For e-commerce platforms Tata CLiQ and Tata CLiQ Luxury, revenue growth during the pandemic was primarily driven by categories such as electronics, home décor and athleisure. CEO Vikas Purohit speaks to Christina Moniz on the company’s foray into new segments and the role of smaller markets in its growth story. Excerpts:

Tata CLiQ reported a 58% increase in revenue to reach `358.62 crore in FY21. What drove this growth?

We saw a healthy GMV growth in CY21. The key levers were an increased penetration of digital commerce due to pandemic-driven digital literacy and changing consumer preferences and trends. Consumers want to choose brands they can trust in an increasingly uncertain world and hence, the demand for branded goods has increased. Remote working continued to drive growth for work-from-home tools such as laptops, audio accessories and wearables, as well as for home décor, beauty and athleisure fashion. These categories more than doubled in terms of growth over CY20.

At Tata CLiQ Luxury too, we saw similar growth. We will keep expanding our categories and selection in the luxury segment.

To what extent are tier-II and III markets contributing to Tata CLiQ and Tata CLiQ Luxury’s growth story?

While we have seen growth coming from across markets, from the target audience perspective, the urban shopper is our current focus, with a selective and targeted approach in the tier-II and III markets. There is still a lot of growth potential for us as a platform in metros and tier-I markets hence, these continue to be a priority.

Currently, for Tata CLiQ, the top 30 cities are growing at twice the all-India growth rate. For Tata CLiQ Luxury, we have a mix of revenue coming from metros to tier-IV cities, with almost 40% of our revenues coming from the tier-II, III and IV markets. The target audience for Tata CLiQ Luxury is the affluent customer across markets. Increased exposure to, reach, access, and exclusivity of luxury brands featured on the platform are contributing to its growth in these markets.

Tata CLiQ Luxury recently forayed into gourmet food. How has that move worked out? Which new categories do you plan to add?

With the Bigbasket partnership, Tata CLiQ Luxury today offers doorstep delivery of luxury gourmet products to consumers in 24-48 hours. Currently available in three cities—Mumbai, Bengaluru and New Delhi —we plan to expand it to more locations soon. Products such as cooking oils, dry fruit, supplements, chocolates, etc., are doing well. Organic and health food options will be launched soon. We aim to add and build segments such as fitness, golf and art to our portfolio, and expand categories such as beauty, kids and home. We recently got the Juice Beauty range on board. More organic skincare and global beauty brands will be available soon. Currently, we serve over 1,000 cities and have a strong marketing growth plan in place to expand further and acquire customers from new cities.

As normalcy returns, what segments are you betting big on this year?

On Tata CLiQ, we will invest heavily in the beauty category, and ramp up offerings in the home furniture and sports equipment portfolio that cater to the growing do-it-yourself and athleisure trends. Another category is electronics, especially as smart homes are a growing opportunity — so you will see smart lighting, smart ACs, speakers, etc. As travel, especially international travel, comes back, we expect growth in the summer wear, holiday apparel and luggage categories. As consumers go back to the office, we will see higher spends now on formal and office wear.

On the luxury front, fashion and accessories remain the most popular categories for online shopping in India. There is also an increased focus on buying sustainable brands. We want to enhance our online luxury shopping experience by embracing ‘slow commerce’—encouraging consumers to take time deciding on their purchases.

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