Online shopping is a new mode of shopping for most of the customers
Fynd is the central online shopping destination for fashion, offering cothing for men, women and kids, wallets, hand bags and other accessories. Fynd's co-founder, Harsh Shah, speaks with Fibre2Fashion on customer's preference that has evolved in recent years with respect to online shopping.
How was the festive sale in 2017 in comparison to that in 2015-16?
2016 festive sale for us was just after we had launched our services pan India. We though had a very good customer attraction especially from the perspective that we are new in the field, but then in 2017, we had already established ourselves strongly as a one-stop shop for fresh fashion. This definitely helped us gain a lot of customer attraction and repeat purchases during the festive season of 2017. Major festive seasons brands like Manyavar, JadeBlue, Global Desi etc. had shown a keen interest in this festive season sale and performed really well during the period.
Which category in apparel - menswear, womenswear, kidswear generated maximum revenues?
We currently do not offer kidswear on our platform however we are expecting to launch the same by the end of Q1 2018. When comparing menswear and womenswear, menswear has a slight edge in terms of revenues. The distribution is 60-40 with menswear contributing to 60 per cent of the revenues currently.
Apart from clothing, which product categories are picking up for festive buys - home textile, footwear, accessories like bags?
Winter festive seasons has always seen a surge in footwear demand and the same is happening in the current season as well. One can easily see a trend towards footwear, especially shoes while looking at the intentional behaviour of a customer on his app/website. Apart from this, wearables is the next biggest trending thing. These are trendy as well as helps a customer keep themselves fit. A lot of people in India have started adapting to wearing fitness watches on a day to day basis.
How have consumer preferences evolved in the last two years with respect to online shopping?
Online shopping is a new mode of shopping for most of the customers. With an expanding internet base of the country, there are a large number of users who are shopping on online websites for the first time in their life. Initially (3-4 years back), it was a matter of concern for customers as they were not sure of the service or even the fact that whether the product will be delivered to their home or not. But now, one can see a sense of trust getting established in the online e-commerce websites so much so that now a person is comfortable buying even ₹40,000 phone or ₹65,000 television via e-commerce websites.
Which were the top 3 regions that generated the maximum revenues during the sale?
Metros definitely have an edge when it comes to sales. This is also because a lot of initial effort has gone into establishing a customer base in the metro cities. Currently, the top cities for us are Bengaluru, New Delhi, and Mumbai.
What's your forecast for 2018? Post demonetization, GST, what changes are you expecting in the market?
Both demonetisation and GST implementation are drastic steps towards economy correction with each of them having their own benefits. When it comes do demonetization, it has helped increase customer trust on online payment modes and would definitely help in increased online payments (especially via wallets). GST, on the other hand, is to help the brands majorly. Now no company in the industry has to pay different taxes in different cities or pay inter-state transportation charges etc. A flat tax based structure definitely saves a lot of effort and time which otherwise was required.
What would be your top 3 recommendations to Prime Minister N. Modi and Textile Minister Smriti Irani that could give a boost to the business of fashion?
Smriti Irani: Saree - Rich Indian handloom that has cotton as well as synthetic texture mixed. If it is colour blocked and solids, then it is more appealing and she can carry it well considering her busy schedule as a minister.
Narendra Modi : He can definitely try his hands-on dhoti with bandgala jacket and floral ethnic jacket on a solid kurta set. Something, he should try probably on the flag hosting ceremony on Republic Day.
Published on: 24/01/2018
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
