Flipkart and its fashion units Myntra and Jabong, Amazon India and Paytm Mall are adopting a hyperlocal strategy to allow customers access to the latest fashion products that can be picked up and delivered from local stores within hours.
This model, routed via technology partners, can be replicated in categories such as mobile phones, electronics, and home furnishings, transforming how marketplaces operate and bringing substantial savings in inventory, warehousing and delivery costs. “This way, ecommerce companies don’t have to buy inventory, which is a massive cost. And then, storing in warehouses is an additional cost,” said Harsh Shah, cofounder of Fynd, the Google-backed fashion ecommerce platform that enables physical stores to sell online. “This is a great way for them to get inventory at zero cost.”
As part of a pilot run, Fynd recently integrated its brand inventory with Jabong Luxe, under which Jabong sells luxury brands, and Facebook Marketplace. Jabong Luxe now has access to labels including Steve Madden, Superdry and Brooks Brothers, while Facebook Marketplace has access to all the 330 fashion brands available on Fynd through 8,700 stores across India.
Similarly, Arvind Internet, a unit of textile manufacturer Arvind Ltd, is preparing to allow Flipkart, Myntra, Amazon India, Paytm Mall, and TataCliQ access to its 16 in-house brands and a handful of other partner brands including Arrow and Nautica, said chief executive Mukul Bafana.
“We have been (running pilots across 100 stores) for a quarter and different marketplaces are at different levels. TataCliQ and Paytm are more ready for store fulfillment as compared to others,” he said.
Flipkart and Myntra declined to comment. A spokesperson for Amazon India said the company does not “comment on what we may or may not do in the future.” A spokesperson for Facebook confirmed the pilots with Arvind Internet, saying, “We are running a test to introduce content from shops into marketplace.”
Paytm Mall, which is backed by Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba, is working directly with brands including Fossil, Red Tape and Timex, as well as Samsung Electronics, IFB and Lenovo to integrate its platform with their store inventory.
“Customers can order products online or walk into the nearest Paytm Mall Partner stores and scan the Paytm Mall QR code to order products, which will then be delivered from their nearest brand authorised retailer,” said chief operating officer Amit Sinha. “Over 60% of all orders placed on our platform are through the (online-to-offline, or O2O) channel.”