discount coupons to your device when you are near a mall or a store.

With automatic location detection, the app makes it very easy for you to find the closest restaurants and retailers in your city that are offering discounts. You can also browse by category or use our lists of best offers.

At present, the new app is available in Mumbai, Delhi (NCR), Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai and Ahmadabad. Speaking about app, Sameer says,

The new app is about breaking walls between online and offline. Our users love getting a great deal. They are happy to do so online and offline. Our aim is to make it easy for them to find these offers.

The company has also tied up with over 200 brands, including Marks and Spencers, Skechers, CalvinKlein and

Arrow for its offline initiative. Sameer points out,The reason this new in-store retail offering is good for offline businesses is that we have a high intent userbase. Our users are looking to shop while offline retailers are willing to give discounts, but they need a vehicle to get those discounts into the hands of consumers. Offline has the advantage of immediate gratification. This adds discounting on top giving them a great opportunity.

For e-commerce, the company is on track to drive $170 million (INR 1000 crores) of GMV this year. CouponDunia is currently looking to scale fast and doesn’t have an immediate focus on profitability.

The company continues to add new verticals, and sensing the growth in hyperlocal space, next month, CouponDunia is getting into grocery coupons. “Soon thereafter it will be health and beauty. And we have a few other verticals for later in the year that I can't mention yet,” says Sameer.

Related read: How hyperlocal startups are giving e-com giants a run for their money

Broadly, CouponDunia competes with Mydala which recently introduced coupons across grocery and FMCG, including other hyperlocal categories. In the digital arena, it competes with Rocket Internet-backed CouponNation, Cashkaro, and Peenyful among others.

After Mydala, CouponDunia also sees hyperlocal as a big opportunity as more than 50 percent of our wallet share goes towards purchasing hyperlocal needs. It will be interesting to see how coupon business shapes up in India. Stay tuned for more updates.

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