`Meesho` - An Indian Social Commerce Platform Attains Unicorn Status
| Case Code: LDEN174 Case Length: 8 Pages Period: 2015-2021 Pub Date: 2021 Teaching Note: Available |
Price: Rs.300 Organization : - Industry : Business & Consumer Services Countries : India Themes: Digital Marketing, Business Models , Digital Marketing, Entrepreneurship |
Abstract Case Intro 1 Case Intro 2 Excerpts
Excerpts
Social Media and E-Commerce
Social media e-commerce involved using social media to market a product or an e-commerce store. The use of social media for commercial purposes started in 2007 when Facebook began to utilize its platform for commercial purposes. By the year 2014, it was possible to purchase products directly from Facebook by utilizing the ‘buy option’ available on the website. In 2015, advertisements were put up on Facebook and a platform, the ‘Facebook Marketplace’, was launched in 2018 that competed with other ecommerce websites such as eBay and Amazon..
Messho’s Social Media E-Commerce
Meesho’s social media e-commerce platform enabled users to resell products that were featured on the website or app. With the help of the Meesho app, any individual could start their own reselling business online. The suppliers posted their catalogue of products on the Meesho platform and resellers forwarded it to their contacts such as family, friends, and other contacts on various social media platforms of which they were members, such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, and Instagram, thereby generating sales. For every product sold, the resellers got a commission. All the logistics, order management, real-time shopping updates, and all the payment related transactions were taken care of by Meesho. Most of Meesho’s resellers were from tier two and three towns and cities and mainly comprised women entrepreneurs, college students, housewives, shop owners, and individuals looking for part-time work..
Meesho’s Work–Flow Process
Meesho’s social commerce platform comprised a platform for the suppliers and resellers. The suppliers’ platform process comprised five stages. The first stage was the ‘Create Account’ stage wherein the supplier got themselves registered on the platform by furnishing their GSTIN number and bank account details. The second stage was the ‘List Product’ stage, in which the suppliers put forth their list of products for sale on the supplier panel..
Analyst and Resellercomments
Mukul Arora (Arora), Managing Partner at SAIF Partners, opined that the online retail market was still mostly confined to the larger cities and catered to the English-speaking customers who preferred branded items. Most rural customers were still out of the gambit of online retail as regional languages were used very little on the various online retailing platforms.
Road Ahead
In the future, Meesho planned to create awareness about the reselling business on social media in the small towns and villages across the country..
Exhibits
Exhibit I: Details of Meesho’s Funding Rounds
Exhibit II: Details of Social Commerce Platforms in India
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