A Minha Quitandinha, a retail technology startup that operates in the autonomous minimarket franchise model, launches QPay to the market, a software tailored for the autonomous store sector. Operating in about 300 stores, the system, which has already recorded over 1.6 million purchases and transacted over R$ 30 million, allows consumers to make purchases in less than 19 seconds through a seamless journey and an intuitive app.
According to Guilherme Mauri, CEO of Minha Quitandinha, the brand invested approximately R$ 5 million to develop QPay from scratch. “We received an investment of R$ 1 million from angel investors and, combining that with Minha Quitandinha’s cash, we architected the system from scratch, starting from the first line of code. It was an extremely high investment in terms of time as well since we took a big bet by running the software in real stores and adjusting it based on feedback. For every new feature we wanted to implement, we pursued the best market practices very calmly, which obviously raised costs but ensured an excellent quality,” explains the executive.
Operating in the 3-in-1 model, the software, which aims to enhance the buying and selling journey for both the shopper and the retailer, can be used in a kiosk (or POS), a mobile app, and in the management system mode for the seller. According to Mauri, the key differentiator of QPay is that it was designed based on the autonomous minimarket segment, not adapted from another sector. “Most of the software used today is originally from other sectors, such as vending machines, resulting in ineffective solutions, sometimes expensive, slow, and complicated, lacking the necessary focus for autonomous store operations,” comments the CEO.
Hosted on the AWS server – Amazon Web Services, QPay can be customized according to the adhering brand and assists retailers with functions such as inventory, pricing, margin calculation by category, and even the creation of discount coupons. And much more is yet to come, through Artificial Intelligence, the operating system will also show which products to buy to replenish stock, help manage working capital, and may assist with marketing. In addition, QPay can be tested by retailers before they acquire a plan.
In a scenario where it is estimated that there are between 15 and 20 thousand autonomous minimarkets in Brazil, in a universe of over one million condominiums, not counting companies and other places that can install stores of this model, Mauri states that the expectations are the best possible. “We have always believed in the power of technology as a competitive advantage, and that is why we developed our own software, tailored for the segment of autonomous stores. We identified a gap in the market, which is dissatisfied with the programs currently available. Now, responding to requests from sector entrepreneurs, we are making QPay available to all retailers who want to revolutionize the shopping journey. Our technology is here to ensure ease for the entrepreneur and an agile experience for the customer, simplifying the sector and boosting the growth of autonomous stores in Brazil”, he concludes.
