PhonePe’s Pincode shuts quick commerce operations; CEO says company will refocus on enterprise offerings

PhonePe’s hyperlocal shopping app Pincode has officially shut down its consumer-facing quick commerce vertical.

It is now aiming to make a significant pivot toward a fully B2B strategy. The closure of Pincode highlights the business and operational challenges in the Indian quick commerce area, which is highly competitive and price-driven, with only a few players having managed to keep their shops running. 

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About Pincode

Launched in April 2023 on the protocol for ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce), Pincode was launched at a time when investor and consumer enthusiasm for the concept of hyperlocal delivery was peaking.

What it offered? 

• The application offered a wide range of categories

• Launched its 24-hour online medicine delivery service in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Pune this year. 

• Which allowed customers to place orders for OTC and prescription medicines and receive them within 10 minutes from medical stores around them.

However, as reported, the company has confirmed a complete exit from its B2C operations. 

Leadership statements

Sameer Nigam, PhonePe Founder and Group CEO, shared in a press note: “Pincode’s mission is to empower Indian offline shopkeeper with advanced technology solutions to help them grow their businesses and remain competitive against new-age ecommerce and quick commerce companies.” 

He talked about how Pincode distracted the team from their core operations: “To this end, operating yet another B2C quick commerce app ourselves was distracting us from our core mission, which is to help offline business partners achieve operational efficiency, improved margins and visibility and growth in their existing offline business.”

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Quick commerce in India

With this exit, Pincode becomes the second major player to step back from the space after Dunzo paused operations amid fierce competition from Blinkit, Swiggy, Instamart and Zepto, the trio that today commands over 90% of the market. 

Pincode CEO Vivek Lohcheb added that the company will deepen its focus on enterprise tools. 

Over the past year, the platform has been cutting its offerings: 

• exiting fashion and electronics 

• to focus on high-frequency essentials. 

It also shifted travel and transit services back to the main PhonePe app, but these iterations failed to yield the desired traction.

With the consumer vertical now closed, Pincode’s strategy is clear: double down on tech-led enablement for India’s offline retail ecosystem.

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