E-comm story over next 5-10 yrs around value lifestyle segment growth, want decent slice of that opportunity: Snapdeal CEO
Snapdeal believes the e-commerce story over the next 5-10 years will be around the growth of the 'value' lifestyle segment, and the online marketplace is looking to corner a «decent slice of this opportunity» as it focuses on unit economics, quality checks, and use of AI as well as tech to measure and improve customer experience. Snapdeal's business metrics are «in a good space» in the value e-commerce category and it has opted to «reinvest in growth now» as financial parameters are within striking distance of profitability, Himanshu Chakrawarti, CEO of Snapdeal, told PTI.
In an interview, Chakrawarti said that Snapdeal expects a «normal» festive season, which typically yields a 25-30 per cent surge in demand over other months.
«As per estimates the value (lifestyle retail) market in India is growing significantly, from USD 88 billion to USD 175 billion.
Also along with this, the e-commerce portion is going to increase from 8 per cent to 22 per cent...we are largely focused on our journey because this opportunity size is huge,» Chakrawarti said.
The e-commerce story over the next 5-10 years will play around the 'value' segment, and Snapdeal is eyeing a «decent» slice of the market opportunity, he said.
«We are not saying we'll carve 60-70 per cent of this market. We are saying we want a decent slice of this opportunity that is coming up, and that we feel can be done if we focus our energy entirely on our unit economics, which is what we do, and the customer proposition,» he said.
Founded by Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal in 2010, Snapdeal saw a storied rise commanding a valuation of an estimated USD 6.5 billion at its peak, but later battled survival issues alongside a failed merger with Flipkart. It also faced market
