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2021 paved the way for several new trends. One of them is how the shopping experience has changed significantly in the past 21 months.
Last year, offline stores remained closed during the lockdown, with the exception of those dealing in essential items. This led to E-commerce is growing faster than ever in India, with order volume up 36 percent in the final quarter of 2020. From personal care to fashion to groceries, consumers bought everything online.
However, with the market opening in 2021, it wasn’t long before customers returned to offline shopping mode and flocked to stores as quickly as possible.
The pandemic also resulted in the rise of many direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands in India, which saw phenomenal growth through a purely online sales strategy. However, entrepreneurs believe that experience shopping will never go out of style, and the same D2C brands are now preparing for the foray into physical retail. Traditional brands also want to expand their offline presence.
The physical retail market is expected to appear in 2022 Offer customers a 360-degree experience. Here are five trends that will shape offline retail in 2022 and beyond.
Read the whole story here.
We help MSMEs to become future-proof
This week, SMBStory also spoke to some industry experts to learn what worked for small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) in 2021 and how these trends can help them future-proof.
Some of the trends decoded are-
- The exponential growth of digital payments
- The rise of digital bookkeeping and bookkeeping solutions
- Switching from eligibility to intent-based lending
- The rapid rise in automation
- The advent of D2C and e-commerce as growth drivers
Read the whole story here.
Other stories of the week-
KutchiBazaar
Sufiyan and Juned Khatri have jointly created an e-commerce website showcasing a variety of Kutch handicrafts including ajrakh, bandhani, batik, shibori and bhujodi in the form of fabrics, suits, stoles, saris, accessories and home textiles.
Speak with SMBStorysays Juned that they source products from Kutch artisans who give them credit for their work.
In just over nine months KutchiBazaar has received a decent response from the market, receiving around 900-950 orders per month, and Juned claims the customer response rate is 10-15 percent.
“Although the response rate is lower compared to industry standards because we operate on a smaller scale compared to other portals, we do quite well,†he adds.
KutchiBazaar products are also sold internationally. Sufiyan claims that they make the most of digital media and marketing by creating videos of their products and helping customers understand how the fabric is woven and block printing is done.
The company sources fabrics locally from India and weaves in its own facility in Ajrakhpur to create the finished product.
KutchiBazaar’s monthly sales are between Rs 20 and Rs 25 lakh. So far the founders have invested Rs 50 lakh together as bootstrapped capital and the company is now in talks about listing its products on Amazon and Mirraw.
Read the whole story here.
RedRose garments
Once considered a taboo subject, lingerie shopping has come a long way in India.
Lingerie is no longer a basic need but has become a fashionable product, says Monal Vora, a second generation entrepreneur who currently runs the Mumbai-based lingerie brand RedRose Garments.
RedRose was founded in 1977 by Chandubai Vora and his brothers – Dhiraj, Ramesh, Sailesh and Mahesh. Monal, who entered the business in 2016 is Dhiraj’s son.
Regarding starting the company, Monal says his uncle Chandubai moved from Kutch to Mumbai in the early 1970s to find better opportunities. Soon he called his other brothers into town as well. They did odd jobs to survive in the city, mainly working in clothing factories and stores.
“Their connections in the industry grew, and they also found the market for a lack of high-quality lingerie,” says Monal. This led to the creation of RedRose Garments. Monal says the Vora brothers invested their savings in the business and also borrowed over the years to buy equipment and land.
Today RedRose manufactures and sells a wide variety of products such as night suits, underwear, petticoats, robes, saree shapers and more for women. It is present in 27,000 retail stores and is working to build a sizable online customer base.
In cooperation with SMBStory, Monal highlights the company’s strategies to stay relevant even after 44 years in business.
Read the whole story here.
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