Social Commerce Geared up to Expand Footprint in India

A new term coined to collaborate the use of social media and e-commerce by expanding to a wider community of social media user with the expanding scope for e-commerce

It won’t be exaggerated to say that pandemic has routing new age marketing that bridges the social media platform and the end consumers for creating the ‘buzz.’ This new channel of tickling the nerves of consumers is social commerce that combines the best of social media and e-commerce. It is aimed at reaching and fulfilling the evolving customer needs through interactive and customized shopping patterns.

The Status of Social Commerce in the Indian Market

Thanks to the affordable technology advancement and the ever-rising online consumer base, India is undoubtedly one of the attractive online consumer markets today. Statistics show that social commerce is set to reach $16-20 billion in GMV over the next five years. Social Media is an opportunity to reach more customers. The sentiments are reflected by unique business models that have risen currently in this sprouting consumer market.

Meesho, a WhatsApp and Facebook based reseller marketing platform has gained unicorn status raising $300 million in a new funding round led by Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. Talking about the unicorn status, Vidit Aatrey, the founder of Meesho, said, “Nothing… The only thing with pit stops is when you get to one, you start seeing the next one. Becoming a unicorn is just another reason to celebrate internally."

This is not only the success story of Meesho but several others such ventures who are making a hole in the sky with their innovative and generation-next ideas and business model. Another such case is Jefferies, a platform for group purchase, which has attained $1.5-2 billion success in social commerce segments.

The Scope of Social Commerce

Social commerce is an extension of conventional e-commerce marketing. Being a branch of regular online shopping channels, it focuses more on strengthening social connection and staying active 24/7 by empowering individual buyers to become an integral part of the overall marketing process. Aatrey believes that there are several reasons for its growth. “ For starters, conventional e-commerce is applicable for larger cities with 100 million people joining its channels through the internet. “But I don’t believe that is the model that will scale for the next billion users," he said.

Pulkit Agrawal, co-founder of Trell, a well-known lifestyle social commerce platform, looks forward towards the small towns for boosting the engines of social commerce. He validitates his opinion on the fact that Indians consider shopping a holistic experience where they spontaneously connect with friends and families to enrich their own buying world. Based on this notion, social commerce is based on cultivating the personal connection roping in with influencers and popular figures who refer to products. Trell with its active base of over 45 million monthly users sell a range of personal care products through engaging the services of affiliates and influencers.

The concept is received well by many young visionary including Shivam Varshney, founder of Kiko TV, an interactive live-streaming social e-commerce platform, that enables customers to interact and receive assistance from sellers through its virtual store. Launched with 50 stores in Mumbai, the service has expanded to 30 more stores today.

The Future Calling

Bain and Co. and Sequoia India in their report suggested that social commerce is expected to touch $16-20 billion in gross merchandise value over the next five years. Yet, the path to success is full of challenges including lack of updated government regulations, unavailability of dependable supply chains, affordability issues, absence of big supportive brands, and many more need to understand, analyze and address well to  boost its scope in the longer run. However, it is blessed to utilize the ready-made e-commerce infrastructure marked by seamless payment channels, internet support, and wider logistics reach.