Go local, go niche with these apps

For the urban millennial or even the modern-day professional or homemaker, life today would be a challenge without the help of on-demand service apps. Whereas it was just food and cab aggregator apps like Swiggy or Uber that was on everybody’s fingertips barely a couple of years ago, now the trend has well and truly found its feet in a variety of options – from home cleaning and beauty services to appliance repairs and babysitters.

There now are a large number of niche and specialised options, all of which has hyperlocal as the keyword. For instance, a Swiggy or Zomato might give you a plethora of global cuisines to choose from, but what if you wanted paniyarams that reminds you of grandma’s cooking? That is where city-based Fooddoo comes into play. It connects you to homemakers across the city, who make healthy ‘home-style’ dishes that will satiate not just hunger but nostalgia as well.

Bengaluru’s Dunzo, the on-demand delivery start-up, is one of the latest entrants into the Chennai market, creating a buzz among young professionals in the city. They hyperlocal app lets users administer any task they want done to the app – from picking up groceries to taking your mother to the hospital. They will even cover a children’s school books covered with brown paper or get you cigarettes after midnight. Dunzo will be working with city-based delivery service Genie, which runs a similar operation.

It’s not surprising that Chennaiites have quickly embraced this, but the challenge still remains to convince the skilled workers from the unorganised sector (door-to-door technicians and those with brick-and-mortar shops) to join this organised market, says marketing expert Vinod Kumar, who works with a number of start-up app developers in promoting their brands. “It will only be beneficial for the manpower, as they tap into new communities and neighbourhood. However, with many of them set in their ways and distrustful of technology, it is an ongoing process to convince them. But be it a plumber or a tuition teacher, they are slowly recognising that it makes financial sense to adapt to the changes in the market,” he explains.

These apps are immensely popular even among homemakers in the city, who do not want to step out in the heat; the affordability factor only helps matters. “By the time I get my daily chores done and my children packed and ready for school, I’m so exhausted. I have no energy to fix household chores and no time to rest. But these apps have made life so much easier. Now I book a mani-pedi session once a week when I’m free and have even rekindled my childhood passion of playing the veena again – with people coming home for the service,” says Vanmathi Krishnakumar, a homemaker and mother of three from Anna Nagar.

Chennai also boasts of its fair share of talented entrepreneurs ready to push the boundaries when it comes to the tech development of the apps too. Take the case of 21-year-old Shiv Shankar Ganesh, the founder of Kaching, an app that is looking to revolutionise the dining-out experience.

The app does not need a QR code or OTP or even Wi-Fi. Running on the concept of Bluetooth Low Energy, Kaching pushes out notifications to users whenever they enter a café/restaurant/bar, spelling out discounts and deals available. The customer just has to show this to the manager to have deals like a five-course meal for as cheap as Rs 500 – if you know exactly where to go and what to order.

“We have grown with a focus the supply side of the business, and now work with over 500 merchant partners. Now, there are not just restaurants and bars, but retail, spa, salon as well. More importantly, we’ve built two new hyper-scalable verticals that we think is what the next evolution of the business is going to be. By the end of the financial year, we are going to hit half a million users,” says Shiv, who dropped out of college to start his venture.

He attributes his success solely to the companies that have made it simple for people sign up and get started. “We’ve always been fans of convenience, and now it’s easier than ever to get hooked. In the foreseeable future, there’s going to be better distribution, better lower-end smartphones, more variety in services and more customers with money to spend. The services themselves will obviously get more efficient. There’s a lot of stuff brewing in stealth in the crypto/blockchain space, with a few Chennai companies on to something mega cool. Let’s see how it pans out,” he adds.

However, digital marketing expert Kirubha Shankar says that while these apps definitely make life easier, using them has its limitations. “It will take a lot for an app to become part of someone’s ‘finger memory’ – that is, using them on a daily basis. It will take time for that to happen,” he reckons.

It is not just food that has grown niche, even ‘love’ seems tohave gone down the same road. Over the last year or so, datingapps have become specific, with the heyday of Tinder and TrulyMadlycoming to an end. R Veena, a party planner in the city, says, “Everyone ison Tinder these days and it’s scary. I sometimes even see profiles of my friend’sfather or my very own relatives. In a city like Chennai that is so close-knit, Tinder’s popularityhas led its own undoing. These days, most girls prefer Bumble, on which only female userscan make the first contact with matched male users. It’s the rage among college students these days. Coffee Meets Bagel is another hit, as it limits the number of profiles users can interact with daily and also provides some fun ice-breaker information. This is what Chennaiites are swiping on today when it comes to love or hook-ups.”