BENGALURU: E-commerce company Snapdeal, which has been unit economics positive for quite some time, is now moving towards profitability at the company level. “We are now close to break-even,” Himanshu Chakrawarti, CEO, of Snapdeal Marketplace, told this newspaper.
The company’s FY22 loss stood at Rs 413 crore. He said the biggest challenge faced by the industry today lies in striking the right balance between serving the diverse population of Bharat and providing exceptional services in a financially sustainable manner.
“With a vast and varied consumer base, encompassing different income levels, cultural backgrounds and geographic locations, meeting the needs of Bharat while maintaining profitability is a complex task. The industry needs to navigate the challenges of infrastructure gaps, affordability concerns and changing consumer preferences to ensure inclusivity, accessibility, and affordability without any compromise on quality. All of this requires innovative strategies, efficient operations, and a deep understanding of the market in Bharat,” Chakrawarti said.
Snapdeal, which went live on the government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) in March 2023 with three key categories – mome, fashion and beauty & personal care, is witnessing maximum traction for home and kitchen products, including towels, bedsheets, utensils and more.
“ONDC’s emphasis on increasing India’s digital potential and building a more inclusive e-commerce ecosystem complements Snapdeal’s focus on expanding e-commerce beyond companies and urban users,” he said.
The company witnessed an increase in its net delivered units by 88%, rising from 18.56 million in FY21 to 34.92 million in FY22. Its annual transacting customers also increased from 13.9 million in FY21 to 17.7 million in the subsequent year. Snapdeal currently has 200 million installed app users and more than 25 million monthly active users.
Talking about value commerce, Chakrawarti said budget-conscious consumers demand quality typically associated with brands but at affordable costs. “Snapdeal is striving to bridge this gap by carefully balancing the two key requirements for value shoppers- quality and pricing,” he said.
Over 90% of the goods sold on the platform are priced under Rs 1,000. “More than 77% of business comes from repeat customers, most of whom live outside major cities,” he said. Snapdeal draws more than 86% of its orders from outside metro cities, with more than 72% of the orders flowing from buyers living in smaller cities and towns.