Positioning
A markets-first local discovery + commerce platform for India. Hyperlocal at the sector / market grain. Traveler-aware. Privacy-by-design.
Tricity (Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula) at launch. North-India tier-2 cities seeded: Ambala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Amritsar, Karnal, Shimla, Dehradun.
Most directories sort by what you want (food, salons, electronics). Xplorin sorts by where locals actually shop — Sector 17 Plaza, Grain Market, Sector 35 Food Street. Markets are the unit of memory in Indian cities; we make them the unit of navigation.
Sponsored slots exist and are tagged Sponsored. Editor's picks are tagged. Organic ranking is documented in /research/popularity-algorithm.md. You always know why you're seeing what.
Compliance · DPDP Act 2023 transparency · ECommerce Rules 2020 §5(1)(b)
Tour Sector 17 from Mumbai. Browse Grain Market from Dubai. Photo-walk sequences (T1 MVP) → reel walks (T2) → 360° panorama (T3) → street-view-grade (T4 partner). A content moat — six months of camera work to seed; competitors cannot catch up by writing more code.
Aggregated, anonymized activity stream — what's happening right now in shops around you. "23 browsing Sector 17 right now." "5 households in Sec 22 bought from Sharma Fashion this week." Built on event signal, never on identity.
Compliance · DPDP Act 2023 — k-anonymity ≥ 20 contributors before any stat is published. Aggregates only. Time-windowed decay. Bot detection on ingest.
Visited Manali, loved a shawl shop, want it shipped to Chandigarh? Xplorin remembers. Cross-city e-commerce is the moat — every other hyperlocal player is single-city; we make a saved shop in any city orderable from anywhere.
Compliance · GST-compliant inter-state shipping · e-Way bill auto-generated > ₹50k · ONDC interop
One tap → verified WABA business number → templated message ('Hi, I'm enquiring about [Product] at [Market]'). Skip the call queue. Reduces seller-side friction by orders of magnitude.
Compliance · Opt-in messaging · DPDP consent recorded at signup · WABA verified (no unverified personal numbers)
FSSAI for food. GSTIN for retail. BIS Hallmark for jewellery. Drug Licence + Pharmacy Council registration for pharma. Trade Licence for services. Surfaced as filters, not buried in T&Cs.
Compliance · Legal Metrology Act 2009 · Consumer Protection Act 2019 · ECommerce Rules 2020 §5(2)(d)
Every market shows nearest metro, parking availability, autorickshaw drop, walking time from neighbourhood landmarks. The pre-flight info you actually need before going.
Capability scan — for the full 16-firm matrix see /research/competitors/MATRIX.md.
| Capability | Justdial | Magicpin | Swiggy/Zomato | Google Maps | Xplorin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Markets-first navigation | — | — | — | ◐ | ✓ |
| Sector-grain hyperlocal | — | ◐ | — | — | ✓ |
| Transparent ranking (sponsored tagged) | — | ◐ | ◐ | ◐ | ✓ |
| Virtual walks of markets | — | — | — | ◐ | ✓* |
| Anonymized live activity stream | — | — | — | — | ✓* |
| Cross-city order from saved shops | — | — | — | — | ✓ |
| WhatsApp deep-link with template | — | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Licence-badge filters (FSSAI/GSTIN/BIS) | — | — | ◐ | — | ✓ |
| Walkability + transit per market | — | — | — | ◐ | ✓ |
* planned for v1.x
Cross-cutting regulatory checklist. Built-in, not bolted-on.
| Layer | Regulation | Where surfaced |
|---|---|---|
| User data + analytics | DPDP Act 2023 | Pulse strip · footer · signup consent |
| Marketplace | Consumer Protection Act 2019 + ECommerce Rules 2020 | Store cards · returns/refunds page |
| Payments | RBI · PCI-DSS (via Razorpay / Stripe) | Checkout · footer |
| Cross-state shipping | GST + e-Way bills | Travel-buy USP · checkout |
| Food | FSSAI | Verified-licence USP · restaurant cards |
| Pharma | Drug Licence + Pharmacy Council | Verified-licence USP · pharma store |
| Jewellery | BIS Hallmark | Verified-licence USP · jewellery store |
| Weights + measures | Legal Metrology Act 2009 | Wholesale · grocery store cards |
| Messaging | WhatsApp Business + DPDP consent | WhatsApp USP · contact opt-in |
| Open commerce | ONDC Network Policy | Travel-buy USP · ONDC plan |
Reach out: partners@xplorin.com