Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is a government network of buyers, sellers logistic partners aimed to democratise e-commerce in India. Axis Bank (and many other banks) were onboarded onto the network to build a buyer app aka an e-commerce storefront on GrabDeals
My Role
1 of 2 designers in a 30+ member team
Key Area
E-commerce buyer app
Target Audience
Existing to Bank Customers (ETB)
The Business Ask
The goal was to phase out the brand/partner offer section and have ONDC, a revenue generating platform take the center stage under the umbrella of GrabDeals (90% ONDC and 10% merchant visibility).
E-commerce projection in India
The Indian e-commerce industry is projected to reach US$ 300 billion by 2030, experiencing significant growth.
Whereas online grocery market is estimated to reach US$ 26.93 billion in 2027 from US$ 3.95 billion in FY21, expanding at a CAGR of 33%.
Hyperlocal e-commerce startup, Magicpin announced that its daily order volume has zoomed 100-fold to 10,000 per day from over 100 within a month of joining the government-promoted Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) network.
Consumer Psyche
What urges people to shop for groceries online?
Every category within the e-commerce space has a different consumer psyche associated with it. For groceries it boiled down to these two principles: Price and Speed. (And every competitor within the quick commerce space is trying to compete on just these, so what makes ONDC by Axis Bank unique?)
The Solution & USP
How to enter an oversaturated market?
How can we compete in grocery delivery if we dont have control over time OR price? The biggest value add for a new platform is price or time. Since we cannot compete on time, given that we are only a buyer platform (logistics of doorstep delivery will be assigned as per partnership) we really needed to double down on price. And since ONDC is an aggregator of many sellers, we cannot compete on price either. Users have freedom of choice to purchase the same item from any seller they see fit within their pin code radius.
This is where the USP curation came into play. These were are follows:
Freedom of price, seller and delivery choice
Unlimited products from across the country
Axis Bank triple savings via discounts and coupons
Supporting local business and Make in India
Curating the USP
Curating the Art Direction of the storefront
Given that our product was entering an already saturated space, it became crucial to use visual direction as a differentiator as well. Since ONDC is all about democratising e-commerce and is a government led initiative this was used to fuel the entire ‘Make in India’ story. The USP identification played a major role in curating this art direction. The essence of the visuals are made to breathe the feeling of shopping from your neighbourhood kiranas.
Key features and critical decisions
Turning behaviour insights into actionable features ✨
The following five insights were crystallised into behavioural outcomes that aids in exploration/ excitement, conversion, revenue and retention
Measuring Impact
Banking is contextual. Shopping is not.
This positioning of ONDC within the Axis Bank ecosystem would help in an increased footfall on the Open by Axis Bank app. Having a shopping storefront increases the frequency of visits as compared to banking products and services.
Currently, users only visit the app when a banking need arises
Check funds
View transactions
View credit card statement
Apply for a loan etc
CURRENT SCENARIO
With an e-commerce storefront, the app will see an:
Increased retention
Repeat customers
Leading to increased daily/weekly visits
RESULT & IMPACT
This leads to a primed exposure, increasing the visibility of bank offers in the long run, while also creating an opportunity to cross-sell banking products and services
FUTURE VISION
GrabDeals x ONDC Future Scope
Future Scope: Restaurant Delivery
In the second phase restaurant delivery (food and beverages) was prioritised to be added to the ONDC initiative. As the initial stages of design began with category expansion in mind, there was a substantial effort put into designing navigation that has:
1. Grabdeals and Groceries (in Phase 1: MVP)
2. Grabdeals, Groceries and Restaurants (in Phase 2)
3. Grabdeals, Groceries, Restaurants, Electronics, Fashion, Financial products (in Phase 3+)
ONDC Financial products and cross selling Axis Bank products
