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Tag: E-commerce

  • AiTrillion onboards Sudiptaa Paul Choudhury as global CMO

    AiTrillion onboards Sudiptaa Paul Choudhury as global CMO

    Mumbai: AiTrillion, a SaaS marketing platform for e-commerce sellers worldwide, has announced the onboarding of Sudiptaa Paul Choudhury as chief marketing officer (CMO).

    In this role, Choudhury will be responsible for marketing strategy, planning, budget design, and execution backed by research and data-led insights, the company said in a statement. “Her key operation will be leveraging marketing automation across channels to improve customer experience and managing company-wide internal and external communication campaigns,” it added.

    With over a decade of experience in the marketing domain, Choudhury has successfully led multi-million-dollar projects in Intuit, Tally, Ericsson, Oracle, HP, and other notable organisations. With core strengths in planning breakthrough marketing strategies and executing them, she has been a persistent marketer poised with technology and knowledge.

    “With Sudiptaa’s expertise in B2B marketing we can leverage on her strengths to captivate and attract Indian, USA clients and customers thus educating customers on our marketing automation tool which will enable, empower and enlighten them to use online and thus convert sales more effectively,” stated AiTrillion founder Manoj Dhanotiya.

    Choudhury is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta and an engineer in computer science from Vishveshswaraya Technology University, Belgaum, Karnataka.

    “I am excited to start and charter a new roadmap for AiTrillion in the USA and penetrate amongst customers in other key geographies e.g., Canada, UK, Australia, India, APAC,” said Choudhury. “The product and industry knowledge expertise that we have in the overseas market will be an asset towards nurturing the e-commerce industry in India and providing a platform for millions and this gives a huge opportunity for me to drive performance-led marketing, thought leadership and engage in interesting success stories for the organisation.”

  • Myntra forays into social commerce with ‘M-Live’ platform

    Myntra forays into social commerce with ‘M-Live’ platform

    Mumbai: Myntra has announced its foray into influencer-driven social commerce at scale, to cater to the evolving content consumption patterns and shopping preferences of consumers. As a part of this launch the Flipkart-owned online fashion store also unveiled M-Live, becoming one of the major ecommerce platforms in the country to adopt the interactive, and real-time live shopping model.

    With the launch of its social commerce charter, Myntra is looking to transform the way consumers shop by bridging the gap between inspiration and commerce while bringing both under one single platform, said the brand in a statement.

    “With Myntra Fashion Superstar, Myntra Studio, and now M-Live, an immersive live video shopping experience, we are heralding a new age in fashion and beauty, making big strides in the social commerce landscape, with our path-breaking tech-pivoted solutions,’ said Myntra social commerce VP and business head Achint Setia. “At the heart of our social commerce initiative, is our desire to offer unparalleled content-led shopping formats to our customers, while harnessing the power of the creator ecosystem and technology.”

    “Built for today’s consumers who are gradually progressing from text-based or catalogue-based shopping to influencer-guided interactive experiences, the charter also offers brands an avenue to build salience with a highly engaged fashion-forward customer base, for new launches, collaborations, and showcase hero products along with a host of other benefits,” he added further.

    The social platforms today are considered to drive nearly 70 per cent of purchase decisions for fashion-forward consumers with fashion and beauty being the most popular categories in the social commerce realm as per industry reports. Pivoted on community, connection, and trust, Myntra believes that as the future of shopping, its social commerce charter is likely to play an important role in defining the way its customers shop.

    Myntra’s social commerce business has three distinct propositions that aim to add composite value to consumers, creators, and brands alike: Myntra Fashion Superstar, Myntra Studio, and now M-Live.

    M-Live aims to facilitate a real-time engagement between consumers and brands by allowing influencers and experts to host live video sessions of product and styling concepts curated by them, on the Myntra app, enabling viewers to shop instantly, said the brand.

    Users can enter these live events through the Studio section of the Myntra app, which are quite similar to Instagram Live sessions. One can post questions, share their feedback, see other comments and also follow the creator hosting the livestream. Additionally, there is a dedicated product tray at the bottom of the screen which would display all the products that are being showcased by the influencer. A user can tap on any product to add it to his/ her wishlist or purchase them by placing orders without leaving the livestream. Myntra Studio currently engages about 20 per cent of Myntra’s monthly active user base and the brand expects this to grow to 50 per cent in the next three-four years.

    With its foray into social commerce, Myntra is set to create a new eco-system for consumer-influencer engagement by providing the necessary turf for influencers to engage with and acquire new followers under one roof. The influencers would also get the opportunity to partner with leading Indian and global lifestyle brands, said the statement.

  • Beauty, food delivery & grocery are most purchased online categories in India: Report

    Beauty, food delivery & grocery are most purchased online categories in India: Report

    Mumbai: Live shopping and conversational commerce are gaining popularity in India, with nearly nine out of 10 people saying they enjoyed the shopping experience, as per a report released by global data and measurement-driven media agency Essence on Monday. Beauty (39 per cent), food delivery/ takeaway (30 per cent), and grocery (29 per cent) were the most purchased categories online in the country, stated the report. More than half of the respondents spent between Rs 1,000 and Rs 5,000 on average on a single transaction on social media, even as there is a growing preference for newer payment methods such as digital wallets and mobile payments.

    88 per cent of the respondents said they are likely to buy via social media, as per the report which aims to help brands unlock the potential of social commerce. Essence has unveiled its first-ever social commerce report, which investigates the rapidly growing trend of consumers buying products and services directly on social platforms. The report illustrates the significant opportunity brands have in social commerce, with three out of four people surveyed globally saying they are likely or highly likely to buy through social media in the future.

    According to the Essence survey, 41 per cent of respondents worldwide made purchases or intend to make purchases involving social platforms. While social media platforms have always provided an environment for buyers and sellers to interact, the survey demonstrates a shift towards organised commerce on platforms. Increasingly, social commerce enables discovery, browsing and purchasing to take place on one platform without the need to interact with any external websites or applications. Ultimately, it creates a seamless experience with fewer clicks and higher potential revenue and conversion rates.

    Global Trends

    China, unsurprisingly, is the leader in social commerce, which is forecast to account for 13 per cent of total e-commerce sales in 2021, the report indicated. According to the Essence survey, almost 80 per cent of consumers in China purchased items on social media. India came a close third after Singapore followed by Indonesia, with 49 per cent of consumers.

    Transaction Value

    In most countries, the average transaction value on social commerce is higher than the average transaction value on e-commerce transactions. Respondents in Japan recorded the highest average transaction value, between $96.74 to $483.67 for social commerce, followed by the United States, which had an average transaction value between $101 and $200.

    The higher value transactions look to be driven primarily by men (35 per cent) and by millennials in the 25 to 44 age segment (72 per cent), noted the report. Both the male and the 25 to 44 age segments are skewed towards the purchase of higher-value categories such as hardware, home cleaning, luxury, and furniture.

    Live Shopping and Streaming

    Social innovations have propelled the growth of virtual shopping. Live shopping and conversational commerce experiences increase the propensity to buy on social media. Four out of five respondents are likely to buy on social media if they have watched a livestream or participated in conversational commerce. Livestreaming has emerged as a major factor in luxury social e-commerce.

    “We expect that the future of online shopping – and not just social commerce – will be discovery-driven. Customers tend to be exposed to new and innovative products as they browse more on social media or encounter algorithmically mediated recommendations from friends and family on social platforms,” said Essence technology and e-commerce senior director Aniket Basu. “E-commerce is maturing as a field, with social media giving brands and retailers new ways to reach audiences and new growth opportunities. In this environment, social commerce serves as a key future-proofing method for the next five years and beyond.” 

    While the use of livestreaming in e-commerce was primarily centred in the Asian market, it is now commonplace worldwide. Luxury brands including Hermès, Louis Vuitton and Burberry all launched their Fall or Winter 2021 shows by livestreaming worldwide. Brands such as L’Oréal are also driving growth in the luxury beauty segment, partly because social media enables the brand to interact with consumers, influencers, beauty advisers and salespeople on the same platform. These innovations and collaborations are driving sales of luxury items both online and offline.

    The research indicates that most consumers enjoy the livestream shopping experience, with almost half (43 per cent) of respondents claiming to have enjoyed it and 39 per cent of respondents highly enjoyed it. These statistics held up not only in China, but also in other markets where social commerce is still in its infancy. Globally, 85 per cent of the respondents who watched shopping livestreams report that they are more likely to purchase via social media.

  • Myntra CMO Harish Narayanan moves on

    Myntra CMO Harish Narayanan moves on

    Mumbai: Fashion marketplace Myntra’s chief marketing officer (CMO) Harish Narayanan has decided to move on from the company. Narayanan’s exit was made official by the company on Sunday.

    An experienced marketing official with over 16 years of experience, he led three teams at the fashion marketplace, which included marketing, brand partnerships, and design. Post his exit from Myntra, he will be working in the booming ed-tech space, as per reports.

    Narayanan will be with the company till January 2020. 

    Myntra’s chief financial officer Ramesh Bafna is another top executive who will exit the company in January. The company parent’s Flipkart’s group chief financial officer Sriram Venkatraman will be filling in and will act as Myntra’s interim CFO.

    The announcement comes days after Myntra appointed its new CEO Nandita Sinha, effective 1 January 2022. Sinha will join Myntra from group company Flipkart, where, as vice president of customer growth and marketing, she is currently leading the overall charter for marketing.

  • Meesho becomes most downloaded e-commerce app globally

    Meesho becomes most downloaded e-commerce app globally

    Mumbai: Homegrown internet commerce platform Meesho has become the most downloaded e-commerce app globally in October, according to a recent SensorTower blog. During this period, it also became the only Indian company and e-commerce platform to feature amongst the top-ten most downloaded non-gaming apps across the world.

    Meesho also saw over 57 million downloads across the App Store and the Google Play Store from August to October, as per App Annie, making it the most downloaded app across all categories in India. The company has seen installations in India grow by over 120 per cent quarter-on-quarter in Q3 2021, outranking all other e-commerce platforms in the country for quarterly downloads.

    “We have always kept our users at the heart of our innovations. Whether it is our industry-first zero per cent commission model for sellers or building a nimbly-sized application, we are ensuring Meesho is easy to use for users even from the farthest corners of our country,” stated Meesho founder & CEO Vidit Aatrey. “Our success comes from a laser-sharp focus on building for India’s Tier 2+ markets. With an aim to democratize internet commerce for everyone, we will continue to digitize India’s unorganized retail industry with more Bharat-first initiatives.”

    The e-commerce platform has reduced entry barriers, improved logistical infrastructure for tier 2+ markets, and fuelled the discoverability of hyperlocal businesses and products. The company’s five-day festive sale event in October cut deeper into India’s underserved markets with ~60 per cent orders coming from tier 4+ regions, including remote locations like Khawzhwal and Sopore. Today, five per cent of all Indian households shop on Meesho every day, said the statement.

    With an aim to enable 100 million monthly transacting users by December 2022 and in its bid to fuel Bharat’s e-commerce dreams, Meesho has instituted multiple measures to bring new digital users online.

    To facilitate a seamless shopping experience, the company built an app compatible with low-end smartphones and low-internet bandwidth to address internet latency challenges even in the farthest corners of India.

  • GroupM India appoints Ritika Taneja as head of e-commerce

    GroupM India appoints Ritika Taneja as head of e-commerce

    Mumbai: GroupM India has announced the appointment of Ritika Taneja as head of e-commerce. In this role, Taneja will be leading the e-commerce product offerings to clients and will also be responsible for co-creating the e-commerce vision and strategy charter for GroupM India. 

    Taneja will be based out Gurgaon and report to GroupM India president – data, performance and digital products Atique Kazi, and closely work with GroupM APAC head of e-commerce services Toni Ruotanen.

    “There is a growing importance of strengthening e-commerce practices for brands in today’s digital economy and e-commerce has transformed the ways in which businesses are done in India,” said Atique Kazi. “Ritika’s appointment is a part of our continued investment in talent, especially in areas of enormous growth opportunities, like e-commerce. With the kind of extensive knowledge in this vertical that Ritika brings to the table, I am certain that we will continue to make the e-commerce practice a GroupM differentiator for our clients and brands.”

    Taneja comes with a diverse experience in the e-commerce and offline retail space. As a digital business leader, she has experience in engaging with consumer tech companies, said the agency. She joins the GroupM India team with a proven track record of building successful consumer-centric brands and businesses. 

    In a career spanning over 17 years, Taneja has spent a large part working in the online and offline retail space. Her experience also includes working on several international brands managing and growing their brand portfolios.

    “I am ecstatic to be a part of the GroupM family. The e-commerce landscape is evolving massively and there is a need for brands to advance their e-commerce strategies with this changing landscape and consumer behavior. GroupM provides a unique environment for leading the e-commerce sector that is transforming brands and helping the drive new trends in the country. I look forward to closely working with the leadership and help our clients on e-commerce opportunities by creating services and product offerings,” said Ritika Taneja on her new role.

  • Nykaa acquires homegrown skincare brand Dot & Key

    Nykaa acquires homegrown skincare brand Dot & Key

    Mumbai: Beauty and fashion e-commerce platform, Nykaa has announced the acquisition of the Indian skincare brand Dot & Key. This is the first D2C (direct to consumer) beauty brand acquired by Nykaa.

    “We are excited to bring Dot & Key into the Nykaa family in time to serve the demand in high-quality skincare by Indian consumers,” said Nykaa founder and CEO Falguni Nayar. “Dot & Key’s product range presents an exciting opportunity for Nykaa as it allows us to extend the brand’s reach to a larger landscape of consumers and enter the nutraceutical space as well. Dot & Key is a consumer-centric brand with a growing base of consumers and a range of skincare solutions.”

    Founded by Kolkata-based Suyash Saraf and Anisha Saraf, Dot & Key is a new-age brand focused on providing solutions to skincare concerns. It offers premium skincare products such as serums, face masks, toners, and cleansers. The brand has recently expanded into nutraceuticals under the brand ‘IKWI’.

    “We have created a niche brand with Dot & Key, focused on making products based on consumer needs. Our passion to differentiate ourselves has inspired us to take an unconventional angle to skincare. Nykaa’s position in the beauty landscape in India and its resources will allow Dot & Key to grow further as a brand and scale to the next level,” said Dot & Key co-founder Suyash Saraf.

    Ernst & Young LLP was the exclusive advisor to Dot & Key on the deal. 

  • Smartphone industry to clock more than 50% revenue in festive quarter, led by 5G handsets: Report

    Smartphone industry to clock more than 50% revenue in festive quarter, led by 5G handsets: Report

    Mumbai: With the ongoing festive season, the sales of smartphones have significantly jumped, with more and more discounts available on e-commerce platforms. The smartphone industry in India is expected to earn more than half of its sales during the festive quarter, with approximately 49.9 million sets worth Rs 1,252 billion projected to be sold during the October-December 2021 quarter, according to a combined analysis by Techarc & mScanlt tech. The quarter’s sales contribution by revenue and volume is estimated to be 56 per cent and 32 per cent, respectively, as per insights revealed by the ‘Smartphone Festive Season Insights’ study.

    The e-commerce platforms have become a trusted source for customers to acquire gadgets, and online sales are increasing in the mid and premium categories this season. The revenue contributions will be led by premium range (Rs 25,000-50,000) of mobiles contributing 51.7 per cent of the total revenues during the festive quarter, while mid-segment (Rs 12,000-25,000) will drive the contributions by volume sales with 42.1 per cent smartphones selling in this segment, reveals the analysis. This is a departure from past years when the basic segment drove most of the online sales.

    “Bringing up the unique insights, the upsurge in the sale of smartphones reflects the growing Indian economy in the post-pandemic era,” said mFilterIt co-founder & director Amit Relan. “Smartphones worth Rs 1252 billion are projected to be sold online in this quarter and this is an improvement from what the scenario was last year. mScanIt delivers unique proposition, helping online brands to get a holistic view of the online channels, be it marketplaces, or individual sites.” 

    According to multiple surveys, consumer purchasing habits in India have significantly improved and increased after the pandemic. The study by the new age technology market research firm, techarc is unique to the industry with mScanIt tech incorporated into this analysis. mScanIt, powered by mFilterIt is a state-of-the-art digital platform that provides an in-depth and focused understanding and insights into what happens online.

    “With the talks around 5G network launching in India, the consumer buying preferences have considerably shifted to the 5G smartphones lately,” said Techarc founder Faisal Kawoosa. “Currently, Amazon and Flipkart, the two largest online marketplaces, both offer more than 50 5G smartphone models and Samsung remains at the top followed by Realme and Xiaomi, with the maximum number of 5G smartphones in all the price segments.”

  • ‘Hyperlocal’ is the latest buzzword for E-commerce sites

    ‘Hyperlocal’ is the latest buzzword for E-commerce sites

    MUMBAI: The Great Indian Festive sales have gotten underway with every e-commerce platform launching its biggest annual blockbuster sale campaign. The growth in internet users, reduction in data prices, and changing consumer behaviour fuelled by the pandemic have spurred the evolution of online retail to go beyond the metros and tier-1 towns. The rapid growth of Bharat online is re-shaping India’s e-commerce landscape like never before with ‘hyperlocal’ being the new buzzword.

    India’s e-commerce market is estimated to record sales worth $ 55 billion during 2021 with the addition of 40 million new online shoppers, as per a recent Indian Retail Industry Report. The number of online shoppers for 2021 is estimated to reach 190 million compared to 150 million in 2020. India is poised to become the third-largest online retail market by 2030 after the US and China with an annual Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of S$ 350 billion. This changing e-comm landscape is largely driven by hitherto underpenetrated regions in the country, alongside the emergence and growth of multiple e-commerce platforms and D2C (direct-to-consumer) start-ups catering to these lesser explored segments.

    The growing popularity of online shopping has led the e-commerce players to further expand their consumer base into the country’s villages and towns, in time for the busy festive season. Online marketplaces have been localising various offerings in the areas of regional language, Voice, and Video in a bid to break the language barrier and make e-commerce more accessible and convenient for customers pan India.

    E-commerce giant, Amazon India announced that its website will now be available in Marathi and Bengali in addition to Hindi, English, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu. The e-tailer plans to expand its regional language offering further with the launch of a voice shopping experience in Hindi. “Our aim is to make e-commerce accessible, relevant and convenient for customers. Every month, tens of millions of customers visit Amazon.in in regional languages and 90 per cent of the customers are from tier-2 and below cities,” said Amazon India director- customer experience & marketing Kishore Thota.

    Snapdeal too announced the expansion of its call center capabilities to speak to users in eight Indian languages, making customer support services available in additional local languages. “The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital channels, and today people in smaller cities are now purchasing items such as everyday fashion, home decor, kitchenware, and other items online. And as more and more people gravitate towards e-commerce, they will increasingly expect customer services to be in their languages,” said a Snapdeal spokesperson.

    Marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart are leading the hyperlocal agenda by increasing Bharat’s presence into newer as well as niche markets, said WATConsult managing partner Sahil Shah. “E-tailers who are into mass-market products have shifted gears since the pandemic. There is a clear plan to capture the new India that comes from various parts of the country, using the most localised form of experiences that one can create,” he noted.

    While events like Big Billion Days and special sales on Independence Day and Republic Day offering were organised earlier too, it is only now that India’s e-tailers have sensed an opportunity in regional festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi or Onam to propel sales in different states.

    “E-commerce players are shifting focus to regional activations and are offering region-specific deals as people tend to shop more ahead of their own festivals. To achieve maximum penetration, e-tailers are using vernacular communication channels and deploying social media influencers popular in specific states or regions to promote such events,” said ClanConnect CEO and co-founder Sagar Pushp.

    The changes have become more pronounced since the outbreak of the COVID-19. There has been a three-fold rise in the number of influencers being engaged by e-tailers to promote their sale events through personalised messaging.

    With the Pujo and Navratri celebration underway, and Dusshera and Diwali just around the corner, lifestyle and fashion e-tailers like Myntra, Ajio, Meesho, Purplle have launched campaigns with distinctive regional flavour and feel in multiple vernacular languages. These shopping marts are trying to outdo one another in grabbing eyeballs and finger clicks onto their platforms with special offers & Pujo Makeup Guides and, exclusive launches, and cash-back schemes for their customers. E-tailers are leaving no stone unturned to increase their brand awareness through creative ad spend. After a brief lull in the April-June quarter, they are going all out to redefine KPIs and cater to the newly emerging consumer segments.

    “In terms of marketing spends, we have seen a shift of 20-30 per cent budget being allocated to regional campaigns compared to last year. Focus has moved from generic creatives to specific ones in various vernacular languages to garner more sign-ups,” said cashback and coupons app, CashKaro co-founder Swati Bhargava. Celebrities and brand ambassadors are also picked carefully, with a heightened focus on regional audiences. There also has been a 3x rise in influencer-led digital promotions.

    CashKaro has implemented measures like device-level and language-based targeting after studying the data from Tier-2 to Tier-6 cities, from where 45-50 per cent sale is expected. “At CashKaro, for instance, the activation rates for Tier-2 and beyond have shot up by 40 per cent because of integrating regionally popular creators into the pipeline. The organic impact has been massive as we’ve seen an 8x jump in our traffic during this sale time compared to last year,” shared Bhargava.

    The rise of micro and macro influencers from small towns has come into the spotlight over the last year, as people looked for somebody they could relate to. To leverage this want, many e-tailers have implemented activation of regional celebrities and influencers to acquire more users.

    Myntra’s celeb-heavy campaign features brand ambassadors with a massive regional following like Vijay Deverakonda, Dulquer Salmaan, Mallika Dua, Konkona Sen Sharma and Samantha Akkineni, in addition to those with a national following like Hrithik Roshan, Disha Patani and Kiara Advani. These stars will be seen in region-specific engagements through various content formats such as reels, videos, and stories. Apart from this, over 100 high-impact celebrities and influencers with heavy local presence from the worlds of Bollywood, OTT, reality TV, and digital will drive awareness through pre-buzz and event days for the e-tailer. Other Fashion e-sites like Ajio too have launched campaigns featuring a plethora of celebrities with each of the films voiced in a different regional language, targeting a particular zone across the country.

    Meesho released its latest TVCs which will be aired on major regional TV networks, such as SunTV, VijayTV, Gemini TV, AsiaNet, UdayaTV, TV9, and ETV, in addition to YouTube, and OTT platforms in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam, in order to reach deeper into the Tier 2+ markets. The etailer also plans to leverage regional content creators on multiple alternate channels like – Sharechat, Moj, MX TakaTak, and other favoured content channels for the target group.

    Purplle has also rolled out a 360-degree campaign across Television, Print, Digital, and Social Media channels which will see over 3000 regional influencers participating in a bid to reach out beyond metros to the tier 2, 3 towns.

    “From onboarding regional influencers who create content in local languages to adaptations of the videos and even static content in local languages, we have personalised offers to drive traffic from these locations,” said digital-first agency Lyxel&Flamingo co-founder and COO Shreyansh Bhandari, adding that the agency also maps traffic and revenue from these new towns. “Across campaigns, we have seen the View through rates, CTRs (click-through rates) have been much better when we have localised content for the TG.”

    Brands that were only focused on Tier-1 cities are now seeing exponential growth from smaller towns. What digital has been able to do so well is to provide them access to great content in their language. The confidence of creators, publishers, and OTT platforms is only increasing to keep investing and producing content for them.

    “Digital and e-commerce in the last decade were about India– its urban, English-speaking audience. However, this decade is all about Bharat– it’s rural, small-town audiences who prefer to consume content in a language that is native to them,” added Bhandari.