Online retail sites and mobile apps are something which have completely changed the way we shop over the last decade or so. Now we can shop for all what we need and that our heart desires from the comfort of our homes without having to specially take out time for shopping out of our busy schedules. Reviewing the Kraftly mobile app, which not only makes buying from shopkeepers, homepreneurs, wholesalers, etc. easy, but also provides people with a wonderful opportunity to sell their wares in a few simple steps, make money and gain a wider customer base for their products at the same time.
Company profile: Kraftly is India's first C2C mobile flea market for unique products, which so far have been available largely offline. These items cover a wide range, including art, home & living, apparel, fashion accessories, costume jewelry, craft supplies, food, bath and beauty products, toys and other unique products. The app follows a model of an open marketplace which allows any seller – online or offline – to create their “microshop” in seconds and start selling. Buyers are able to discover unique products in a personalized manner and directly interact with sellers.
Kraftly, taglined - Uniquely Yours, online retail flea market was first introduced in August, 2015 and is available to users as a Webpage as well as a mobile app, which is supported by Android as well as Mac operating systems. The Android app (Which I am using) is compact, around 10 MB in size while its Mac version is around 47 MB in size. It is quick to load and runs smoothly without much crashing issues.
On opening the app, one must first register with Kraftly and create their account, which can be done easily, in under a minute by just entering one's name, email address and creating a password of their choice. Further sign in's are made simple by providing option of doing so via Facebook or google or by entering one's email sign in information.
The Kraftly mobile app homepage has a simple user interface which is divided into three main parts - Discover, My feed and Sell.
- The "Discover" section contains a few pictorial mentions of featured shops or collections on top, followed by various Kraftly coupons, a few shops, popular buying categories, list of collections - Recently made, most loved and trending followed by a few featured products. One can also see the list of most loved products on the site as well as those viewed recently by the user. Also latest blog articles from Kraftly can be viewed at the bottom of the homepage.
- Through the "My Feed" section the user can view the activities of the users and shops whom they follow.
- "Sell" section is to be used to set up an online virtual shop to sell wares.
The topmost area of the screen is occupied by the name of the app and a bar on its left hand side from where self-profile can be visualized and edited and also various other options namely - Discover, browse categories, all offers, sell, my likes, my chats, my purchases, my collections, my credits, share with friends, rate us, how to sell, FAQ, contact us, terms and Kraftly Blog. One can also view the shopping cart, search the site for items using keywords and check notifications through this task bar.
The user can search for specific items that they wish to buy from the various categories, each having a wide variety of products, and simply add them to their cart, add their postal information, apply the discount coupon code (If any) and make the payment for the same via a credit / debit card, net banking or the cash on delivery option to successfully place the order. Products can also be liked (By clicking on the heart icon) to shortlist them for buying them later. One unique feature that Kraftly offers is that buyers can chat with the store owners if they wish to know more about a product, enabling them to make a more informed decision of buying. Also, orders once placed can be cancelled by the buyer, until the time they haven't been shipped by the seller. The shipping cost for the shopping orders is decided by the shop owners - Many provide free shipping while others levy a small charge for the same. Tracking for orders is provided with detailed account of every step of the process right from the placement of order to the receipt of the stuff by the buyer. Kraftly also provides easy returns for most of the items sold, the refund of which is made in form of store credits or bank transfer.
The "Sell" feature of the app can be used by a simple verification of the mobile number, followed by creation of the shop, the Citrus wallet (Which is where the money from selling is deposited!), addition of the products that you wish to sell and tadaa, you're good to go! Also, you can auto share your products through Kraftly to your WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram page, making for greater exposure for your products through easy and non-cumbersome social promotion.
Kraftly also runs a reward program which entitles users of the app to store credits which can be gained by registering on the site, inviting friends to use the app through text messages or through Twitter or Facebook. These credits entitle the users to get an automatic deduction of 20 % from the order total in addition to savings that one can avail of from using various coupon codes.
Kraftly has an elaborate FAQ section on their site which more than solves the queries of buyers as well as sellers. But, in case, any further clarification is needed, the users can contact Kraftly by mailing them at support@kraftly.com or calling at 011-39595059 for quick resolution of grievances.
