JustDial Rolls Out B2B eCommerce Portal

JustDial, a hyperlocal Mumbai-based search engine, has rolled out its B2B eCommerce portal, JD Mart, which Inc42 reported will put JustDial in competition with big players like IndiaMart and Udaan.

The new portal will work to connect bulk buyers and wholesale sellers across different product categories, the report stated.

“JD Mart is an exclusive B2B portal for a new wholesale experience,” JustDial’s press statement read, per the report. “B2B buyers can discover quality vendors offering a wide selection of products to choose from, spread across various categories to suit all their B2B needs.”

The eCommerce portal comes after a delay due to a court case from IndiaMart, which alleged JustDial was infringing on its intellectual property by debuting the portal, according to the report. There was a temporary injunction secured against JD Mart, which was able to prevent the launch of the eCommerce portal.

The report stated JustDial said the accusations are “absolutely baseless and frivolous” and has accused IndiaMart of data copying and cybersquatting, among other allegations.

“Our products suffer from no plagiarism, and the same is above board both in terms of law and best business practices,” JustDial’s spokesperson has said, according to the report. “JustDial has painstakingly built its database, brand over the last 25 years and such baseless allegations shall be adequately addressed.”

India is among the countries which have seen a rise in B2B eCommerce transactions, with a survey finding that the space had a 200 percent rise in transactions as opposed to B2C transactions. This, PYMNTS reported, shows that the B2B contingent has made good use of the digital tools that B2C outlets had already been using.

Mobile orders in India rose 8 percent in 2020, and reports said that the trend of using mobile will continue for both B2B and B2C operations. Digital sales channels, according to studies quoted by PYMNTS, can boost both the size of the revenue and the number of transactions made.