Notwithstanding the ongoing economic slowdown, weddings remain a stable business. Every little thing, from the venue to the decorations and food, has to be the best. This has created a $40-50 billion industry, triggering a steady rise of wedding planners and service providers such as OYO-owned Weddingz.in.
Interestingly, it’s no more just limited to the nouveau rich families from metros who embrace the spending frenzy with open arms; tier 2 and 3 cities are also waking up to the trend of splurging, thanks to economic liberalisation and the rise in affluence that have prompted a change in attitudes.
“Digitally enabled wedding services are being browsed and consumed not just by city-dwellers, but by consumers in tier 2 cities as well. It is a testament to the growing unmet demand for organised wedding-related solutions across India,” said Sandeep Lodha, CEO, WeddingZ.in.
The Mumbai-based start-up, which was acquired by hospitality firm OYO in 2018, is seeing tremendous demand for services from cities such as Indore, Nagpur, Bhopal, Agra, Lucknow and Jaipur.
In fact, the stability and rapid growth in the marriage business have prompted the online service enabler to foray into the offline market. “These stores will offer consumers the power of choice and serve as a one-stop solution for all wedding-related needs, including venue and non-venue services like photography, Mehendi, transport and consultation,” Lodha said.
WeddingZ.in has five retail stores in New Delhi and Mumbai. The company plans to open 15 outlets in Delhi in the next 30-45 days, and over the next one year, it aims to open 100-200 stores across 30 cities.
Lodha said the firm has executed about 27,000 events in 2019 — 30 per cent of which includes non-wedding events. In November and December, the peak wedding months in a calendar year, WeddingZ.in executed 9,000 events.
“With customer satisfaction being at the core of our strategy, we launched several touchpoints to connect with our consumers. 2019 was full of fervour at WeddingZ.in. In November and December, we executed 9,000 events, with 100 per cent happy customers,” Lodha claimed, wishing 2020 to be much better.
WeddingZ.in revenue grows 480%
WeddingZ.in, acquired by OYO in 2018, said its revenue and bookings have grown by 480 per cent and 636 per cent respectively since the takeover by the hospitality firm. Currently, WeddingZ.in is present across 40 cities with nearly 1,000 venues on its platform.