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December 10, 2025
Shabori Das, ET Bureau
Dec 10, 2025
India’s social media platforms are powerful marketing tools but not yet retail destinations. Billions scroll and swipe daily, but few buy directly within apps. Unlike China, India faces regulatory hurdles and a lack of integrated payment systems.
A billion Indians scroll, swipe and double tap every day, but barely buy. Despite Instagram and Facebook Marketplace being in India for over a decade, social media here remains a showroom, not a store. Creators and D2C brands are hustling to convert attention into action, but the holy grail of in-app shopping where discovery, live streaming, and purchase happen seamlessly, remains out of reach.
The question is, what’s stopping India from becoming the next China or the US in social commerce?
Influence-to-Commerce Gap
Globally, social commerce is powered by influencers. In China, influencer Li Jiaqi reportedly sold products worth $2 billion on Singles’ Day on Alibaba’s online marketplace Taobao Live in 2021. Another popular influencer Zheng Xiang Xiang, with over 5 million followers on Douyin (the Chinese equivalent of TikTok), reportedly generated $18 million in sales in a week in 2023. These are numbers India’s creator economy can only dream of, for now.
To be clear, influencer marketing in India is booming. EY estimates the sector at over Rs 3,000 crore and yet, due to regulatory restrictions, social media platforms in India can’t host end-to-end transactions. What India has is content commerce, driven by players like Meesho and Myntra, not social commerce. Globally, social commerce is a $1-trillion market. China alone accounts for over $500 billion and the US, $100 billion. India’s share? Around $10 billion — despite being home to the world’s largest Gen Z population and the second-largest base of internet users after China.
What’s Holding India Back
“Just as quick commerce changed how India buys food, social commerce will change how we shop for fashion and lifestyle,” says Anand Ramanathan, partner, consumer industry leader, Deloitte South Asia.
The idea is simple: Social commerce enables an end-to-end purchase journey within a social media app. But in India, the final sale still happens elsewhere — typically on e-commerce platforms.
“In China, live streaming contributes nearly 20% of total e-commerce revenue. In India, it hasn’t taken off,” says Puneet Sehgal, CEO of D2C apparel brand Freakins. He believes in-app checkout could be transformative. “Our Gen Z audience spends over an hour daily on social media. If the purchase could happen right there, it’s one step less for the consumer — and one step closer to a sale.”
The China Contrast
China’s social commerce revolution was built on three forces — speed, scale and seamlessness. Influencer Zheng, for instance, showcases each product for barely three seconds and moves on. That brevity, combined with integrated payments, drives impulse buying at staggering volumes.
India’s influencer-driven commerce, by contrast, is still warming up. Projected to touch $ 55 billion by 2030, it remains largely limited to discovery and advertising.
The barriers aren’t technological, they’re regulatory. India’s payment rules require clear accountability and settlement tracking, making it difficult for global platforms to enable in-app sales. Meta’s 2023 policy shift also directed purchases off-platform, keeping Instagram and Facebook Marketplace confined to discovery and promotion, rather than purchase. For now, social media in India remains a potent marketing engine, not yet a retail destination.
Experiments and Exceptions
Some Indian players are testing new waters. Myntra’s Glamstream, launched this July, lets influencers host live sessions where viewers can “shop the look” in real time — though the final checkout still redirects you to the Myntra app.
“India’s creator economy influences over $300 billion in annual consumer spending,” says Sunder Balasubramanian, chief marketing officer at Myntra.“That could grow to $1 trillion in the next few years, making India one of the fastest-growing creator economies globally,” adds Lakshminarayan Swaminathan, vice president-product management, Myntra.
The potential is clear. In 2021, Taobao Live hosted a 12-hour live streamed sale with influencer Li Jiaqi in China that clocked $2 billion in presales and attracted 250 million viewers.
Closer home, Sujata Biswas, co-founder of Suta Sarees, recalls Instagram’s shortlived Shop Now feature. “We saw an immediate dip in transactions after it was withdrawn,” she says. “Fashion is about instant gratification. You see it, you want it and buy it right away.”
The D2C Advantage
India’s D2C market, valued at $87 billion as of 2025 by Deloitte, could be the biggest gainer if social commerce does take off. Most D2C brands currently pay 25–35% retailer margins to platforms like Myntra and Nykaa. Social commerce could let them bypass intermediaries and sell directly to their audiences.
“Anything that reduces friction between intent and purchase is gold,” says Sehgal. “If that entire journey — from watching to buying — happens within the same app, conversion rates would shoot up.”
Even so, social platforms come with their own costs. TikTok, for instance, charges promotional, marketplace and fulfilment fees. But for Indian D2C players, the larger hurdle isn’t cost — it’s access.
Open vs Closed Ecosystems
“India’s retail market is far more open than China’s,” explains Devangshu Dutta, CEO of ThirdEyesight, a retail consulting firm. “In China, closed ecosystems like WeChat and Douyin created the perfect environment for social commerce to thrive. In India, where consumers can freely move between Google, Meta and e-commerce giants, those closed loops don’t exist.”
Globally, TikTok Shop, Douyin, WeChat, Pinduoduo, and Taobao Live dominate social commerce. According to Business of Apps, a data provider for the global app industry, TikTok earned $23 billion in 2024, with nearly 23% of it from in-app and commerce purchases.
If similar models are launched in India, e-commerce giants would face direct competition from the very platforms that fuel their traffic.
The Wait Continues
From beauty tutorials to thrift stores, social media spawns thriving micro economies. Yet, true social commerce — where discovery leads directly to purchase — hasn’t yet clicked.
The next big leap for India’s e-commerce may not come from deeper discounts or faster delivery but from social media itself. “The idea of instant gratification is key,” says Biswas. “When the ‘Shop Now’ button comes back, we’ll be the first to use it.”
Till then, India scrolls, likes, shares — and waits.
(Published in Economic Times)
admin
November 13, 2025
Saumyangi Yadav,Entrepreneur
Nov 13, 2025
India’s consumer landscape is undergoing a decisive shift in 2025. While D2C brands that once thrived on digital-only distribution are now aggressively building an offline footprint, legacy FMCG majors are simultaneously acquiring digital-first brands to strengthen their portfolios and tap into new consumer behaviours.
As analysts suggest, these trends signal a maturing phase for India’s D2C ecosystem, one that blends physical retail and strategic consolidation.
Offline Push Accelerates
According to a recent CBRE report, ‘India’s D2C Revolution: The New Retail Order’, D2C brands leased nearly 5.95 lakh sq ft of retail space between January and June 2025, accounting for 18 per cent of all retail leasing during this period, up sharply from 8 per cent in the first half of 2024. Fashion and apparel dominated the expansion, contributing close to 60 per cent of D2C leasing, followed by homeware and furnishings and jewellery at about 12 per cent each, while health and personal care brands accounted for roughly six per cent. The shift is equally visible in the choice of retail formats: 46 per cent of D2C leasing went to high streets, 40 per cent to malls, and the remaining to standalone stores, reflecting the category’s growing focus on visibility, trial and experiential discovery.
Experts suggest that it represents a strategic pivot to blended engagement.
As Devangshu Dutta, CEO of Third Eyesight, notes, “India’s D2C surge is powered by digital-first consumers, tremendous improvement in seamless logistics, and low-cost market entry, supported subsequently by substantial amounts of investor capital chasing those startups that stand out from the competition. Yet, lasting success demands a more holistic view: the divide between online and offline is a business construct, not a consumer reality. The larger chunk of retail sales still happens through physical channels and, for brands that want to be mainstream, an omnichannel presence is absolutely essential.”
This also aligns with the broader market outlook. The India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), in its Indian FMCG Industry Analysis (October 2025), estimates the value of India’s D2C market at USD 80 billion in 2024, with expectations of crossing USD 100 billion in 2025. Much of this growth is being led by categories that combine frequent purchase cycles with strong digital discovery, beauty, personal care, and food and beverage segments where consumers are open to experimentation but demand authenticity, transparency, and a compelling product narrative.
“The Gen Z and millennial consumer cohorts value newness but also authenticity and unique product stories, which are best communicated in spaces that are controlled by the brand,” Dutta added, “In the launch and growth phases, this could be the brand’s digital presence including website and social media, but over time this can include pop-up stores, kiosks, shop-in-shops and even exclusive brand stores.”
CBRE’s data reflects this shift clearly, with D2C brands increasingly opting for flexible store formats and high-street locations to maximise traffic and visibility.
M&A Gains Momentum
Parallel to the offline push is a noticeable wave of consolidation. Large FMCG companies are accelerating acquisitions to capture emerging consumer niches and strengthen their digital-native capabilities.
In recent years, Hindustan Unilever has acquired Minimalist; Marico has bought Beardo, Just Herbs, True Elements, and Plix; ITC has taken over Yoga Bar; and Emami has secured full ownership of The Man Company. These deals, reported widely across business media in 2024 and 2025, point to the need for established companies to fast-track entry into high-growth, ingredient-forward, and youth-focused categories without the lead time of in-house incubation.
“Legacy FMCG companies are acquiring D2C brands to rapidly gain access to new consumer segments, product innovation, and digital-native capabilities, including direct engagement and insights. Such deals enable large companies to diversify portfolios, accelerate entry into trending segments by-passing the initial launch risks, and rejuvenate their brands with modern digital marketing expertise,” Dutta explained.
Challenges and Risks
But the acquisitions do not come without risk and challenges, analysts warned.
“However, integrating D2C operations also poses challenges, including cultural differences, the risk of stifling entrepreneurial agility, and the need to harmonise data and omnichannel strategies. The ability to nurture acquired brands without diluting their distinctive appeal will determine acquisition success,” Dutta added.
Yet even as the ecosystem expands, challenges remain. Offline stores add operational complexity, inventory planning, staffing, last-mile logistics, and real-time data integration. Still, the bottom line is that India’s D2C sector is moving into a hybrid era defined by tighter omnichannel integration, sharper product storytelling, and portfolio realignment through acquisitions.
(Published in Entrepreneur)
admin
October 24, 2025
Entrepreneur India
Oct 23, 2025
Indian consumers are increasingly opting for private labels and in-house brands over established ones, and retailers are taking note. According to EY’s ‘Future Consumer Index 2025’, more than half of India’s consumers are now choosing in-house brands over legacy labels.
The report highlights that 52 per cent of Indian consumers have switched to private labels for better value, while 70 per cent believe these in-house brands offer comparable or superior quality. Backed by this shift, retailers from BigBasket to DMart, and quick-commerce players like Zepto and Blinkit, are doubling down on their private label strategies, viewing them as a path to higher margins, stronger brand loyalty, and greater pricing control.
“Indian consumers’ growing preference for private labels reflects both short-term price pressures and a longer-term structural evolution in retail,” said Devangshu Dutta, CEO of Third Eyesight, speaking to Entrepreneur India.
Trending globally
The surge isn’t unique to India. A recent report by the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) notes that globally, private labels now account for over 45 per cent of grocery volume and are expanding faster than legacy brands.
In India, this shift is becoming increasingly visible in-store. The EY report found that 74 per cent of consumers have noticed more private label options where they shop, and 70 per cent say these products are now displayed more prominently, often placed at eye level, signalling a strategic retail push.
Commenting on this trend, Angshuman Bhattacharya, Partner and National Leader, Consumer Products and Retail Sector, EY-Parthenon, said, “Consumer behaviour has traditionally evolved in response to changing economic situations, but the current shifts appear to be more permanent. Retailers are confidently launching private labels and allocating prime shelf space to them, while technology is enhancing the shopping experience by providing consumers with limitless options and the ability to compare products.”
From price-fighters to power brands
According to Dutta, private labels are no longer just “copycat” alternatives meant to undercut national brands.
“For retailers, not just in India but globally, lookalike private labels used to be tools at the opening price point to hook the customer, who saw them as credible, affordable alternatives to national brands,” he explained, adding, “However, as retailers have grown, they have gained both scale and expertise to widen and deepen their supply chains.”
Over time, he said, investments in formulation, packaging, and quality consistency have increased consumer trust.
“Private labels now compete on functional benefits rather than only on price, particularly in food staples and apparel, but also in brown goods and white goods, and increasingly in personal care and other FMCG categories,” he added. [Must read: “Private Label Maturity Model”]
Retailers scale up private labels
As demand for in-house brands grows, retailers are scaling up their strategies across sectors.
BigBasket, one of India’s largest online grocery platforms, reported that 35–40 per cent of its FY24 sales came from private labels like Fresho, BB Royal, and Tasties. The company aims to push this share closer to 45 per cent through expansion in frozen foods and ready-to-eat categories.
DMart’s private label arm, Align Retail, has reportedly more than doubled its sales in two years, touching INR 3,322 crore in FY25. The retailer’s in-house brands in staples, apparel, and home essentials have helped boost margins in a highly competitive retail landscape.
Zepto, the quick-commerce player, is taking private labels into the 10-minute delivery domain. Its brand Relish, focused on meats and eggs, has achieved INR 40 crore in monthly sales.
Meanwhile, Reliance Retail has also expanded its portfolio of private labels, including Good Life, Enzo, and Puric, across groceries, personal care, and household products, strengthening its broader FMCG play. In 2024, Reliance Retail’s Tira Beauty also announced the launch of its latest private label brand, Nails Our Way, signifying a major expansion in its beauty offerings.
Capturing a lion’s share in retail
Dutta noted that in India, private labels will remain a core pillar of modern retail strategy rather than a cyclical response to cost pressures.
“Consumers increasingly view retailers as brand owners rather than intermediaries. As private labels mature in branding and innovation, their growth aligns more and more with brand equity development rather than just opportunistic cost-saving,” he said.
From a retailer’s perspective, private labels deliver higher gross margins and greater strategic control, Dutta said. [Must read: “Private Label Maturity Model”]
Another report by the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA), using Circana data, found that in 2024, private-label sales in food and non-edible categories grew faster than bigger brands globally. While figures vary by region and quarter, the pattern remains consistent: private labels are outpacing traditional FMCG growth.
Collectively, these shifts show that private labels are becoming a major revenue driver for retailers in India, and are fast evolving from value alternatives into brands with genuine consumer pull.
(Published in Entrepreneur India)
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September 19, 2025
Anuja Jain, Exchange4Media
19 September 2025
Retail media is now the fastest-growing line in Indian advertising, with brand budget tilting hard toward e-commerce as digital shopping scales.
Fresh FY25 financials underline the shift: Amazon India’s ad sales jumped 25% to *8,342 crore, while Flipkart booked ₹6,310 crore. Together, the two platforms command 14,652 crore in commerce advertising, signaling a decisive move of performance spends from traditional channels to shoppable, data-rich placements.
At Amazon India, advertising has become the second largest revenue pillar after marketplace services, contributing nearly 28% of a 30,139-crore operating base. The heft now rivals or surpasses several legacy media categories, highlighting brands’ tilt to closed-loop, performance-led placements on commerce.
On the other hand, for Flipkart, ads are now a clear topline engine. Marketplace revenues have crossed ₹20,000 crore, with income from marketplace services more than doubling on the back of brand promotions, even as the company ploughs investment into logistics, new commerce formats, and Al-driven personalization.
For context, marquee media houses sit well below commerce ads, Zee Entertainment’s FY25 advertising revenue was 838 crore, while HT Media logged about a little over 1,070 crore for the year. Even Network18’s entire news segment revenue (ad + subscription) was approximately 468 crore, clearly indicating the scale retail media now commands.
Why retail media Is booming
According to brand experts, the surge in ad revenues of Amazon and Flipkart not only reflects the growing dominance of retail media in India but this works because it is closest to the point of purchase, akin to securing premium shelf space in physical retail.
“Consumers come to Amazon and Flipkart with high purchase intent, and coupled with first-party data, brands can sharply target audiences-premium or mass-with clear measurability of ROI,” said one of the experts.
Underlining the growing dominance of retail media, “E-commerce platforms know exactly who you are and what you buy,” he explains that this knowledge allows brands to pitch products with far greater precision thab traditional digital channels.
Retail expert Devangshu Dutta explains that the surge in ad revenues for e-commerce needs to be compared with the long-standing practices of large retailers, who have historically charged slotting fees for shelf placement and additional promotional charges for in-store or media visibility.
“As far as ad revenues for e-commerce companies in India are concerned, this is a fundamental structural shift rather than a temporary spike. It is a mature monetisation strategy that mirrors global trends,” he said.
The size and accuracy of retail media networks (RMNs) are the main drivers of the increase in e-commerce ad spending. According to Bloom Agency, an NCR based digital marketing outfit, companies are discovering unmatched reach and conversion prospects in India, where there will be over 342 million online consumers by 2025 with platforms like Amazon (with 150 million users) and Flipkart (with 180 million users) controlling over 65% of the market. In contrast to traditional digital advertisements on Google or Meta, retail media provides closed-loop attribution, which allows advertisers to track sales impact directly. This is a crucial indicator in today’s ROI-driven market.
IBEF (Indian Brand Equity Foundation) data shows that India’s digital advertising industry has crossed ₹60,000 crore in FY24, with retail media accounting for a fast-expanding share. Globally, retail media is already being hailed as the “third wave” of digital advertising after search and social media, and India is now firmly aligned with that trajectory.
Nipun Marya, CEO of iQOO, credited Amazon Ads as a crucial growth driver for the brand’s recent launches. “For recent launches, iQOO leveraged Amazon Ads to reach relevant audiences and build pre-launch buzz, using formats like Amazon Live, influencer-led shopping events, display, video, and search ads,” he said.
Emphasizing the centrality of Amazon in its strategy, Marya highlighted, “Based on consumer insights, iQOO identified Amazon as the key shopping destination for its core audience and built its e-commerce strategy around the platform.” This approach, which combines influencer-led activities, Amazon Live storytelling, and always-on Search Ads, has helped the brand deepen engagement and sustain consumer consideration in a competitive and price sensitive market.
Tight demand is also lifting platform pricing, through last Diwali, India retail-media CPMs spiked 30% at peak and CPCs ran 33% above baseline, and brands are budgeting for similar pressure this season. New premium placements, video/CTV and Amazon’s Sponsored TV are further nudging average rates up as advertisers chase shoppable reach.
Quick commerce platforms like Zepto, Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart are also capitalising on festive demand with steep hikes in ad rates, especially for premium slots like homepage banners and sponsored placements. Categories such as FMCG, snacks and personal care are leading the charge, with brands committing lakhs each month to secure visibility. By turning digital shelf space into monetised real estate, Q-comm ad revenues are projected to cross ₹5,000 crore by 2025, reinforcing why retail media is one of the fastest-growing, ROI-driven channels.
Quick commerce players are seeing varied traction from advertising revenues. Zepto has emerged as the frontrunner, crossing ₹1,000 crore in annualised ad revenue, or over ₹83 crore a month. In contrast, Blinkit earned just 7 crore in FY25 from related-party ads, dwarfed by its 502 crore ad spends. Zomato’s food delivery arm reported ₹8,080 crore in revenue, up 27% YoY on the back of commissions, ads and platform fees, while Swiggy’s operations grew 45% YoY to 4,410 crore but losses widened to 1,081 crore due to heavy quick commerce investments.
Intensifying competition for brand wallets
Sponsored listings, video commercials, and Al-driven targeting are just a few of the ways that Amazon’s commerce ecosystem seamlessly incorporates advertising, giving businesses greater visibility at the point of sale. Flipkart, on the other hand, is using its creator-led campaigns (Creator Cities), subscription play (Flipkart Black), and holiday specials to create an engaging layer of brand interaction.
The competitive dynamic is forcing consumer brands, especially in FMCG, electronics, and fashion, to rethink their media mix. With e-commerce penetration expected to jump from 25% in FY24 to 37% by FY30 as per the IBEF report, advertising spends on these platforms are projected to scale even faster. Analysts suggest that retail media could command over 20% of India’s total digital ad market by 2030.
A Reshaped Media Landscape
The implications for India’s advertising ecosystem are profound. Traditional digital duopoly players Google and Meta still command scale, but the entry of retail giants is fragmenting spends. For brands, the choice is less about “whether” to advertise on Amazon or Flipkart and more about “how much” to allocate in order to capture consumers at the point of intent.
As India races toward becoming the world’s second-largest online consumer market with 600 million shoppers by 2030, says Grab On report, retail media is set to be the fastest-growing channel. Amazon and Flipkart’s FY25 numbers signal that we are only at the beginning of this pivot. The clear signal for advertisers is that e-commerce has evolved beyond sales, now standing at the very core of digital ad planning.
(Published in Exchange4Media)
admin
September 15, 2025
Shabori Das & Sagar Malviya, Economic Times
15 September 2025
ITC Foods is making a strategic entry into fresh packaged foods including short shelf-life cookies, cakes, and chapatis, among others, part of its broader aim to ride the surge in quick commerce demand, said Hemant Malik, chief executive of the food division of ITC.
The move is also prompted by the cigarette-to-snack maker’s aim to capture India’s growing appetite for convenience-led, freshly-made food with shelf life of a few days, instead of 12-24 months for other food products, with quicker fulfilment systems.
“There is a growing consumer demand for fresh packaged food products, powered by enhanced accessibility and convenience provided by the surge in quick commerce platforms,” Malik told ET, adding that the company has extended its Sunfeast and and Aashirvaad brands into these categories.
ITC has created a hyper-local production and distribution ecosystem to enable next-day delivery from oven to doorstep in a country where supply chains are often fragmented and 75% of the sales are through local kiranas. The company said its small-batch model, scaled across urban micro-markets, will help maintain freshness while sidestepping the usual constraints of long-haul logistics and warehouse storage.
“We are leveraging tech-enabled capabilities, supply chain efficiencies including hyper-local agile production and rapid fulfilment together with focus on fresh sourcing,” Malik added.
Analysts however noted that relying solely on quick commerce won’t ensure scale while limited shelf life could require bigger retail channels including modern and general trade.
“These products will need to move fast. So inventory management in terms of space for quick commerce will be challenging,” said Devangshu Dutta, founder of retail consulting firm Third Eyesight. “And in case of quick commerce, it will need to have catchment focus as not every micromarket in a city will have demand for such products.”
“In the case of large FMCG companies, scalability is always what is needed, and quick commerce alone will not help with that. Eventually modern trade and general trade for these shorter shelf life products will be considered,” he said.
ITC’s packaged food business clocked ₹18,270 crore in gross sales during FY25, up 6% on-year.
Quick commerce platforms such as Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto have made it easier than ever to deliver ultra-fresh products within hours–and they have been tapped by local bakeries and direct-to-consumer companies including Theobroma, Baker’s Dozen, and Id Fresh.
Over the past few months, mainstream companies including Hindustan Unilever, Marico, Adani Wilmar and Parle have carved out separate sales and distribution teams for quick commerce, responding to the need for a faster turnaround in stocking as well as a distinct portfolio for the segment.
(Published in Economic Times)
