In a recent interview with BW Retail World, Himanshu Chakrawati, the CEO of Snapdeal, shared some insightful views about the Indian market and the company’s strategies.
He highlighted the diversity of the Indian market, noting, “Everybody says, India is one market, aspirations are the same, one India one market. Let me tell you it’s not the same at all, it is very different.”
Underlining the evolving consumer base in India’s ecommerce sector, Chakrawati stated, “We currently have approximately 200 million ecommerce shoppers in India, out of roughly around 100 million are from well-to-do segments who’ve been shopping online forever, and there are 100 million out of that 200 million who have come into ecommerce shopping post the Jio revolution and a lot of them during Covid times.”
Foreseeing the future surge of ecommerce shoppers in the Indian market, he emphasised the significance of addressing the value segment, saying, “The next wave of ecommerce shoppers of 200 million consumers will primarily come from new segments… 90-95 per cent will be from the value segment.”
When discussing Snapdeal’s customer demographics, Chakrawati revealed that the70 per cent of their buyers come from small cities. He admitted the challenges met in delivering to these areas, mentioning longer delivery distances.
Addressing the payment preferences of Snapdeal’s customers, he stressed the preference for cash on delivery (COD), stating, “88 per cent of our customers prefer COD over prepaid options, which is significantly higher than industry standards.”
Explaining Snapdeal’s strategy for profitability, the CEO emphasised their focus on cost optimisation and speed.
In terms of product offerings on the open network for digital commerce (ONDC), he mentioned Snapdeal’s plans for expansion, saying, “It’s picking up good and we are now working with ONDC to open up the catalog in a structured manner within a few months.”
The company’s investments towards growth led to an 88 per cent increase in net delivered units, which grew from 18.56 million in FY 21 to 34.92 million in FY 22. In the same period, the marketplace’s annual transacting customers also grew – from 13.9 million in FY 21 to 17.7 million in FY 22.
Looking ahead, Chakrawati expressed certainty that Snapdeal will be a profitable company in the financial year 2024.
