Swiggy's Shopify alternative now also caters to service providers
Indian food delivery and quick commerce start-up, Swiggy, is transforming its smaller business unit, Swiggy Minis, into a link-in-bio service. Initially launched in 2022 as a Shopify alternative for small businesses, the revamped Swiggy Minis will now also cater to service providers such as nutritionists and fitness trainers. The new platform will function as a landing page, that sellers can use to direct their target customers from their social media pages.
Integration with Google Calendar
Swiggy has announced plans to integrate its revamped Minis service with Google Calendar. This integration will enable service providers to include a booking module on their page. Originally, Swiggy Minis was designed to allow merchants to create sites, manage orders, shipping, and transactions without paying any commissions. The company continues its policy of not taking any commissions from sellers, and permits them to set up their page with support for multiple social links and themes.
Shifting focus to repeat purchases
Swiggy's revamp of the Minis homepage is aimed at focusing on repeat purchases. A spokesperson for Swiggy stated, "As a SaaS platform, Minis's primary goal is enabling sellers to create operational websites swiftly. We've observed strong traction originating from sellers' social media pages and have therefore decided to prioritize this channel for discovery." The company is expanding its service beyond physical products to include digital offerings from different service providers.
Swiggy Minis to incorporate Google Reviews
In addition to Google Calendar integration, Swiggy Minis is incorporating Google Reviews as a rating system for service providers. However, the discovery layer on Minis will be removed. Customers will still have access to their saved stores or stores they have previously ordered from. Merchants who relied on Swiggy's Minis discovery mechanism have been notified about the changes, and will need to promote their shop elsewhere.
Swiggy Minis claims better conversion rates despite changes
According to an email newsletter sent to sellers, Swiggy claimed that only 5%-10% of buyers were arriving on merchants' store pages directly via Swiggy Mini. Despite the removal of the discovery layer, Swiggy asserts that Minis offers better conversion rates than other platforms. The firm believes that shops can expect more repeat customers as they can see their past orders and favorite shops in the Minis section.
