Sell on your website and beyond: Introducing ONDC selling in Zoho Commerce, powered by Vikra

Introduction

For years, online marketplaces have been one of the fastest ways for businesses to reach customers. But for many businesses, succeeding on these platforms hasn't always been easy. Large brands often dominate search results through sponsored listings, established reputations, and larger advertising budgets.

To create a more open and competitive ecommerce ecosystem, the Government of India launched the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). ONDC connects buyers and sellers through an open network, giving merchants more opportunities to reach customers regardless of the platform they use.

Now, Zoho Commerce makes it even easier to be part of this ecosystem. With a built-in ONDC sales channel powered by Vikra, you can sell on the ONDC Network directly from your existing Zoho Commerce store.

This article will explain what ONDC is, how the Zoho Commerce integration works, and why it can help Indian businesses reach more customers.

What is the ONDC Network?

The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is a Government of India initiative that was launched in December 2021 to make digital commerce more interoperable.

Unlike traditional marketplaces, ONDC is not a shopping app or marketplace where buyers and sellers gather in one place.

It is a network that allows different buyer and seller applications to communicate with one another using a common set of protocols.

ONDC allows buyers using one ONDC protocol-compliant app to discover products from sellers using a completely different seller application.

For businesses, this means you are not tied to a single marketplace to reach customers.

Where does Vikra fit in?

To participate in the ONDC Network, every merchant needs a seller application that connects their business to the network.

Vikra is Zoho's ONDC protocol-compliant seller app.

Before this update, selling on the ONDC Network meant adopting another seller platform and managing an additional system.

Now, Vikra is available as a built-in sales channel inside Zoho Commerce.

If you already manage your ecommerce business in Zoho Commerce, you don't need to rebuild your operations for ONDC.

Instead, you simply connect Vikra and your existing store becomes capable of selling on the ONDC Network.

Your website remains exactly the same. Your operations remain exactly the same.

The difference is now you can sell in an additional network, reaching buyers across India.

How selling on ONDC works with Zoho Commerce

Once you enable the Vikra integration and complete the required KYC verification, Zoho Commerce takes care of the rest.

Your existing catalog syncs automatically

There's no need to recreate your store or manually upload products to another platform.

Your existing product catalog, including product information, pricing, and inventory, is synced to the ONDC Network. When you update a product in Zoho Commerce, those changes are reflected on your listings on the ONDC Network as well.

This eliminates duplicate work and helps keep your product information consistent across channels.

Reach buyers across ONDC protocol-compliant apps

Once your catalog is published, your products become discoverable to customers using ONDC protocol-compliant buyer applications.

Instead of relying solely on visitors who come to your website, you can reach shoppers across the growing ONDC ecosystem without changing how you run your business.

Manage every order from one dashboard

One of the biggest challenges of selling across multiple channels is order management.

Almost every marketplace has its own seller portal, requiring merchants to log into multiple systems throughout the day.

With Zoho Commerce, orders from the ONDC Network appear alongside your website orders in the same Orders module. Your fulfillment process stays exactly the same, regardless of where the customer made the purchase.

There is no new workflow to learn and no extra dashboard to manage.

Keep inventory synchronized automatically

Inventory synchronization is equally important when selling across multiple channels.

If a product sells on the ONDC Network, Zoho Commerce updates your inventory automatically. Likewise, sales made through your online store update stock levels across all connected channels.

This helps reduce the risk of overselling and keeps inventory accurate everywhere your products are listed.

Why this update matters for Indian businesses

India's ecommerce market has grown rapidly over the last decade, but access to customers has largely been controlled by a handful of marketplaces.

Every platform operates as its own ecosystem. If you want visibility on multiple platforms, you often have to:

• Register separately.

• Upload products multiple times.

• Manage separate inventories.

• Process orders from different dashboards.

• Keep pricing synchronized manually.

The more channels you sell on, the more complicated your operations become.

ONDC changes that model.

Instead of asking buyers and sellers to gather on one marketplace, ONDC connects different ecommerce applications through an open network.

ONDC is no longer an experiment

When ONDC was announced, many businesses viewed it as an interesting government initiative. Today, it has progressed to become a meaningful infrastructure for digital commerce in India.

According to the official ONDC Network:

• More than 760,000 sellers and service providers are live on the network.

• The network spans 600+ cities across India.

• More than 300 network participants are connected.

• ONDC processed over 16 million orders in May 2025 alone.

The Government of India's Economic Survey also highlights ONDC as a way to reduce customer acquisition costs, improve business efficiencies, and give merchants greater access to digital commerce.

For merchants, this means the ONDC Network is becoming another place where customers are actively shopping.

Get ready for the future of ecommerce  in India

With millions of monthly transactions, hundreds of network participants, and a growing base of sellers and buyers, the ONDC Network is becoming an increasingly important channel for Indian businesses looking to expand their reach.

That's what makes this update so significant. By bringing Vikra directly into Zoho Commerce, you can sell on the ONDC Network without changing how you run your business.

As open commerce continues to gain momentum, businesses that adopt it early will be better positioned for what's next. With Zoho Commerce and Vikra, you are not just adding another sales channel, you are also moving towards the future of ecommerce in India.