Tell us about new technology solutions, including the live commerce feature, introduced on the Flipkart app during the recently concluded End of Season Sale (EOSS).
Technology has played an imperative role in transforming consumers’ online shopping experiences. This year, we introduced 24x7 live commerce to offer a personalised experience for our customers, offering them a wide selection to choose from as they looked at refreshing their wardrobes.
This live-stream commerce feature saw sellers, brands, celebrities, influencers and customers interacting in real time. Participating brands, sellers and celebrities co-hosted a series of live sessions offering a wide range of time-bound offers periodically and enabling customers to interact in real time through likes, comments and reactions. The initiative saw over 100 hours of engagement through live and video commerce, which is a testimony of its appeal amongst customers.
What are the highlights of your collaboration with brands – can you tell us about the kind of brands that have come in, including any unique ones?
India’s young customers are value-conscious yet always seeking out the latest fashion trends. This edition of the end of season sale witnessed participation from close to 2,00,000 fashion and lifestyle sellers offering over 10,000 brands and 10 lakh+ styles across fashion, beauty and lifestyle products.
This included a vast collection from some of the top home-grown D2C brands such as Being Human, Ruf & Tuf, Campus, Cultsport, Urbanic, Hershienbox and Mokobara, Fubar, AAdi, Krassa and The Kapas; ethnic wear brands such as Libas, Biba, MAX, and activewear brands including Nike, PUMA, Adidas, HRX, Fastrack. Brands including Peter England, Blackberrys, Arrow and Woodland also featured in the formalwear selection and Allen Solly, Jack and Jones and Crocs featured in the kids’ wear section.
What are the take-aways from the EOSS? How did you assimilate your observations from post-pandemic consumer behaviour into Flipkart’s operations?
India’s fashion industry is witnessing greater resilience on the back of renewed consumer fervour. An increasing number of aspirational consumers, looking for quality, value, and selection, are shopping online for their fashion and lifestyle needs. Millions of first-time online shoppers are exploring the e-commerce platform.
Customers engaged in refreshing their wardrobes are shopping across categories including activewear, formal wear, ethnic wear, travel and lifestyle accessories and footwear. With customers prioritising their health and fitness, there is a bolstered traction in ‘comfort clothing’ such as shoes and T-shirts.
Which cities or States recorded the highest purchase volumes during the EOSS and what did they purchase this season?
This year’s EOSS has been steeped in the spirit of the come-back of fashion, as we saw a resurgence in consumption and a drastic increase in engagement post the pandemic. Customers in cities such as Bengaluru, Kolkata, New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Guwahati and Muzaffarpur clocked the highest engagement.
We also witnessed a strong response from Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra followed by Bihar and West Bengal. Another interesting trend we saw was that fitness and health products emerged as priority buys for consumers, with over 70% of purchases accounting for sports goods including running, gym, badminton and cricket shoes.
In fact, the top searched keyword this season was shoes. Similarly, Western clothes saw an elevated demand with men's casual T-shirts and formalwear picking up while women preferred ethnic clothing and sarees as the new go-to. We also witnessed some unique trends with the oncoming monsoon and pick-up of travel, raincoats, backpacks, handbags, suitcases and duffel bags that saw a bolstered traction. There was also an increased demand for uniforms, badges and black shoes as children across the country head back to school. Black was the most-shopped for colour with over 16 lakh+ units sold.
We observed a shift in customer purchase patterns to opt for more athleisure wear, with this category accounting for the highest share of the demand pie. As people continue to spend extended periods of time at home, comfortable clothing has emerged as a priority and preference for most.
Tell us about the TVC with Alia Bhatt to promote the End of Season Sale. What is at the core of Flipkart’s marketing strategy for EOSS and beyond that, for the brand overall?
It is our commitment to serve the latest fashion for millions of customers across the country. Our vision was to reach every nook and corner of the country with the EOSS offerings and who better than the people’s favourite, Alia Bhatt, to bolster this.
EOSS is yet another step towards strengthening the value fashion segment and making the latest trends accessible to every single consumer across the country. Alia Bhatt’s personality resonated perfectly with the budding youth of this country as the TVC series reflected that. We also got on board celebrity influencers such as Gauhar Khan, Mithila Palkar, Karan Thaker, Sanaya Irani, Surbhi Jyoti, amongst others.
