E-commerce platform launches QR-based contactless payments solution

Gurgaon-based O2O commerce platform DOT is striving to tap the $1 trillion retail market in India through a host of merchant and consumer-focused commerce solutions. The platform has launched a QR-based contactless commerce and payment solution.

According to the company’s official release, this will enable 2500 retailers to resume business recovery fast by eliminating all high touch elements in the retail environment and ensuring minimal human contact. This will help retailers regain customer trust and ensure footfalls again post the nationwide lockdown, DOT claimed.

With the increasing cases of Covid-19 globally, many countries announced the lockdown state and started observing strict norms of social distancing. This urged the retailers both online and offline, to push for contactless commerce. DOT mentioned that its contactless retail solutions could assist them not just to restore the customer trust but also ensure streamlined business operations following the social distancing & safety norms.

However, the pace of business recovery and in-store footfall will depend on the ability of the retailers in managing to restore customer trust fast.

The contactless retail solution by DOT claims to allow the shoppers to scan a QR code by using the mobile phone camera and get access to catalogues of retail brands and menus of restaurants on a browser.

They will be similar to an e-commerce page or online restaurant’s menu that can be added to the cart. Retail customers can then choose to go inside the store and pick the pre-selected order whereas diners can do contactless ordering through their mobile browser while seated at the table.

Contactless payments can be made through preferred modes (credit, debit cards, net-banking, UPI, wallets, etc.). Meanwhile, at the back-end, retailers can integrate their order management system or with DOT to manage the inventory.

Speaking on the launch, Shailaz Nag, Founder, DOT mentioned in the official release: “The uniqueness of the DOT platform is that customers don’t have the hassles of downloading any app and can start shopping, buying or ordering by simply scanning the merchant QR code once. The commerce and payments happen on the user’s mobile browser while the post-transaction communication, customer invoicing, feedback etc. shifts to WhatsApp. i.e. the customer can engage with the merchant on WhatsApp after placing the order.”

He further added, “Our solution eliminates all high touch elements in the retail environment and ensures minimal human contact. DOT plans to replicate this solution across shopping malls, restaurants, QSR Chains, eateries, large format & small grocery stores. We are already live with a gamut of big food outlets and cafes at the moment and very soon will launch the solution in a big way across large format retailers, leading shopping malls and retail brand stores. The target is to get half-a-million merchants and 1 million daily transactions on the DOT platform by Dec 2020”

Currently used by prominent food chains like Haldiram’s, Social, Chilis, Cafe Delhi Heights, and Fab café, DOT envisions to onboard 10 million merchants over the next few years.