Journalism of Courage
Buying from a store anywhere in Pune is now possible without visiting the store and also without paying extra for home delivery. Milestores,a newly-launched portal developed by a team of young software professionals under the guidance of Vijay Bhatkar allows Puneites to buy a variety of products from stores across the city.
It is better than normal online shopping in two ways the customer does not have to pay delivery charges and also need not be at home to collect the product as it is delivered to a shop selected by the cssustomer,nearest to his/her home, said Zameer Inamdar,one of the software developers.
After reaching out to their target group of 100 stores in the city,Milestores plans to make the platform available for housewives-turned-entrepreneurs and self help groups so that they can sell their products to a larger customer base.
For instance,if someone staying in Aundh has to buy a mobile phone from a shop on M G Road,he/she will select the shop (which is already registered on Milestores) and the product.
The customer also has to select a store from where it is convenient for him/her to collect the delivery. A request will be automatically generated to the said shop,which is supposed to keep the product packed and ready within 24 hours.
We have two delivery vans that will be doing the rounds of 50 such shops every day,collecting and delivering products. Thus,every product will be delivered within 48 hours to the customer at MRP, Inamdar said.
Each shop that is registered with Milestores will also act as a point of collection for customers in that area. This need not be a shop selling the same product. The customer has to pay at the collection point either in cash or by card. Online payments are not required in these transactions.
The reverse method can be applied for returning the product. Other online shopping websites are operated from Mumbai or Delhi and returning products is a tedious process. As far as financial feasibility of this portal is concerned,Milestores has managed to keep the finances within the stores and itself and not pass on to the customers in any form,Inamdar said.
Around 300 categories of products can be sold and bought through Milestores except for perishable items like mithai,large electronic goods like washing machines and refrigerators,furniture and medicines that cannot be sold without doctors prescription.
