JOIN USHow many times have you skipped eating out or a visit to the parlour citing month-end woes? Chin up because there is an app that aims to lift you from the drudgery of penury.
Founded by Manish Chopra and Satish Mani, ‘LittleApp’ promises to bring you the best of deals from across services in a hassle-free format. Manish talks to Rajitha Menon about why online deal platforms are the next big thing in India.
Could you tell us a bit about the startup?
LittleApp is a hyper-local deals discovery platform connecting customers and merchants across services like restaurants, spa, salons, activities etc. It helps customers discover fantastic and unique offers near them at their favourite outlets. And the app also doubles up as a sales channel for offline merchants.
How did you come up with such a concept?
The app bridges the gap between the customers, who want great deals, and merchants who want to reach out to them. The problem we saw was the lack of an organised national player and we wanted to solve this by launching LittleApp.
How does it work?
The customer can browse through a vast number of deals across all platforms near them. The moment the app opens, one can simply pick up their city and browse through deals categorised under various headings such as ‘Fab Deals’, ‘Food and Drinks’, ‘Spas and Salons’ and ‘Things to do’.
What about the payment process?
One can buy the deal they like within the app and pay using Paytm, net banking, credit and debit card. No printouts are required, one can simply show the online deal code/QR Code to the merchant.
Why do you think such a concept is important today?
Traditionally, deals and vouchers can save you a lot of money. But fumbling through newspapers, clipping the best deals, and waiting to scan them at checkout can make any quick supermarket trip long and very cumbersome. Nowadays, smartphones have changed how we do pretty much everything in life and saving money is no exception.
Future plans?
The past year has showed us that Indian consumers have embraced the deals and discount market. We are glad that even merchants have adopted this as a strong tool to increase their customer base and boost loyalties. Businesses are now reaching out themselves for listing their services on our platform. With a focus on a cashless economy, we will be able to scale up in future.