Swiggy, the popular Indian food delivery and quick commerce startup, is making changes to one of its smaller businesses, Swiggy Minis. Originally launched in 2022 as a no-code alternative to Shopify for small sellers, Swiggy Minis allowed merchants to create websites, upload catalogs, and manage orders, shipping, and transactions without paying any commissions. However, the company is now pivoting Swiggy Minis into a link-in-bio service that will cater to a wider range of service providers, including nutritionists and fitness trainers.
The new version of Swiggy Minis will act as a landing page for sellers, which they can use to direct their target customers from their social media pages. The company also plans to integrate Google Calendar to allow service providers to include a booking module on their landing pages. This revamp removes the previous discovery layer on Swiggy Minis, meaning that customers will no longer be able to find new stores on the platform. However, they will still be able to access their saved stores and view their past orders.
What sets Swiggy Minis apart from other platforms is that it doesn’t charge any commissions to sellers. It also offers support for multiple social links and themes, allowing sellers to customize their pages. The company has revamped the homepage of Swiggy Minis to focus on repeat purchases, aiming to increase conversion rates for sellers.
According to a spokesperson from Swiggy, the decision to prioritize social media channels for discovery was based on strong traction originating from sellers’ social media pages. The company believes that this change will allow sellers to reach their target audience more effectively.
In addition to expanding the platform to accommodate digital offerings from service providers, Swiggy is also adding Google Reviews as a rating system for these providers. This will help customers make more informed decisions when choosing a service.
The company has notified sellers about the removal of the discovery layer on Swiggy Minis. Merchants who relied on this feature to reach customers will now need to promote their shops elsewhere. However, Swiggy claims that only a small percentage of customers were arriving on merchants’ store pages directly through Swiggy Minis.
Despite the removal of the discovery layer, Swiggy Minis still offers better conversion rates compared to other platforms, according to the company. This is due to the ability for customers to see their past orders and favorite shops in the Minis section, which encourages repeat purchases.
Link-in-bio services have gained popularity in recent years as a way for content creators and businesses to share multiple links in their bio section on social media platforms. Swiggy Minis now joins the likes of Linktree and Patreon, offering not only a storefront for sellers but also appointment booking capabilities.
Swiggy has been focusing on scaling up its quick-commerce platform, Instamart, in recent years. The company faces competition from food delivery rival Zomato, which owns BlinkIt, and Lightspeed-backed unicorn Zepto in the quick commerce space. While BlinkIt and Zepto partner with brands to sell on their platforms and promote their products, they do not offer a SaaS product for small sellers and creators like Swiggy Minis does.
In conclusion, Swiggy is pivoting its small business, Swiggy Minis, into a link-in-bio service that will cater to service providers such as nutritionists and fitness trainers. The new version of Swiggy Minis will act as a landing page for sellers, allowing them to direct their customers from social media platforms. Despite the removal of the discovery layer, Swiggy Minis offers better conversion rates compared to other platforms. The addition of Google Calendar integration and Google Reviews as a rating system will further enhance the platform’s capabilities. This move by Swiggy reflects the growing trend of link-in-bio services and the company’s efforts to expand its offerings beyond food delivery.
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