Q] What does your marketing mix look like? Could you also talk about the mediums that Meesho uses to execute its campaigns?
We are a large e-commerce platform, probably the largest by volume, and hence we need to reach the entire country, which, as we know, is very diverse. Here, demographic parameters and habits of people differ as well. Looking at parameters such as state-wise inclinations, income-based differences, and age groups, we determine the media mix. It was important for us to inform everyone about our big festive campaign; therefore, it was integral to include various elements in our media mix. When it comes to offline, nothing beats TV because of its reach, and hence TV was a large part of our media mix. The next biggest one, whose share also continues to grow, is Digital. Earlier, Digital largely revolved around Facebook and Google, but over time, we have started diversifying and experimenting with OTT players like Jio Cinema and Voot. We have been using hyperlocal apps like Daily Hunt, and we even leverage the influencer channel because influencers are, in a way, the people who bring out the most authentic reviews of any platform. Everything on Digital and TV is a big part of our media mix. We haven’t done Print or Radio this year, as when we looked at relative prioritisation, Digital and TV are the channels that stood out.
Q] Meesho saw around 1.6 cr. new app installs during this festive season. Can you tell us a little more about it, and give us some idea about the conversion rates that you saw?
The number of new app installs during our festive campaign was massive. Another impressive thing was that around 130 cr. customer visits happened over the 10 days. It makes us happy when we can deliver things at that scale. A lot of new categories saw increased growth, almost 9 to 10 x. The conversion rate during this period was the highest that we have seen in a long time. Largely, it’s the sellers who are creating these discounts to get users. Meesho is not doing something that can go against its overall profitability. We have been able to achieve almost a healthy 25–30% jump over last year’s total orders, probably at one-fifth of the cost from our side, and that’s the efficiency journey that we have been taking.
Q] How is Meesho incorporating AI and tech to transform the e-commerce platform?
Artificial Intelligence is a buzzword today, much like blockchain and Web 3 used to be once upon a time. But I feel AI is impactful and is here to stay. Generative AI, in its current form, is only going to explode, and it’s not going to be a fad that will die because it’s creating a lot of impact. Globally, you can see that certain fields are ripe for disruption, where 10x more impact can be achieved through the use of generative AI. Recommendations here play a key role in how quickly user activity can be leveraged to come up with relevant recommendations. Even search queries are 10 times better with GPT-4. These are some of the areas that we are also actively thinking about. Another area that has become much better with the bots is customer support. It’s an engine that can think and truly respond to your queries. We are in a very advanced stage of working in this area, and we have piloted a lot of amazing things in customer support. On the marketing front as well, it can create things in a better way. It can improve images, make voiceovers for text, and translate things into multiple languages at once. At last, cataloguing—how products look when they are uploaded. We are trying to work on these areas, and you will soon see some important changes.
Q] What is Meesho’s distinguishing factor? What does the brand possess that separates it from the rest, other than pricing points?
I have spoken to several power users, and I have learnt that this is the best price point for this particular quality, even when compared to offline and local markets. On top of that, users get 10 to 100 times more selection at Meesho. And as we are becoming more horizontal, we have a category or a product for every use case. Some of our rare finds work so well on Instagram that at least 10,000 comments ask for a link or price. I recently saw a video of an influencer showing a lint remover that was available on Meesho, and I ordered it for myself. You can also see categories like car accessories and fridge accessories. We have a fridge accessories video, which has 12 million organic views on Instagram. Such a selection at this price point is the reason why people come to Meesho.
