Indian food delivery and quick commerce startup Swiggy is venturing into link-building to broaden its customer base. Swiggy Minis, initially designed as a Shopify alternative for small businesses, is now transitioning into a link-in-bio service similar to Linktree. This shift will also accommodate service providers like nutritionists and fitness trainers.
Swiggy confirmed the revamp, stating that the new focus of Minis is on repeat purchases and facilitating the swift creation of operational websites for sellers. “We’ve observed significant traction from sellers’ social media pages, so we are prioritizing this channel for discovery,” a Swiggy spokesperson told the media.
The change comes amidst reports of low direct usage, with only 5%-10% of customers visiting merchants’ store pages via Swiggy Minis. Now, Swiggy Minis will function as a landing page for sellers to direct traffic from their social media profiles. Future integrations will include Google Calendar for booking modules.
Launched in 2022 as a no-code Shopify alternative, Swiggy Minis allowed small sellers to create sites, manage orders, and handle transactions without commission fees. Initially, it included a discoverable marketplace on the Swiggy app, which will now be removed. Customers can still view their saved or previously ordered stores.
Sellers using Minis can set up pages with multiple social links and themes, maintaining a no-commission policy. Swiggy is expanding its service to include digital offerings from various service providers and plans to integrate Google Reviews for ratings.
Swiggy has informed sellers about the removal of the discovery layer, emphasizing that Minis offers better conversion rates than other platforms. The company expects the new model to drive more repeat customers since users can see their past orders and favorite shops.
Other link-in-bio services, like Linktree, provide appointment booking and storefront options. Similarly, Patreon offers tools for fans to support creators.
Swiggy, which aims to raise $1.25 billion through an initial public offering in India, has focused on scaling its quick commerce platform, Instamart, competing with Zomato’s BlinkIt and the unicorn Zepto. Unlike BlinkIt and Zepto, Swiggy does not have a SaaS product for small sellers and creators.
Source: TechCrunch
