Online grocery firm Bigbasket on November 24 announced the launch of its new technology-driven 'Fresho' store in Bengaluru, entering the offline retail segment.
The company, which was acquired by Tata Digital in May this year, "aims at targeting the next 500 million users who have not purchased grocery online yet", it said in a press release. The launch is part of Bigbasket’s plan to open 200 physical outlets across India by 2023 and increase it to 800 by 2026.
According to Bigbasket chief executive officer Hari Menon, the Fresho stores would prove to be "gamechangers" as they would make the buying of fruits, vegetables and groceries "as seamless as cash transactions at ATMs".
These stores will "offer high-quality products at extremely competitive prices", the company said.
The Fresho stores , whose first unit has been unveiled in Bengaluru's Basaveshwar Nagar, is based on a "channel agnostic approach" to connect with customers, Bigbasket said. Orders can be placed online and from these stores as per customers' convenience, it said.
The Fresho stores would "merge the best of technology such as 'self-billing counters’ integrated with video AI tools” that enable customers to pick items of their choice and weigh them at the counter through automatic computer vision that can identify the items and generate bills accordingly, the company said.
"The produce stocked at the stores is backed by our extensive 'Farmer Connect programme' where we partner with over 30,000 farmers across the country to source fruits and vegetables directly. There is complete traceability for all fresh produce built in our supply chain which allows us to communicate details of the farmer for each product to our customers," Menon said.
To highlight this 'Farmer Connect programme', the company decided to invite three farmers as chief guests for the store launch.
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