Q1 2025: Interesting Retail and Online Commerce Trends

1. 𝘘𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨

Soon to see some deaths and consolidation?

There are at least 19 newcomers trying to replicate the success of Blinkit, Zepto. From Blip helping with quick wardrobe fixes, Ola Consumer piloting quick food, grocery deliveries to Snabbit for domestic services like laundry, cleaning. (Read more)

2. 𝘏𝘜𝘓 (𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳) 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨

From 700 influencers last year to 8,000+, HUL's influencer roster swells. Traditionally, the company invested in TV campaigns (Shahrukh, Juhi Chawla for Lux). This is shifting. Globally, Unilever goes in a similar direction, shifting half of its ad budget to influencer marketing up from 30%. "There are 19,000 zip codes in India. I want one influencer in each of them,” said CEO Fernando Fernandez. This underscores the growing power of creators, especially among Gen Z. (Read more)

3. 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘋2𝘊 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭

Few Indian D2C brands have seen global success, a rare case with Ultrahuman, whose products include glucose monitoring devices, smart rings. Only ~25% of its revenue is from India, the rest from markets like US, UK and UAE. It reported 20%+MoM growth, soon set to cross $50 million in annual run rate (ARR). (Read more)

4. 𝘉𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘦𝘴𝘱. 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 & 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨

Meesho released is inaugural report earlier this month and is set to IPO within the next year. The company posted 34% YoY growth (while most ecomm is at sub 15% YoY) and is set to have Temu like success in India. The company has 4 lakh sellers, served 187 million customers (Read more)

5. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 & 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴

SuperYou, founded by Nikunj Biyani, launched in Nov 2024 as a new age protein brand for the masses (Better alternative with its protein chocolate bar for Rs60 to a Cadbury dairy milk). In just 3 months, it has reported to have sold close to ~17 lakh units. Their revenue goal is to hit an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of Rs 200 crore by October. Even globally, Pepsi acquired Poppi, a prebiotic alternative to soda for an unheard estimated $2 bn. (Read more)