How S’pore startup Fairmart helps physical retailers get online

The e-commerce boom has benefited many corporations, especially as the Covid-19 pandemic restricted in-store searching. Online browsing has considering that turn into the new norm for numerous, propelling e-commerce platforms to acquire enormous level of popularity above the previous couple a long time.

Amidst the achievement that several of these corporations and platforms have located, two business people discovered that a segment of the Singapore market was not perfectly-served by the e-commerce increase: brick-and-mortar retailers.

“I read through about a new food items model that achieved my dog’s special dietary requirements. Even however there had been three pet merchants within two kilometres of where I lived at the time, a lookup on Google only confirmed Shopee and Lazada listings,” Jan Gasparic, co-founder of Fairmart, told Vulcan Post.

“On my way house just one working day, I popped into a person of the pet outlets in my neighbourhood and they had it in the retailer this whole time! It’s the 21st century and we’re sending rockets into house, however we simply cannot effortlessly check out the goods carried by merchants in our vicinity?”

Jan was not alone in his frustration. A fellow entrepreneur that he fulfilled in the Entrepreneur Initial software, Daniil Moskovtsov, expressed the identical sentiments. Jointly, they resolved to launch a startup that would help these brick-and-mortar stores get their solutions on the web.

Even though they were both keen on pursuing their new idea, they confronted a complicated problem: the Covid-19 pandemic. The founders have been based mostly in distinct elements of the world when they determined to operate with each other, and did not fulfill in person until finally 6 months just after commencing to function jointly.

“Our early times have been all remote and we were shipping prototypes in between New Zealand and Hong Kong, wherever we had been the two based previously. Making a company with anyone you’ve by no means achieved in human being was difficult, but like so numerous items throughout the pandemic, we just acquired on with it and got it carried out,” reported Jan.

Tech is a terrific equaliser

On studying the issues that brick-and-mortar outlets confronted, they identified some challenges that desired to be resolved.

Current platforms had been designed for on the net retailers, which normally sold a scaled-down selection of products. On the other hand, they located that retail stores generally carried about 2,000 items. As such, it would be a enormous hassle for these merchants to manually essential in the details for their solutions onto on the internet platforms.

Additionally, while buyers nevertheless typically obtain merchandise offline, the extensive bulk of consumers research for items on the net initially. This is why retail stores shed extra than US$4.5 billion in profits to electronic opponents every 12 months — all simply because retail retail store goods were being simply not searchable on the net.

Hence, Fairmart determined to assist them automate this method. Making use of their sensible scanner, partnering shops can just scan the barcode of their solutions, and the data will be released on Fairmart’s web site, along with Google and Facebook.

Customers that are on the lookout for precise products will then see the solutions on search engines, and can either head to the retailer to invest in, reserve the products, or invest in them on-line.

Thanks to their good scanner, a activity that would have taken more than 200 hours of manual details entry could be attained in less than half an hour.

Fairmart is resolving the perennial problems that protect against local shops from leveraging the benefits of digitisation, starting with the most labour and time-intensive task of managing on the net inventory. By enabling automated listings, Fairmart assists community customers find what they are looking for, although enabling retailers to focus on what they do best: driving gross sales and client engagement.

– Jan Gasparic, co-founder of Fairmart

In addition to serving to these stores listing their solutions on line, Fairmart also allows these stores to much better comprehend their effectiveness by means of facts analytics. 

Brick-and-mortar stores typically do not have the knowledge necessary for small business selections, but with digitalisation, they can see which of their goods are currently being sought out on the internet, and come to a decision which kinds to inventory.

“One of our clients was pretty amazed when we confirmed him that niche products in his stock were being attracting much more new buyers than what he imagined were being his ‘hero’ products and solutions. The knowledge we give empowers retailers to fully grasp what shoppers are hunting for and supports their assortment decisions,” shared Jan.

In exchange for obtain to Fairmart’s system, retail outlet entrepreneurs pay back a monthly subscription payment of S$50 for currently being mentioned on Fairmart’s system.

Fairmart’s potential

“Brick-and-mortar shops is a enormous market, [worth] around US$625 million in Southeast Asia. And yet, so number of technologies providers are setting up answers for them. There’s an monumental possibility to unlock digital commerce for this phase,” observed Jan, adding that Fairmart is only receiving commenced in revolutionising the e-commerce landscape.

Very last thirty day period, the startup announced the closing of an oversubscribed seed funding round, led by Quest Ventures and Entrepreneur To start with. The spherical raised S$2 million of expense, and Fairmart will be using this fresh funding to proceed increasing their pool of purchasers. 

Fairmart is also organizing to make improvements to their details analytics, and hopes to supply info-pushed insights for their shoppers.

Following all, as e-commerce booms, brick-and-mortar outlets are struggling to endure and Jan thinks that Fairmart is aiding to give these stores “a honest shot” to contend with their on-line equivalents.

“D2C e-commerce was the initially wave of digitising retail. The next wave has been the large marketplaces such as Shopee and Lazada. Fairmart is the following wave wherever we acquire all the applications that the big gamers have, and make them offered to every single regional and neighbourhood retailer out there,” he included.

Showcased Graphic Credit rating: Entrepreneur First