Mumbai to Mirzapur: Meesho witnesses a record 910 million orders in 2022

SoftBank-backed e-commerce firm Meesho said it set multiple sale event records this year, each topping the previous, with value-seeking consumers from all corners of the country choosing a slew of products.

From Mumbai to Mirzapur, a record 910 million orders were placed this year (up 135 per cent YoY), equalling India’s registered voter base in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, according to a report by the firm that captures how the country shopped in 2022.

“The year 2022 has been a breakout one for Meesho,” said Utkrishta Kumar, CXO, Business at Meesho. “Our orders grew 135 per cent year-over-year with growing demand not just from tier 2+ regions, but even value-seeking consumers from metros and tier-1 who are increasingly shopping with us.”

At about 140 million, Meesho said its annual transacting users exceed the combined population of the top three nations in FIFA World Cup 2022: France, Argentina and Croatia.

Customers from Andaman and Nicobar Islands are the most prolific with the highest number of orders per shopper. The territory is followed by Ladakh and the north-eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim.

Grooming and healthcare were among the top categories. Men from tier-4 towns cornered the lion's share of grooming products, accounting for 60 per cent of all orders.

Meesho said ‘smartwatch’ was the second-most searched product in 2022. This shows how Indians are focusing on physical activity. Sales of fitness equipment – dumbbells, treadmills and elliptical trainers – surged 3x as orders poured in from Srinagar and Mathura to Guntur and Siliguri. Most of the Yoga mats were bought by metro-dwellers from Bengaluru, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai. Orders for sanitary napkins grew 9x in tier-2+ cities. Meesho said this demonstrates how e-commerce is creating accessibility for millions of women in Bharat.

Consumers from Uttar Pradesh bought the maximum amount of cricket gear, followed by Maharashtra, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. With 148 sarees sold per minute and demand coming in from all corners of the country, India’s love for attire continues to grow.

About 93,000 t-shirts, 51,725 Bluetooth earphones and 21,662 lipsticks were sold every day. Haryana stocked up on bed sheets, and Jharkhand shopped for extension boards. Rajasthan took a special liking to Bluetooth earphones while Assam bought body lotions.

“A customer from Uttar Pradesh placed an order every waking hour, totalling 6,384 orders in 2022,” said Meesho in the report.

Eight in 10 orders for books came from tier-2+ markets. Shoppers showed a clear inclination for self-help bestsellers such as Ikigai, Atomic Habits, The Psychology of Money and Rich Dad Poor Dad.

Indians indulged in online shopping for the most on Sundays in 2022. Last year, Wednesday was that day. Eight o'clock every evening was shopping prime time for Meesho customers, a change from 2021 when 2-3 p.m. had the most traffic.

“Millions of customers used local landmarks like ‘pipal ka ped’, ‘bargad ka ped’, ‘atta chakki ke peeche’ and ‘near water tank’ to help direct delivery personnel,” said Meesho.

Meesho said sellers save Rs 3,700 crore in commissions in 2022 due to the company’s industry-first zero commission model. It said nearly 130,000 Meesho sellers became lakhpatis and 6,000 became crorepatis in 2022, with Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh leading the charge. Thousands of these sellers came from small towns like Sagar, Rewa and Damoh (Madhya Pradesh), Panipat and Karnal (Haryana) and Sangli (Maharashtra).

The firm onboarded about 500,000 suppliers in 2022, with 61 per cent of them new-to-e-commerce and selling online for the first time.

How India Shopped in 2022  

• Men bought grooming products more than ever, with >60% of orders from Tier 4 markets
• From Srinagar to Siliguri, there was a 3X rise in orders for gym equipment
• Bengaluru, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai bought the most yoga mats
• Smartwatch was the second-most searched product in 2022
• Sanitary napkin orders from Tier 2+ cities grew 9X
• 8 in 10 orders for books came from Tier 2+ markets. Self-help bestsellers Ikigai and Atomic Habits topped the list
• Quirks of the Indian Shopper
• Most preferred day to shop: Sunday.
• Shopping prime time: 8 PM every day.  
• A customer from Uttar Pradesh placed an order every waking hour, totaling up to 6,384 orders in 2022,
• Pipal ka ped, atta chakki digital maps. Customers used local landmarks to help direct delivery personnel.
• Andaman  & Nicobar Islands saw the highest orders per shopper, followed by Ladakh and the north-eastern states.
• 148 sarees were sold per minute, with demand coming in from all parts of the country.

Source of the report: Meesho