Hi Surgies 👋(and a special welcome to the 1465 folks who joined the newsletter this week),
We’re in the middle of the festive sale season. Trust your brands are killing it on marketplaces and their websites.
What’s Meta saying about ecommerce and shoppers in India?
A recent study from Meta, conducted by consumer insights platform GWI, has revealed notable shifts in India’s festive shopping trends. Besides the expected stuff like an increase in spends and ecommerce gaining prominence, here are the eye openers:
Quick commerce making inroads into various categories. One in four electronics buyers (really?) and one in three personal care shoppers are now purchasing through quick commerce channels.
Influencer marketing is playing a crucial role in driving sales, with micro influencers (10,000 to 100,000 followers) proving as impactful as macro influencers (100,000 to 1 million followers).
As per the research, more than three-quarters of respondents prefer to see ads in their local language during festive shopping.
AI is playing a big role in ad creatives and engagement.
🗞️Marketplace Buzz
Video Shop: Amazon has merged the OTT platform MX player with its content streaming platform MiniTV to strengthen its advertising video-on-demand (AVOD) business. According to an announcement, the integrated entity will be launched as ‘Amazon MX Player’. Amazon miniTV is a free, ad-supported streaming service launched by Amazon in May 2021. The Amazon MX Player integration aims to provide free original content to its user base of 250 million shoppers in India. MX Player is available on the mobile Amazon Shopping app, Prime Video, Fire TV, and other connected TVs.
Trees love: Ecommerce companies in India are gradually electrifying their delivery fleets to green-up their value chain. Around half of Flipkart’s grocery deliveries are now happening on electric vehicles, according to Nishant Gupta, the company’s head of sustainability. Zomato has also pledged to completely turn its delivery fleet electric by 2030. Amazon India on the other hand has recently partnered with clean energy company Gentari and has laid out plans for 10,000 electric vehicles to be part of its delivery fleet by next year.
Blinkit ❤️ B2B: Blinkit enables businesses to add GSTIN while making purchases to streamline bulk buying experience on the platform. This is especially useful for businesses looking to reduce their overall costs by claiming GST input credits. The move aims to capture some of the B2B user base away from Amazon and Flipkart. Game On!
🍕D2C Snippets
Money Rack: Indian furniture market is witnessing significant growth according to Mordor Intelligence- the Indian furniture market is estimated to reach a size of $30 Bn by 2029. Riding this wave is furniture retailer Furnishka, which has secured INR 27 Cr funding. The company operates both online and offline stores in Bengaluru, offering over 1,000 SKUs and customizable designs.
Personal Care Time: Beaute Secrets, a beauty tools brand, has secured Rs 1.6 crore from cash flow financing platform Velocity. Founded in 2010 by Harnika Aneja, Beaute Secrets aims to offer high-quality, affordable beauty tools that enhance natural beauty without heavy makeup. The brand features a diverse product range, including manicure/pedicure kits, tweezers, cuticle trimmers, foot scrubbers, hair brushes, and scissors, catering to various customer needs and budgets.
More Beauty: Skincare brand ClayCo Cosmetics has raised $2 million in a funding round. Founded in March 2024 by Niharika Jhunjhunwala, ClayCo is a premium skincare brand that blends ancient beauty rituals from around the world with modern science. Never a dull moment in the beauty with new launches and brands. The Mumbai-based firm competes with brands such as Minimalist, Pilgrim, Plum, Dot & Key, Mamaearth and The Derma Co.
More Secrets: Samantha Prabhu made her 4th investment in a D2C brand- Secret Alchemist. Founded in 2021 by Ankita Thadani and Akash Valia, Secret Alchemist offers a variety of products centred around essential oils and holistic well-being. The company is also expanding its product line to include pure-grade essential oils in the form of creams, mists, and shower gels, in addition to its existing range of roll-ons, candles, pain management solutions, hair care, and skincare items. Samantha has previously invested in SustainKart, Nourish You, and The Souled Store.
Big Brand Fomo: Complan maker Zydus has readied its war chest to invest Rs 200 Cr in D2C brands. Dabur, Marico, Unilivers, Emami have been at it for while now. More the merrier for D2C exits! Zydus is not new in the M&A scene. Here’s an interesting take on why the company decide to acquire Complan and not Horlicks?
📺InfoGraphica
Zepto and Zomato seem to be missing here?🧐
📢Power Talk
"That’s a No-No. I want to make it loud and clear. We are not looking at changing the rules of e-commerce”- Piyush Goyal, Commerce and Industry Minister
📚Reads and Recommendations
🦸♀️How To Choose a Digital Marketing Agency—Key Criteria, Steps, and Tips. Yeah its different for startups, Big Co and solopreneurs
🤔More Google Ads? Google has rolled out ads in AI Overviews on mobile in the US, the company announced on Thursday. (it had to happen sometime)
👗From waiting lists and customer interactions to vintage cars and partnerships. Here are some marketing strategies being deployed by emerging fashion brands.
🎤Google’s AI podcasts are crazy good. Have you tried Notebook LM as yet?
🏪Surviving the Q-commerce quake: Inside B2B e-commerce startups’ fight to keep kiranas relevant
That’s all for this week! Bye!
Stay tuned for more.
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Missed catching up on the weekly D2C bites, glad to have these back again! 🙌