Zoho, the software company, declared the introduction of a novel business segment named Zakya. This division aims to market point-of-sale (PoS) solutions tailored for retail shops, thereby reducing the technology barrier for small businesses. Jayagopal Theranikal, the chief evangelist at Zakya, pointed out that as consumers increasingly shift towards online shopping, there is a rising demand among retailers for digital solutions to maintain competitiveness. However, existing solutions in the market are either deficient in the necessary features to support day-to-day retail operations or are intricate legacy software with a steep learning curve. Theranikal stated, Zakya addresses this disparity by providing a user-friendly solution that can be swiftly deployed, thereby lowering the threshold for technology adoption among small businesses. The pricing for Zakya is set at Rs 649 per month, offering digital solutions for inventory management, omnichannel sales, and other back-office tasks. The application supports 10 Indian languages, including Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Urdu, Malayalam, Kannada, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi, and Gujarati. According to the company's presentation, Zakya can be implemented within an hour for businesses with extensive inventories, while those with fewer items can commence billing in under 15 minutes. Zakya's web application consolidates customer, transaction, and vendor information in one place, eliminating the need to switch between multiple platforms. The point-of-sale billing solution allows businesses to generate bills even during internet interruptions. The mobile app enables quick invoice creation and customer billing to streamline check-out times, especially during peak hours. The company has integrated various payment partners, including Pine Labs, Razorpay, and PhonePe, for seamless billing. Additionally, Zakya can be linked with shipment solutions like AfterShip and EasyPost to fulfill customer orders. Theranikal highlighted the significant growth projections for the Indian retail market, anticipating a 25 per cent compound annual growth rate to reach $1.1 trillion by 2027 and $2 trillion by 2032. He emphasized the immense opportunity presented by the fact that around 90 per cent of retail shops in India are small or medium-sized businesses. A spokesperson for the company disclosed that Zakya is currently in use by more than 170 stores in the country and has plans for further expansion to additional locations.