David (brick&mortar stores) and Goliath (online retailers). And if you didn’t get it, Dekkoh is the sling.

Empowering the little guys (brick&mortar stores)

Dekkoh Team
The Dekkoh Blog
Published in
2 min readSep 15, 2015

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Way too much is being said about online shopping. And while it’s great that I can buy and sell without lifting a finger (!), it’s ridiculous to dismiss brick&mortar stores out of hand. There are serious advantages that physical retail still has over online stores:

  1. Overall Speed: An online order takes ~10 days to deliver, 5 days to return. That’s a potential 2 weeks you’ll wait without a guarantee of a product you’ll like. Instead, there’s almost definitely a brick-&-mortar store within a 5km radius of where you live that provides a better product. If only you’d visit that store (no don’t complain about traffic / parking; & anyway, yes, there’ll soon be home delivery from offline stores, we’ve heard you..)
  2. Trial: It’s nice to feel something before you put it on. One of the pleasures of the civilised world. Observe things, try them out, check for size and fit. Unless you absolutely prefer arranged marriages to love marriages, OR you’re Smriti Irani — walk into a trial room today!
  3. Quality: Some of the best things on sale — particularly in fashion — simply aren't available online. Check myntra for an Anarkali and then check Kimaya. Visit Amazon for a leather jacket and then visit the Leather Boutique. Brother, if you let them pull the wool over your eyes, at least let it be cashmere!
  4. Survival: Online retail is still just a fraction of brick&mortar sales, and the latter is growing at a CAGR of nearly 24% in tier 1 cities. Given the unorganised status of offline retail in smaller towns & cities, this is probably higher on a national level. Moreover— note that brick&mortar stores are fighting back. They’re coming online in droves, using sites like shopify and tie-ups with e-commerce sites to start selling online, while retaining their physical stores and their primary point of sale. But most importantly — note that online retailers are now embracing a hybrid model, and the Tatas have announced a massive hybrid venture to tap the best of both worlds. Offline retail is here to thrive!

And that’s what Dekkoh aims to support. The creation of a mobile eco-system where shoppers are able to discover with offline stores, view their inventory, chat with their store managers, get tips & recommendations from other shoppers. A system that allows brick&mortar stores to leverage the internet to drive customers to their stores AND sell online.

Dekkoh seeks to empower the little guys and bring them online. To make this a fair fight. Check out our mobile app today to discover great stores and awesome products located around you!

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