We're building single shopping place for next billion consumers: Meesho CXO

Orders have grown 13x since July 2021, pet supplies, stationery among new categories added. Next up: musical instruments, industrial supplies, books, video games

Meesho, a fast-growing internet commerce company, is building a single shopping destination for the next billion consumers in India, said Utkrishta Kumar, CXO - Business at Meesho.

With 67 million lifetime product listings, Meesho said it is the lowest price destination catering to India’s value-conscious market. Consequently, there was about 1,600 per cent growth in the direct-to-platform (customer) orders year-over-year.

During the past six months, Meesho has launched new categories such as automotive accessories, sports and fitness, pet supplies, office and stationery as well as health and wellness.

“Among the newly launched categories, automotive accessories has grown by 7x since its launch in July 2021 with 85 per cent of the orders coming from tier-2-plus cities,” said Utkrishta Kumar.

Also, he said as more people adopt pets, the demand for pet supplies has increased. At Meesho, orders have grown by 13x since July 2021 with Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Imphal, Nagpur and Port Blair emerging as the top contributors. Products related to fish and dogs contribute to 70 per cent of the orders.

SoftBank-backed Meesho witnessed a substantial increase in the sale of office supplies and stationery items. Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh are the key drivers that contribute to 30 per cent of the orders for this category. In the health and wellness category, 60 per cent of the orders are coming from tier 2, 3, 4 cities and the major contributors are Imphal, Guwahati, Kanpur. Top selling products include masks, heating pads, massagers, orthopaedic heel supporters and vaporizers. The top categories to witness the highest growth in the past two years are kidswear and toys, footwear and accessories, home and kitchen and electronics.

“Our mission is to democratise e-commerce for everyone, including shoppers, suppliers, and entrepreneurs, as we offer them maximum reach and accessibility,” said Kumar. “In this regard, we are in the process of improving our assortment through launching new categories and expanding the existing selection.”

In the near future, Kumar said Meesho will be launching new categories such as musical instruments, books, video games, industrial and scientific supplies, agriculture and farming, and hobbies and collectables. Additionally, within the currently available categories, Meesho will be expanding its product portfolio and including several sub-categories. “We offer a wide range of quality products at the lowest prices, making it possible for customers across the country to shop on Meesho,” said Kumar.

In terms of growth of users, Meesho said it witnessed 15x growth in direct-to-platform customers over the previous year. 50 per cent of its new transactors were first-time internet users in 2021. In terms of sellers, Meesho has been supporting several small and medium scale businesses to digitise their business. Its seller base grew by 435 per cent over last year. Meesho currently has over 4 lakh sellers on the platform. Also, the number of entrepreneurs grew by 2.5x in 2021. The firm now has 15 million entrepreneurs on the platform.