Called mVPaytm, India Post’s ecommerce platform will offer assisted online shopping in rural post offices across the Indian state, newindianexpress.com reports. India Post has partnered mVikarsha Mobile Solutions to offer the assisted shopping service to more than 1,000 items selection. After a pilot project at two postal divisions, mVikarsha got approval for expanding across all head and sub post offices in the Indian state.
Customers interested in shopping online must come to the post ofiice to register an order and the postal department official will log in, on their behalf, and place the order. Once the order is placed, the item will be delivered to the post office and the customer will receive an SMS. For the moment, the service will be provided in 500 post offices.
The development comes at a time when use of social media in rural India is growing. A report, cited by the source, states that social media in rural Tamil Nadu has grown by nearly 100% in 2014, with several million users residing in that belt, fuelling the desire to buy essential, aspirational and life style items in that order. The items include mobile phones, gold coins and jewellery, apparels, home and kitchen appliances, consumer durables, rechargeable lights, fans, among others.
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