The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) reported a 7.6 percent increase in transactions for October, clocking in 14 million transactions compared to 12.9 million in September. This festive season boost coincides with ONDC’s decision to increase each player’s incentive payout by 50 percent for the month, industry insiders revealed.
Breaking down October’s numbers, the mobility sector accounted for 5.5 million transactions, while non-mobility reached 8.4 million, marking respective growth rates of 10 percent and 7.6 percent. Within the non-mobility category, food and beverage saw the highest engagement with 2 million transactions, followed by groceries with approximately 1 million. Fashion on ONDC also saw a significant rise, hitting 11 million transactions in October, up from 9 million the previous month.
The platform’s overall growth reflects a staggering 200 percent increase in transactions on a year-on-year basis. In October 2023, ONDC had recorded only 4.5 million transactions. The previous month’s transaction growth was 3.2 percent with 12.9 million transactions in September, up from 5 percent in August. September’s transactions included 5 million from mobility and 7.9 million from non-mobility.
“While the growth is modest, a lot of small sellers benefitted this time and the festive season demand will continue to come in. These numbers are only for the beginning of the season,” an industry source commented, emphasizing the positive impact on small sellers.
The incentive increase was a strategic decision following ONDC’s moderate 5 percent month-on-month growth in August. Previously, ONDC had set the maximum payout per player at Rs 2.5 crore per month, down from Rs 3 crore until the end of September, with current incentives at Rs 60 lakh per player for October to spur adoption.
ONDC’s financial incentives have been a key driver for order volumes, enabling players to fund discounts and offers that attract more customers to the government-backed network. However, this temporary increase is seen as a strategic seasonal adjustment, with sources suggesting it may be rolled back after the festive period to focus on cash conservation.
Over the last 18 months, various digital platforms like Paytm, Ola, PhonePe, Meesho, Magicpin, and Shiprocket have integrated with ONDC, which aims to democratize digital commerce in India by diminishing the stronghold of major players such as Amazon, Flipkart, Zomato, and Swiggy.
Recently, Zoho, a bootstrapped SaaS unicorn, joined ONDC by launching a seller-side platform on September 25, underscoring the interoperability project’s appeal to businesses interested in breaking into the e-commerce space.
In addition, ONDC has announced plans to launch its own buyer app, ‘DigiHaat,’ through its wholly-owned subsidiary, ‘Nirmit Bharat.’ This new app will specifically promote small businesses, farmer producer organizations (FPOs), artisans, Viswakarmas, state emporiums, and self-help groups (SHGs), potentially adding to ONDC’s transaction volumes in the coming months.
