Digitalisation has been on an upward trajectory for the better part of the decade, and it was only a matter of time that brands identified this and revised their retail strategies.
Commenting on how importance it is for brands to go digital in the current situation, Varun Alagh, Co-founder & CEO, Honasa Consumer Pvt. Ltd, the parent company of organic wellness brand Mamaearth feels that the pandemic has pushed the brands sooner towards digitalisation to remain viable.
“During the lockdown, consumers looked towards e-commerce for their personal care requirements, that’s where our D2C presence was a big benefit for us. We were able to restart out operations very quickly during the initial days of lockdown itself. With the sales from our website, and then e-commerce marketplaces opening up, we were able to cater to the increasing consumer requirements,” states Alagh.
At Mamaearth, the journey towards digitisation has been very smooth. “Digital channels presented themselves as our best option as it helped us reach our consumers directly and connect with them. This has helped us innovate our product line and stay relevant to the changing consumer demands. We are currently servicing over 11000 pin codes across India and we intend to innervate deeper geographies with our digital presence,” says Alagh.
Key Initiatives
Inventory Management: The brand has on boarded logistics partners to ensure timely delivery. They have also streamlined their internal processes to ensure minimum glitches from order to delivery channel.
Marketing Initiatives: The brand reached out to its consumers and communicated them about the latest offerings via marketing and digital initiatives.
Customer Service: Mamaearth set up an ‘Easy Customer Service Interface’ with a system in place to guide and assist users through their queries. Customers were able to easily track orders, as well as request refunds and monitor the return status of any of their products. The customer support team is extremely efficient in resolving customer queries and catering to their requests.
Areas to Explore
The brand aims to continue solving millennial consumer problems with their innovative line of products.
The biggest misconception related to digitalisation is that it is limited only to urban areas. “On the contrary, the extensive Internet penetration and accessibility to mobile phones has greatly changed the way people shop. If there is Internet service and smartphones in an area, online shopping has made its way into these markets,” Alagh notes.
“The online buying behaviour has evolved over the years and the affinity towards online shopping has been increasing continually. Digitalisation is on its upward trajectory and will continue to grow in the future as well.”
