Meta unveils AI-powered ad tools and omnichannel features to accelerate India’s e-commerce growth

Meta has announced a fresh suite of advertising tools designed to power the next phase of growth for India’s booming e-commerce and retail sectors. The tools include AI-enhanced catalog ads, creator-led campaigns, and omnichannel features aimed at connecting digital shoppers with offline stores.

The launch comes as India’s e-commerce landscape witnesses an inflection point driven by the rise of Quick Commerce and expanding digital access in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. To capitalise on this momentum, Meta held its Meta Marketing Summit – E-commerce Edition across Mumbai and Bengaluru, convening top marketing leaders to decode the future of online shopping.

“E-commerce and retail is witnessing a material shift in India driven by more offline retail brands reaching customers online, quick commerce continuing to grow rapidly, and online shopping in tier-2 and tier-3 markets continuing to accelerate,” said Meghna Apparao, Director of E-commerce and Retail at Meta India.

At the heart of Meta’s latest offerings is Omnichannel Ads, which help advertisers direct users to nearby stores with in-stock products and active discounts. Initial testing showed that campaigns using this format saw 15% lower cost per acquisition and 12% higher return on ad spend.

One of the early adopters, Tata Group’s apparel brand Taneira, reported standout results. "In our pilot campaign utilizing Meta’s omnichannel ads, we observed a significant boost in performance, achieving 3.5x higher purchase conversions and 4.3x higher Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) compared to campaigns optimized solely for purchases. This encouraging outcome reinforces the value of a multi-touchpoint strategy, and we’re excited to take this experiment further in the coming year," said Aishwarya Omprakash, Head of Marketing, Taneira.

Quick commerce startup Zepto used this to amplify its 10-minute delivery proposition. “We used the authentic voice of creators to highlight our 10-minute delivery USP, for which we leveraged Partnership Ads. The experiment resulted in an 18% lower CAC and a 33% higher CTR when combining Partnership Ads with BAU strategies compared to BAU alone. Through its Advantage+ Catalog Ads, Meta is introducing a new optimisation feature that lets advertisers spotlight specific products, say jackets from a spring line, while allowing the system to suggest other relevant items, such as dresses. In early tests, brands saw an average 14% lift in ROAS, said Pawrush Elavia, Head of Growth at Zepto.

Meta is also testing Generative AI features like virtual try-ons, background generation for product images, and AI-powered copywriting tools.

"We are committed to staying ahead of the curve when it comes to testing new marketing approaches. That's why we were eager to test GenAI-powered catalog ads. The results were great and we are confident this technology will continue to drive efficiency for our business,” said Anand Bhaskaran, Head of Digital Marketing and Marketing Communications at Big Basket. 

Meta says it will continue to roll out more GenAI tools this year, helping businesses improve product presentation and ad performance, especially as they cater to shoppers beyond traditional urban strongholds.