ONDC for SME Sellers India —
Registration, Products & Strategy

ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) is a government-backed open protocol — similar to UPI for payments — that allows any seller to list products and any buyer app to display and transact those listings. Unlike Amazon or Flipkart (closed platforms where you sell through their specific portal), ONDC is an open network: you register with one seller app (Technology Service Provider), and your products automatically become visible across all buyer apps (Paytm, Meesho, Magicpin, Pincode, etc.). For sellers, this means lower fees (1–3% total vs. 5–40% on Amazon/Flipkart), multi-platform exposure from a single registration, and ownership of the customer relationship.

ONDC fees are significantly lower than traditional marketplaces. The structure: (1) Seller app fee: typically 0.5–1.5% of GMV (paid to your seller app / TSP); (2) Buyer app fee: typically 0–3% (paid by the buyer app to ONDC infrastructure; may be shared between platforms); (3) Logistics cost: depends on provider — Dunzo and Delhivery rates apply. Compare to Amazon: 5–40% commission depending on category, plus FBA fulfilment fees (₹25–100+ per shipment), plus referral fees. For high-commission categories (fashion, electronics, home), ONDC typically reduces total platform cost by 60–80% vs Amazon/Flipkart.

Yes — there is no exclusivity requirement on ONDC, and multi-channel selling is the recommended strategy for most Indian SMEs. The typical approach: use Amazon and Flipkart for volume and discovery (at higher commission), use ONDC for margin improvement on repeat customers and category-specific opportunities (especially hyperlocal food/grocery, B2B, and artisan categories). Some sellers use ONDC pricing as a mechanism to build direct-to-consumer habits — offering ONDC prices slightly lower than Amazon, leveraging the multi-buyer-app exposure to build brand recognition without the platform dependency.