Indian retailer – Shopsy is expanding rapidly in the south and west of India

Flipkart’s hyper-valued e-commerce platform, Shopsy, is planning aggressive expansion in southern and western India. Shopsy has introduced Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and English on its platform to provide a diverse experience to its consumers. To meet the needs of low-end phone users, the e-commerce platform has optimized the size of the app.

Walmart-backed Flipkart launched Shopsy in 2021 to compete with rivals Meesho and Amazon Bazaar in low average selling price categories such as apparel, small electronics and kitchenware. In the March 2024 edition of the Grand Shopsy Mela, the participation of sellers increased, representing a two-fold increase in growth. The event saw its highest-ever traffic on its platform with a 1.4x increase in user numbers. Shopsy saw 60 per cent of its demand in tier II and III cities, with 41 per cent of users being first-time buyers.

Shopsy recently entered the kids category with the launch of its summer kids collection. The platform will sell clothing for babies and children aged 0 to 12, as well as toys, fashion and stationery. In the coming months, the company intends to expand its offer of products for children. He claims that their children’s collection is already seeing great demand in tier 2 cities like Cuttack, Varanasi, Guwahati and Muzaffarpur.

Targeting value-conscious customers

In an interview with IndianRetailer.com, Kapil Thirani, Head of Shopsy, Flipkartspoke in detail about the brand’s development strategy and the implementation of technologies aimed at increasing the platform’s reach and ensuring seamless customer service.

Talking about working with actress Sara Ali Khan, Thirani said, “Sara Ali Khan is a celebrity next door who appeals strongly to the Indian audience with her filmography and other activities. She is also a proponent of affordable shopping, which resonates well with our value-conscious customers. We have worked with her a total of four times and each campaign has received incredible response.”

Shopsy’s focus on reaching customers in tier-2 cities and beyond has led to significant growth. Thirani said, “Our target group is value-seeking Bharat consumers, mainly living in tier-2 cities and beyond, aged between 18-40 years. They are price conscious and look for value for money. They lead limited lives and try to improve their level through online shopping.”

Shopsy is expanding in tier II and III cities across India. The values-based approach appeals to a large section of e-commerce users in these regions, especially in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal.

Thirani says, “We plan to expand aggressively in South and West India. We are receiving great response and we will dig deeper to expand our reach and growth.”

Beating the competition

According to Invest India, in the financial year 2022-2023, the government e-marketplace (GeM) recorded an all-time high gross merchandise value of $2.011 billion. The projected growth in the number of online shoppers in India is significant, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22% to 88 million in rural India and 15% to 263 million in urban India during 2019-2026.

With high-value e-commerce platforms such as Meesho and Amazon Bazaar at its disposal, Shopsy by Flipkart is focusing on growth in the Indian market. Elaborating on Shopsy’s strategies to stay ahead of the competition, Thirani said: “We are focusing on four pillars of growth: keeping customers first, building a low-cost supply chain, introducing automation on the CX side and structurally limiting returns through various return policies. We continually strive to provide our value-conscious customers with a wide selection of products at competitive prices within their budget.

Innovation is the key

According to a report by Invest India, the Indian e-commerce market is poised for massive growth, forecasting significant growth to $325 billion by 2030. The report added that the country’s digital economy is expected to reach an impressive $800 billion over the same period. It also forecasts that by 2026, 60 percent of demand will come from tier II-IV cities and rural India, driven by the growth of value e-commerce platforms.

As its e-commerce platform evolves, Shopsy continues to innovate to provide its customers with a seamless online shopping experience. Talking about innovation, Thirani said, “Innovation is at the core of everything we do at Shopsy. Continuous innovation and use of new technologies have enabled us to reach millions of customers across the country and become the fastest growing e-commerce platform in Bharat.

Thirani further said, “With a regional language interface, we enable our customers to shop in the language they feel comfortable with. Currently, Shopsy is available in four languages ​​including Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and English to provide a seamless shopping experience to various consumer groups. To provide convenience to our customers, we have introduced various payment options such as cash on delivery, online payments and UPI transactions for hassle-free transaction execution. In fact, our express checkout feature streamlines the customer shopping experience by minimizing touchpoints and ensuring quick ordering.”

He further explained: “The integration of voice search has enabled users to search for products by simply speaking to their devices, saving time and effort. We have optimized the size of our app from time to time, ensuring that everyone, regardless of space constraints, can access Shopsy seamlessly. Our hyper-personalized channel learns from customers’ shopping behavior, preferences and location to offer a curated selection of products that meet their unique needs.”