DigiHaat, launched in October 2024 by Nirmit Bharat (a subsidiary of ONDC), is designed to radically transform Indian e‑commerce by empowering every buyer and seller, including those in smaller towns and rural areas .
🌍 Why DigiHaat Stands Out
✅ Built on the ONDC Open Network
Unlike traditional e‑commerce apps that function as closed marketplaces, Shopping DigiHaat operates on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). This means no centralized gatekeeping—sellers manage inventory and pricing independently, while data is interoperable across the network.
💬 Designed Around Real Users
During development, DigiHaat ran a national hackathon and even a MyGov logo contest to collect design feedback from everyday users. The result: a clean, intuitive UI that simplifies shopping for first-time digital users .
🎯 Inclusive Product Range & Cultural Roots
The app offers 2.5 crore+ SKUs across eight categories—Grocery, Food, Fashion, Electronics, Home Décor, Beauty, Health & Wellness. Shopping It also features “The Amazing India”, a year-round showcase of curated handicrafts and indigenous regional products supporting artisans and small businesses .
🚀 Growth Trajectory: By the Numbers
- Grew from 53 orders in Nov 2024 to over 3 lakh orders by April 14, 2025—all within its first five months .
- More than 2 lakh users onboarded alongside 4,727 sellers, most of whom are MSMEs, artisans, and Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) .
- Service has expanded to 2,400+ pincodes, reaching both metroV cities and tier‑2/tier‑3 towns like Zirakpur, Siliguri, Sopore, and Mysuru.
- Estimated GMV of ₹5 crore, with strong traction in grocery (2.7 lakh+ orders), followed by food (~35,700 orders) and beauty & personal care (~2,250 orders) .
- Customers purchasing up to three times a month, indicating solid retention and trust.
🔍 Hidden Strengths: What You Might Not Notice
- Transparent Pricing & Low Fees: Since ONDC eliminates steep commissions that typical platforms charge (20–30%), DigiHaat Shopping offers lower final prices to buyers and fairer earnings to sellers. As a Reddit user highlighted: “First benefit … Amazon, Zomato currently charges 25–30 percent commission … shift to ONDC … it will go down to nearly 2 percent.”
- Seller Empowerment: Through Seller Network Participants (SNPs), DigiHaat enables easy onboarding and catalog management for non-technical sellers—no storefront gatekeeping or tech complications .
- Multilingual, Inclusive UI: Built with language support and usability in mind, DigiHaat is accessible even to first-time smartphone users in remote Shopping or non-English-speaking areas.
⚠️ The User Experience Puzzle
While DigiHaat offers compelling value, especially pricing, ONDC’s decentralized delivery and support systems sometimes cause friction. Reddit Shopping users report issues with delivery delays and limited customer support:
These bottlenecks highlight the early-stage nature of the network: pricing is attractive—but operational consistency still needs work.
🌈 Final Take: Why DigiHaat Matters
DigiHaat is doing more than just competing—it’s redefining online commerce by:
- Handing pricing control back to sellers and buyers.
- Opening digital storefronts for artisans and local MSMEs.
- Spreading digital shopping access beyond traditional urban centers.
- Offering a seamless yet fair alternative to Amazon, Swiggy, and others.
