Many startups are becoming brands leveraging quick commerce benefits: BOAT’s Aman Gupta

“Quick commerce is here to stay,” said Aman Gupta, co-founder of B.O.A.T. He said that many brands have been built on quick commerce instead of e-commerce. “Today, people want faster delivery of products which has contributed to this paradigm shift, and that’s where startups come into action,” he further added.

Addressing a session at Razorpay’s D2C and Retail Summit, Gupta said that digital commerce has evolved on multiple fronts as payment gateways have become faster, simpler and user friendly, yet secured with time. “We had to deal with a lot of cash when we started as people would prefer ‘cash on delivery’ services to avoid the complexities of digital payments.”

Attributing the growth of D2C brands to the digital channels, he said, “Investors doubted the potential of D2C brands when we started but today, there are multiple brands in the startups market which are growing on the shoulders of these digital channels.”

Commenting on the growing number of D2C startups in India, Gupta said that some years down the line, there will millions of brands across every segment, in the country. Drawing example, he stated that just in a segment like skin care, different startups have built their respective customer base. While mCaffeine has built on coffee-based products, Nat Habit has built on natural ingredients, there are brands selling Korean skin care products. “So, with time, number of brands will grow with time across every segment, in India.”

Responding to questions about the impact of social influence and fame of a founder on business growth, Shark Tank fame Gupta said that there is no ‘one size fits all’ option. Talking about D2C hair extension startup Nish Hair’s founder and actress Parul Gulati, Gupta said that she is highly influential on social media which has helped her with the business growth. However, Gupta clarified that it may not be the case for all, and in such a case focusing entirely on the business should be an ideal policy.

The primary concern should be to focus on customer retention. In that direction, building a community is a good measure. “We have built our community where we have started launching our products before launching in the open market, which has helped us retain a lot of consumers. In the end, keeping hands tight on the market is should be the ultimate goal. Challenges will come to all but we have to move on in whatever way makes us confident,” Gupta concluded.