Fashion e-tailer Myntra on Wednesday said it is witnessing a growing demand in certain categories and accelerated rise in first time-shoppers coming to the platform, including from tier II and III regions, as business recovers after the deadly second wave of the pandemic.
The Flipkart group company, which will host the 14th edition of its End of Reason Sale (EORS) on July 3-8, expects traffic on its platform to rise by about 75 per cent during the six-day sale compared to the last year's edition.
"With the post lockdown phase getting eased up in stages, we were aided by tailwinds for article types like- Dresses, Shirts, Casual Shoes, Women's Heels, etc. scaling up as compared to the month of April...Like every other business, we too faced the impact of the second wave.
"However, recent trends (especially mid-May mid-June) indicate a growing demand for certain categories and accelerated increase in first time-shoppers coming on Myntra, including from tier II and III regions," Myntra CEO Amar Nagaram told PTI.
The shopping intent from customers and trends observed during the April to June period are promising, giving Myntra the confidence of a positive and successful EORS, he added.
Nagaram said this edition of EORS will act as a catalyst to the entire fashion ecosystem that is on a recovery path.
The company expects to ship over 15 million items, 40 per cent of which is likely to be delivered to tier II cities and beyond.
"The event will certainly have a positive impact on the revival and growth of the small, medium and large businesses, artisans, and delivery ecosystem (including our Kirana network).
"Traffic to the platform during the six days is expected to rise by about 75 per cent over the previous edition of the sale held in June last year, with a projection of over 3X demand over BAU (business as usual)," he added.
Nagaram said the average cart size has scaled up in the past few months, primarily owing to fashion essentials and beauty and personal care categories.
"It is expected to increase during EORS. We expect the ethnic wear, kids wear, beauty and personal care, and casual wear contribute about 50 per cent of the overall demand for this EORS, with other important categories being, western wear, footwear, sports and accessories," he added.
The upcoming edition of EORS will see participation from over 3,000 brands.
To meet the last-mile delivery requirements Myntra has scaled up its MENSA network by 4X and will be working with 17,700 Kirana (MENSA) partners, who will cater to 80 per cent of the overall deliveries spanning about 600 cities.
The company has also scaled up its tech capabilities to handle the scale of the event and will be able to manage over 8 lakh concurrent users at peak.
Nagaram noted that Myntra is heavily invested in the packaging and delivery process to ensure meeting the highest safety standards amid the pandemic.
He explained that apart from ensuring its delivery partners and agents follow all health protocols, products and delivery bags are sanitised before they leave the facility. Customers are also being encouraged to opt for digital payment methods, including UPI payments.
The announcement of the sale came at a time when the Centre has proposed amendments to the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 and sought public comments on banning flash sales and mis-selling of goods and services on e-commerce platforms as well as the appointment of chief compliance officer and resident grievance officer, among other provisions.
To ensure that the domestic manufacturers and suppliers get fair and equal treatment on e-commerce platforms, it has been proposed that where an e-commerce entity offers imported goods or services, it shall incorporate a filter mechanism to identify goods based on country of origin and suggest alternatives.
The government has also proposed a "fall-back liability" for every marketplace e-commerce entity to ensure that consumers are not adversely affected in the event where a seller fails to deliver the goods or services due to negligent conduct by such seller in fulfilling the duties in the manner as prescribed by the marketplace e-commerce entity.
The government has sought views and comments from stakeholders on these proposed amendments within 15 days (by July 6, 2021).
