Heading out for a run, but your running shoe is damaged? In ten minutes, you could get a new one. After conquering grocery and daily needs, quick commerce players are rapidly stitching up deals in new categories. The fashion and lifestyle segment is the aggressive new play for the instant gratification experts, who are smartly timing it with the festive season when customers upgrade their wardrobes.
In the past few weeks, Zepto has been aggressively weaving partnerships with fashion and lifestyle brands. Earlier, this month the company began selling Decathlon products such as running shoes and yoga mats across 16 cities. More recently, it has started selling apparel from casual wear brand US Polo Assn. The quick commerce platform said more such brand deals are on the cards.
Moving into Wardrobes
Astha Gupta, Head of Apparels & Lifestyle category at Zepto told businessline, “The Zepto platform empowers users to elevate their wardrobe choices, making fashion more accessible and immediate than ever before. With Puma joining this week, Skechers to follow soon, and many other popular brands across categories, we’re thrilled to offer a shopping experience that blends quality, affordability, and rapid delivery.”
Apparel and footwear brands said they are closely monitoring how this channel evolves. Harkirat Singh, MD, Aero Club, known for its brands Woodland and Woods said, “We are in talks with the quick commerce players. The channel requires fast-moving products. So we are focusing on formulating a strategy in this regard and leveraging on our wide range. Speed is increasingly becoming important for consumers.”
Festival pick up
Swiggy Instamart noted that while accessories such as socks and innerwear are a natural fit with quick commerce channels, it has begun seeing growing demand for casual wear such as t-shirts, shorts and joggers. The platform also saw high interest for sarees, Krishna outfits and Garba attires on various occasions.
“We are collaborating with brands like Jockey and Pepe Jeans to ensure our customers enjoy high-quality apparel. As the festive season approaches, shoppers are turning to Instamart for ethnic wear such as Kurtas, Chudidars, and Pyjamas. Festive attire has also gained popularity, with items like sarees and Pyjamas seeing significant demand during key celebrations. As we get ready for Dussehra and Diwali, we’re expanding our range of festive apparel even further” a spokesperson for Swiggy Instamart said.
Instamart said it is collaborating with multiple brands including Malabar Gold. “This Diwali, we’ll be offering not only gold coins but also a range of gold jewellery and a variety of festive items to help our customers prepare for the celebrations ahead,” the company added.
A report released by Redseer in March noted quick commerce players are looking at developing non-grocery categories in a bid to increase average order value and keep higher priced SKUs for better utilisation of dark stores and to grow profit margins. It also noted that quick commerce platforms are no longer confined to a typical grocery selection but venturing into the broader retail pie in categories such as beauty, electronics, home decor and wellness. Fashion sure seems to be high on their radar now.