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When it comes to <keyword id="19957108" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="online-shopping" source="keywords">online shopping</keyword>, almost anything can be bought and sold within minutes. People love ordering new stuff from the comfort of their homes and the online shopping trend is growing day by day. However, every coin has two sides and there are some challenges associated with online shopping as well. As per latest reports, e-commerce platform Meesho is facing backlash over its latest product - Lawrence Bishnoi T-shirts. Yes, you read that right. <h2>Meesho faces backlash </h2> The popular e-commerce platform is under the scanner for listing merchandise featuring the infamous gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. Social media erupted when users discovered T-shirts adorned with his image being sold online, sparking debates about the consequences of idealising criminal figures. Journalist Alishan Jafri highlighted the worrying trend in an X thread, explaining how such merchandise feeds into a broader issue of online <keyword id="23805599" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gangster-glorification" source="keywords">gangster glorification</keyword>, which is influencing real-world violence among the youth. The T-shirts, as per the thread, were being sold on the platform for prices starting from Rs 168. Jafri shared examples of minors inspired by these online depictions committing serious crimes, from violent assaults to murder. For instance, he recounted incidents like a 15-year-old killing a friend after being influenced by gang content and minors in Delhi attempting to emulate “dons” for social media fame. His investigation underlined that while authorities work tirelessly to curb these trends, platforms hosting such merchandise inadvertently contribute to a culture of gang idolisation. Meesho’s listing has drawn widespread criticism, with many questioning the ethics behind promoting figures linked to violent crime. “This should be stopped, we can't encourage the younger generation to think of this gangster as heroes,” a user wrote and another added, “And a kid also wearing a his t shirt. So wrong.” Let us take a look at some more reactions: <div type="image" title="google (24)" msid="114968112" hostid="261"></div> However, when Business Insider India tried finding these T-shirts on Meesho's website, they appear to have been taken down. <h2>Meesho's statement </h2> In a statement to Business Insider India, Meesho's spokesperson clarified the situation and said, "We have taken immediate action to deactivate the products. Meesho remains committed to providing a safe and trusted shopping platform for all our users."

‘Gangsters are not heroes’: Meesho is selling Lawrence Bishnoi T-shirts and the internet is not happy about it

Softbank-backed e-commerce firm <keyword id="19911893" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Meesho" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Meesho" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Meesho">Meesho</keyword> will start its annual <keyword id="23217664" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="festival-sale" source="keywords">festival sale</keyword>, Meesho <keyword id="23217663" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mega-Blockbuster-Sale" source="keywords">Mega Blockbuster Sale</keyword>, from September 27 onwards with the highest number of sellers onboard among its competitors, the company said on Tuesday. The company has recorded about 42 per cent surge in sellers on a year-on-year basis to 20 lakh for the upcoming festival season. "Meesho's Annual 'Meesho Mega Blockbuster Sale' Starts on 27th September. With over 20 lakh sellers and 12 crore product listings across 30 categories, Meesho aims to make festive shopping more accessible, affordable, and convenient for shoppers across the country," the company said in a statement. Meesho claimed to have 14 lakh sellers onboard for Meesho Mega Blockbuster 2023. <keyword id="19910508" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon-India" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Amazon India" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Amazon India">Amazon India</keyword> has seen a 14 per cent growth in <keyword id="23217665" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="seller-base" source="keywords">seller base</keyword> but remains lower than that of Meesho for their upcoming annual festival sale "<keyword id="23217666" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="The-Great-Indian-Festival" source="keywords">The Great Indian Festival</keyword>". "Our current seller base exceeds 16 lakh sellers from all across the country," Amazon India, Director, Selling Partner Services, Amit Nanda, said. Interest of sellers for <keyword id="19896939" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Flipkart" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> has remained muted on a year-over-year basis. While announcing annual festival sale dates "The Big Billion Days" on Monday, <keyword id="19896940" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Walmart" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Walmart" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Walmart">Walmart</keyword> group firm Flipkart had said it has over 50 crore users and more than 14 lakh sellers on the platform, including sellers of its other platform Shopsy as well. Flipkart had reported the same level of sellers onboard before the TBBD in 2023. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/amazon-great-indian-festival-sale-to-begin-on-september-27/articleshow/113445238.cms">Amazon Great Indian Festival sale to begin on September 27</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/triumph-speed-t4-launched-in-india-with-a-price-tag-of-2-17-lakh/slidelist/113429766.cms">Triumph Speed T4 launched in India with a price tag of ₹2.17 lakh</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/xiaomi-and-samsung-accused-of-colluding-with-amazon-and-flipkart/articleshow/113381204.cms">Xiaomi and Samsung accused of colluding with Amazon and Flipkart</a>

Meesho to begin annual festival sale from September  27, sees 42% surge in seller base

As India gears up for its vibrant festive season, a notable surge in <keyword id="23052492" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="seasonal-hiring" source="keywords">seasonal hiring</keyword> is taking place across various industries, with gig roles leading the charge. According to data from job site Indeed, seasonal hiring is projected to rise by 20% this year compared to last, driven primarily by <keyword id="19990771" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="e-commerce" source="keywords">e-commerce</keyword>, logistics, and retail sectors, as companies prepare for heightened consumer demand. Sashi Kumar, Head of Sales at Indeed India, emphasised, "The festive season is a crucial period for businesses across India, and we're seeing a significant uptick in hiring for seasonal roles as companies prepare to meet heightened consumer demand." <h3 style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:14.0pt;margin-bottom:4.0pt;">What is gig work?</h3>Gig work refers to flexible, short-term, or freelance employment often facilitated by digital platforms. Unlike traditional full-time jobs, gig workers are hired on a project basis, allowing them to work for multiple employers or companies as needed. These roles are popular in industries like food delivery, transportation, and logistics. During India's <keyword id="21015356" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="festival-season" source="keywords">festival season</keyword>, when businesses experience a spike in demand, gig workers play an essential role in ensuring smooth operations across sectors like retail and e-commerce. <h3>Gig labour during festival season</h3>The festive season in India, spanning from September to December, is one of the busiest times of the year for businesses. As a result, companies ramp up hiring to cope with increased sales and customer demand. Seasonal roles in delivery, logistics, warehouse operations, and customer support see the highest demand, as businesses focus on timely deliveries, inventory management, and customer satisfaction. Indeed's data reveals that the top gig roles witnessing a rise in hiring this season include <keyword id="21462485" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="delivery-executives" source="keywords">delivery executives</keyword>, <keyword id="22103182" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="warehouse-workers" source="keywords">warehouse workers</keyword>, <keyword id="23052493" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="logistics-coordinators" source="keywords">logistics coordinators</keyword>, <keyword id="23052494" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="in-store-sales-executives" source="keywords">in-store sales executives</keyword>, and customer care executives. While major cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Delhi see a steady increase in demand for gig workers (18-20%), tier-2 and tier-3 cities like Nagpur, Jaipur, and Vadodara are emerging as key contributors, witnessing a hiring surge of 22-25%. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="112999246" title="As fast as some jobs are growing, others are losing steam" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div><h3><keyword id="3480589" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="meesho" source="Orion">Meesho</keyword> major contributor</h3>One of the standout examples this festive season is Meesho, a leading e-commerce marketplace in India. According to sources, the platform has enabled around 8.5 lakh seasonal job opportunities, representing a 70% increase from last year. Of these, 5 lakh jobs were created within Meesho's seller network, while another 3.5 lakh jobs emerged in the logistics sector. Sourabh Pandey, CXO of Fulfilment and Experience at Meesho, shared, "This festive season, we are particularly thrilled to have enabled 8.5 lakh seasonal jobs, especially in tier-3 and beyond cities. Empowering SMBs, local manufacturers, and logistics providers to scale their business is resulting in meaningful economic opportunities that are driving financial inclusion in these regions." Meesho has reportedly also partnered with prominent third-party logistics providers such as Delhivery, Ecom Express, and Shadowfax to meet the increased demands of the festive season. These collaborations have not only expanded logistics capacity but also helped generate gig opportunities in first-mile, middle-mile, and delivery associate roles. Abhishek Bansal, CEO &amp; Co-founder of Shadowfax, commented, "We are particularly excited to nearly double our capacity across several value-added services, such as Reverse Quality Check-Based Pickups and Hand-to-Hand Doorstep Exchange. These efforts ensure smooth deliveries and returns during the festive rush." <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="112720685" title="If you want to find a job, it&amp;#39;s time to specialize" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div><h3 style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:14.0pt;margin-bottom:4.0pt;">The future of gig work in India</h3>The rapid rise in <keyword id="23052491" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="gig-hiring" source="keywords">gig hiring</keyword> reflects the evolving needs of today's consumers, particularly during high-demand periods like the festive season. The e-commerce industry, which saw a 35% rise in demand for seasonal workers, is expected to continue driving this trend, with logistics and retail sectors close behind. "The industries that are growing — e-commerce, logistics, quick commerce — are doing so because they're aligned with the needs and behaviours of today's consumers,” Sashi Kumar explains. “This is where the future of India's <keyword id="19916569" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="job-market" source="keywords">job market</keyword> could be heading". With a flurry of companies contributing significantly to job creation, particularly in tier-3 and tier-4 cities, gig work is becoming a vital source of employment across the country. As India's job market evolves, gig work is likely to play an even larger role in shaping the future of work, offering flexibility and economic opportunity to millions of workers. (With inputs from agencies)

E-commerce is expected to help seasonal hiring for gig roles surge by 20% this festival season: reports

According to <keyword id="19911893" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Meesho" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Meesho" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Meesho">Meesho</keyword>'s recent ‘Smart shopper report’, <keyword id="19919711" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gen-Z" source="keywords">Gen Z</keyword> is rapidly embracing <keyword id="19990771" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="e-commerce" source="keywords">e-commerce</keyword>, with one in every three Meesho users being less than 25 years old. This makes them the fastest-growing demographic on the platform. The report also highlights that mass consumers, who typically make low-price purchases, account for around 80% of the total online shopping population in India. Reports suggest that by 2030, mass consumers, who are constantly seeking value for price, will dominate the retail market, constituting 65% of total consumers. At present, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are leading the way, when it comes to user growth in e-commerce, underscoring the significant untapped potential these states hold. The report also delves deeper into the evolving habits and preferences of mass consumers. Meesho has observed that users from Tier IV and smaller cities are the most frequent repeat shoppers under categories like women’s fashion, footwear, and baby care. Additionally, over 80% of Indian online shoppers now hail from tier-2 cities, and beyond, which include places like Ambur, Rourkela, Sangli, and Zirakpur. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="112333596" title="Zomato announces new feature for cash on delivery orders and it can help solve a huge problem" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <h2>Influencer-driven <keyword id="3295571" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="e-commerce-boom" source="Orion">e-commerce boom</keyword> in North-East</h2>Furthermore, the report reveals that customers in northeastern states of India such as Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, and Sikkim are increasingly basing their e-commerce purchases choices on content generated by influencers, making up for an impressive 40% of all orders from these states. Meesho has also witnessed greater digital inclusion, with a growing number of content creators emerging from some of the most remote regions of India, like Bazpur (Uttarakhand), Kotputli (Rajasthan), and Pakyong (Sikkim). With the growing popularity of content creators, products like selfie sticks, ring lights, microphones, and tripods have also quickly risen to top the electronics category. Another notable feature Meesho identified was a significant rise in the adoption of vernacular languages and voice search, with rates increasing by 162% and 40%, respectively. This surge reflects mass consumers' strong preference for regional languages and user-friendly features. Tier 2 and other, smaller cities have significantly outpaced Tier 1 cities when it comes to ordering electronic accessories, making double the amount of purchases made by their bigger, urban counterparts. Meesho has also seen substantial demand for products like bluetooth headphones and earphones, power banks, smart speakers, screen magnifiers, and keyboards from diverse Indian cities such as Alwar (Rajasthan), Bettiah (Bihar), Pursurah (West Bengal), Rajahmundry (Andhra Pradesh), Sindkheda (Maharashtra), and Sirsa (Haryana). Among the fastest-growing categories on Meesho are books, which grew by 148% YoY (year-on-year basis) growth, office supplies and stationery (137% YoY growth), home improvement (112% YoY growth), furnishings (92% YoY growth), and pet supplies (68% YoY growth). There has also been a surge in demand for personal care and grooming essentials. <h2>A shift towards quick draping</h2> In just six months, over 10,00,000 saree shapers and more than 60,000 ready-to-wear sarees were sold, indicating that consumers far prefer a quicker, easier approach to traditional draping. There was a clear penchant for traditional and modern alike, since Banarasi was the most sought after fabric, followed by chiffon and organza. <h2>Self-care on the rise</h2>With increasingly hectic schedules, mass consumers are also prioritising self-care. As a result, there has been a rise in at-home salon treatments, with Meesho reporting sales of 6,00,000 face packs, over 4,00,000 facial kits, 3,00,000 wax strips, 4,00,000 press-on nails, and 4,00,000 nail paints this year. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="112364583" title="Ola wants to re-enter the quick commerce business to take on Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> Not just this, yoga also made it to list, when it came to self-care. Meesho reported selling about 20 lakh yoga mats in just 6 months. And not just that, skipping and hula hooping also seems to be coming back in vogue, with consumers buying around 2 lakh skipping ropes and 75,000 hula hoops this year alone. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/article/5-lessons-startup-founders-can-learn-from-tech-mogul-elon-musk/articleshow/112375922.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">5 lessons startup founders can learn from tech mogul Elon Musk</a>

India’s e-commerce boom: Gen Z, small cities, and self-care trends on the rise, says Meesho

<ul><li>Mass consumers focus on prices, deals and discounts as compared to delivery speed.</li><li>Apart from electronics, consumers are also purchasing apparel, BPC and more online.</li><li>More e-comm consumers are expected to reside in tier 2 towns by 2030, says CBRE. </li></ul>Indian e-commerce is not just growing, it’s spreading across the country far and wide. It’s spreading geographically and across income groups. As e-commerce is more widely accepted, mass consumers will enter the system whose preferences are much different than the affluent consumers, says a report by <keyword id="20118142" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bofa-securities" source="keywords">BofA Securities</keyword>. “Mass consumers have specific preferences which are different from premium and affluent consumers. They focus on prices, deals and discounts vs delivery speed, payment options, friendly consumer policies etc. This consumer cohort follows an explore-based shopping journey vs affluent customer base doing need-based shopping,” said the <keyword id="19960097" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bofa" source="keywords">BofA</keyword> report. The growth in the mass e-com consumers is also happening parallelly to the boom seen in tier 2 customers. India’s top e-tailer <keyword id="19911893" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="meesho" source="keywords">Meesho</keyword> says that tier 1 cities and tier 2 markets are seeing the same amount of volume growth. “For Meesho, in pockets, tier 3 markets are growing faster than tier 1 and tier 2. There is also a mix shift happening in rural and semi urban India,” said the BofA report. A recent report by CBRE too said that the purchasing power of tier 2 cities like Chandigarh, Jaipur, Goa, Mangalore, Kochi etc has been growing so much that offline retailers are making a beeline for them. As of 2021, 50% of online urban shoppers were from tier 2 and tier 3 cities. This number is projected to reach 60% by 2030. “These e-commerce dynamics point towards the presence of a high aspiration consumer base,” the report said. Regular buying not just one-time buys The e-commerce purchase habits are also evolving. Apart from one-time purchases like electronics, home and kitchen goods, consumers are also increasingly purchasing high-frequency categories like fashion,apparel, beauty and personal care products along with jewelry and accessories. As per a Redseer consumer report released late 2023, 50% of festive season shoppers were looking to make purchases in fashion. “More than around 25% of these consumers are planning to purchase other low average selling prices like beauty and personal care and home and living,” the report said. This is also bringing in a change in the pricing dynamics of e-tailing. The average order value (<keyword id="20237201" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="aov" source="keywords">AOV</keyword>) for Meesho’s customer cohort has dipped by 10% in the last one year to ₹300-310. “Only 2-3% of this change came because of downtrading and majority was led by Meesho’s ability to price a product lower and led by category mix shift,” said BofA.

Mass ecomm consumers rise as tier-2,3 markets shop more online

<ul><li>Investors looking to participate in India’s ecommerce story will need to keep in mind that the valuation will continue to be premium even for those startups that are turning in a small profit.</li><li>For better monetisation, <keyword id="3480589" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="meesho" source="Orion">Meesho</keyword> is also entering categories where brands tend to do well. It currently offers brands like Decathlon, Marico and Nivea on its platform.</li><li>It is also exploring a low-cost grocery model in some smaller cities, which it plans to scale if unit economics justify the investments. </li></ul> Meesho, a horizontal ecommerce player that caters to unorganised sellers, has its task cut out before its public listing 12-18 months down the line. The marketplace will not repeat the mistakes some of its new age peers made while tapping public markets. The marketplace may be the first horizontal ecommerce platform to turn profitable, but it is just the beginning of an arduous journey, given that many investors have burnt their fingers by investing in IPOs of new age companies. Share prices have not kept up with the hype that surrounded these companies, which suggests that investors will not chase such pricey companies no matter how fast they are growing. So how different will Meesho be from the other new age tech platforms that tapped public markets? In conversation with Business Insider, Meesho’s chief financial officer Dhiresh Bansal said they have reflected on the experiences of investors who participated in IPOs in 2021 and 2022. The key takeaway is that valuations were high because there was a lot of free money floating around. He says: “But public market investors are focused on profitable growth. Our point of view is that we want to make sure we run a decent track record of profitable growth if we aspire to get listed. We are targeting to grow revenues by 40% and accelerate it a little more by putting investments back, but we will continue to be profitable.” Clearly, the new mantra for startups today is to be profitable but the size and scale of the profit pool will not impress if compared to the larger companies. Investors looking to participate in India’s ecommerce story will need to keep in mind that the valuation will continue to be premium even for those startups that are turning in a small profit. Call it a scarcity premium, if you will. Explains Bansal: “The investment phase of the company in the new age world is slightly longer but they generate very large pools of cash over a period of time. This is true for unprofitable or small profit companies.” Bansal cites examples of some companies in the US that had a small profit pool to report when they got listed a decade ago. But now these companies churn out large amounts in profits. Therefore, these new age companies cannot be compared to traditional companies. Bansal says that even as fixed costs remain the same over a period of time, on a higher base these companies tend to generate a lot more in profits. Currently, Meesho has 140 mn users who visit the app every month and 40 mn, who open the app everyday. With a revenue growth target of 40% year-on-year, Meesho believes it can earn more without fixed costs going up. In addition to controlling costs and boosting operational efficiency, Meesho is also tweaking its categories and model to earn more in some categories. Even though it continues to largely be a platform for unorganised/small sellers from across India, you can find some brands too as the platform provides a differentiated experience to branded players too. Says Bansal, “Our business is largely unbranded, but we have introduced brands in some categories. We have brands like Decathlon, Marico, Nivea and other D2C brands in the marketplace other than brands in the beauty and personal care category.” Monetisation in these categories is much better than the unbranded segments. The cashburn may have slowed and Meesho’s business may be cashflow positive, but a public listing will not just look at raising fresh capital. The issue will be a mix of fresh issue of shares and offer for sale by existing shareholders. Explains Bansal: “We don’t need fresh capital for growth as we have almost $400 mn in the bank. People will decide whether they want to exit or remain on for a longer period— but It will be a mix of primary and secondary offering at the IPO but it will be largely towards secondary.” This suggests that existing investors will look at a partial exit whenever Meesho hits the public market. The platform is also experimenting with other categories as it looks to diversify from its existing mainstay – apparel, beauty and kitchenware. Meesho wants to sell consumers everything but smartphones, electronics and groceries. Adds Bansal: “We have been experimenting with groceries and beyond the convenience model that works in metro and Tier 1 cities but there is a low priced model of groceries that can work in Tier1 and Tier 2 cities. We are running pilots and once we are sure about the unit economics we will scale the business.”

Key facts to know before Meesho’s IPO hits the market

<ul><li>Social commerce platform Meesho has announced the dates of its flagship Mega Blockbuster Sale. It will be held from September 23-27, 2022.</li><li>With the festive sale, Meesho expects to add more small-medium businesses onto its platform.</li></ul>Social commerce platform <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/meet-indias-real-gully-boy-vidit-aatrey-of-meesho-is-taking-the-entrepreneurial-dream-deep-inside-bharat/articleshow/93702491.cms">Meesho on Monday</a> announced the dates for its flagship Mega Blockbuster Sale – it will be held for five days from September 23 to September 27, 2022. As it gears up for its festive sale, Meesho is expecting to see a four-fold jump in small businesses participation in the festive sale compared to last year. Currently, Meesho has added over 7 lakh sellers and about 6.5 crore active product listings across 30 categories. “We are working with lakhs of sellers across the country, many of whom will be selling online for the first time this festive season. We are focused on building a platform that enables high growth and margins for MSMEs, giving them the confidence to digitize their business and succeed on Meesho,” said Utkrishta Kumar, CXO, Business at Meesho. On an average, these sellers have seen their business grow by 82% within two years of their being added on Meesho. The platform is also training its sellers ahead of the festive season to manage demand forecasting and order volume management. “We will continue to fuel the discoverability of small businesses, making quality products at the lowest prices accessible to customers from the deepest regions of the country,” said Kumar. Last year, Meesho’s 5-day annual sale saw about 60% of orders coming from tier 4+ regions. The home-grown e-commerce platform has also added more regional languages to attract users and sellers from beyond metro cities. It now has Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam and Odia on its platform. In a short span of time, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/meet-indias-real-gully-boy-vidit-aatrey-of-meesho-is-taking-the-entrepreneurial-dream-deep-inside-bharat/articleshow/93702491.cms">Meesho</a> has gathered 120 million <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/meet-indias-real-gully-boy-vidit-aatrey-of-meesho-is-taking-the-entrepreneurial-dream-deep-inside-bharat/articleshow/93702491.cms">monthly active users </a>(MAUs) and is now targeting the next billion Indians. To further spread the word about its flagship sale, Meesho has partnered with celebrities such as Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Rohit Sharma, Rashmika Mandanna, Kapil Sharma, Trisha Krishnan, Karthi Sivakumar, Ram Charan and Sourav Ganguly.

Meesho expects 4X jump in small business participation this festive season

<ul><li><keyword id="3480589" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="meesho" source="Orion">Meesho</keyword> is the new kid on the block that has emerged as a challenger to <keyword id="18635" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="amazon" source="Orion">Amazon</keyword> and <keyword id="6354742" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="flipkart" source="Orion">Flipkart</keyword> with 120 mn users</li><li>Aims to bring 100 mn small sellers across India online</li><li>The newly minted unicorn is looking at going public in less than two years after it turns profitable.</li></ul>Shaan Ansari is a 19-year old entrepreneur who lives in the historic city of Panipat, 100 kms north of Delhi, and he may never qualify for any list celebrating under-20 entrepreneurs, but his story is no less inspiring than Ranveer Singh’s character in Gully Boy. The pandemic put his father out of work and Ansari out of school back in 2020. When crisis struck, Ansari went scouting for opportunities online that would require zero investment and he found it in Meesho, a social commerce platform that is designed to help solo entrepreneurs and small businesses sell their wares to a wider audience. Ansari sourced bath mats and door mats made locally and started selling them on Meesho. When his suppliers could not meet the demand, Ansari borrowed money to start his own factory. Today he manufactures these mats from a rented factory, employs 50 people and clocks revenues of ₹30 lakh a month. It is transformational stories like Ansari’s that keep Meesho’’s co-founder and CEO Vidit Aatrey and his team going. Recalling his trip to Panipat, Aatrey, says, “The neighbourhood that Ansari lives in is a really humble one and his home actually doubles up as a warehouse. When I visited him, his staff and family offered dry fruits with chai. Ansari kept telling us how his family’s fortunes have changed after he discovered Meesho. As a team we travel every quarter to listen to sellers like Ansari on our platform and are now attempting to solve some of their other financial needs so that they don’t have to go to money lenders for working capital needs.” <div type="image" title="Meesho_1 (1)" height="900" width="1200" msid="93702892" hostid="261"></div> 100 million sellers to reach a billion buyers Aatrey’s dream is to get a million local businesses online so that they expand their markets by selling wares across India, irrespective of where they are located. In the last two years, this new kid on the block has emerged as a challenger to the Big Boys of e-commerce. Meesho - which is a short code for ‘my shop’ - has gotten bigger after the pandemic with 120 million monthly active users (MAUs) in a short span of time. Flipkart and Amazon have 200 million registered users each. Meesho’s target is to have 100 million sellers on its platform and sell to a billion buyers. Meesho was born on the premise that for online commerce to genuinely offer value, local retailers had to go online. Unorganized retail accounts for 90% of India’s spends. But when Aatrey and his co-founder Sanjeev Bamwal discovered that the sellers were not coming online because the buyers were not all shopping online. The pandemic has enabled Meesho to bring a lot more local businesses online as it was a matter of their survival. Challenging Amazon and Flipkart In the early days, Meesho’s sales were driven by 15 million women resellers, who bought products from the platform and sold it through WhatsApp and Facebook groups. From being a social commerce platform driven by re-sellers, it today has a share of nearly 30% in total daily online deliveries. Of the 9 million e-commerce orders processed daily, Meesho accounts for 2.7 million, while the two biggies account for 5 million. Clearly, Meesho is the challenger that nobody expected would catch up with Amazon and Flipkart. Another interesting statistic says that of the 70 million shoppers online, only 10 million are digital natives. It is a no-brainer then that India’s small businesses can provide the network effect to any online commerce platform that chooses to target this segment. Meesho waded into this space back in 2015, but found it tough to convince small entrepreneurs to come online because their customers were not online either. Language barriers and quality of internet speeds were only a few reasons why sellers were not online. Even when they brought sellers online, their buyers were still not online nor was Meesho’s app on too many smartphones. This changed after the pandemic but before that it was Meesho’s army of 15 million women resellers that drove its gross merchandise value up until 2020. Meesho is called a social commerce channel because it has been built by women resellers who found a vocation and economic independence by reselling goods purchased from the platform on WhatsApp and Facebook groups. Between 2017 and 2020, 100% sales were happening through resellers. The share of these women resellers is now down to 20% as consumers have now started downloading the app. Meesho’s monthly average users stand at 120 million and 35 million users transact on the app every month. On an average, 110 million Indian shoppers bought on Meesho last year. Not surprising that investors have also queued up to invest in the company. After raising seed capital of $300,000 from angel investors in March 2016, Meesho is valued at $4.9 bn after its latest round of capital raise of $570 mn in September 2021. Its list of marquee investors include Soft Bank Vision Fund 2, Prosus, Fidelity Management and Research, Yuri Milner’s DST Partners, Sequoia, SAIF Partners and Y Combinator among others. Sellers turn brand ambassadors <div type="image" title="Meesho_2 (1)" height="900" width="1200" msid="93702936" hostid="261"></div> Currently, there are six lakh sellers like Ansari on Meesho and the start-up wants to take this to one million. This goal may be work-in-progress, but every week employees join the Meesho Sabha, a meeting where examples like Ansari are discussed at length so that the team does not take its eyes off the goal post. Even though Meesho continues with its outreach programme to help sellers, existing sellers have now become brand ambassadors who are helping others get online. The platform offers peer-to-peer learning in several languages for those who want to get started. Says Dhiresh Bansal, chief financial officer of Meesho, “We still do our outreach programmes but a lot of people are now coming to our platform, as they need to diversify by targeting newer markets. Also the younger generation is more progressive and are taking their family businesses online.” After its success in the last two years, Meesho’s working hard to resolve several issues of sellers on its platform. Most of these sellers have seen a sharp rise in demand for their products after going online and the need for working capital requirement has gone up sharply. Lucknow-based Suman Agrawal used to sell women’s fashion clothing at her boutique but has shut it down after her brand Rudraksh saw sales boom on Meesho. She currently manages 22,000 orders a month. There are several sellers in India who cannot go online because they don’t have the requisite GST number. Aatrey has been a votary of their cause for a while. In June this year, the GST Council cleared a proposal that will no longer require sellers on e-commerce platforms to have a GST registration, if their turnover is less than ₹40 lakh and ₹20 lakh for goods and services respectively. This rule will come into effect from January 2023. Aatrey believes that this will be a game changer for millions of small sellers across India. While the company is not looking to raise capital immediately, it has plans to turn profitable and then hit the markets in a couple of years. The e-commerce player is looking at tightening its belt on costs now that it has attained scale. If it has to turn profitable in under 2 years then Meesho will have to cut back on cashburn and conserve capital. Aatrey says, “This festive season will give us an indication if there is any slowdown. We have not seen that so far, so it will be something that we will learn from.” <div type="image" title="Meesho_3 (1) (1)" height="900" width="1200" msid="93703012" hostid="261"></div> SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/sensex-slips-517-points-goes-below-the-60000-mark/articleshow/93701486.cms">Sensex slips 517 points, goes below the 60,000-mark</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/not-just-ev-makers-there-are-many-more-stocks-that-can-gain-from-ev-play/articleshow/93696654.cms">Not just EV makers, there are many more stocks that can gain from EV play</a>

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