A PATH TO SUCCESS IN LIFESTYLE E-COMMERCE
A PATH TO SUCCESS IN LIFESTYLE E-COMMERCE
How Myntra’s focus on customers, early adoption of innovation, and commitment to sustainability is helping it grow
MYNTRA
PROJECT
DIRECTED BY: UTKARSH SHARMA
ARTICLE WRITTEN BY: LAURA WATLING
How does a business supplying offerings from over 9700 international and home grown brands bring delight to fashion-forward customers across the world’s seventhlargest country?
Vice President of Sourcing at Myntra, Shirish Srivastava, explains to Business Enquirer, how Myntra’s cutting-edge technology and business ethos have supported the brand in answering that question.
A fashion graduate of India’s National Institute of Fashion Designing, Shirish has experienced supply chain management across a plethora of major fashion brands, including Esprit, adidas and Puma.
The year 2023, saw Myntra add 75 mn new users to the platform and witness 60 mn monthly active users, a number that continues to grow. At this humongous scale of operation, Myntra has become a go-to destination for the fashion forward shoppers in the country for their needs in the lifestyle space, particularly for fashion, beauty and home.
Addressing the evolving fashion needs of the Gen-Z cohort
While Myntra started as a platform to cater to the needs of fashion for millennials and beyond, understanding the growing prominence of the Gen-Z cohort in the country, Myntra was quick to launch a dedicated destination to address the unique fashion needs of this emerging cohort in India’s vast shopper base. An immersive fashion experience for the Gen-Z, FWD by Myntra is delivering a differentiated app-in-app experience while bringing global trends closer to them. FWD provides easy discovery of an unparalleled assortment of 75,000+ styles from across the globe, while catering to both men and women. FWD also simplifies the journey of Trend-Spottingto-Shopping like never-before, further adding to the shopping journey of its 16 million+ Gen Z consumers.
So while FWD caters to Gen-Z Fashion needs the rest of the app, still support the core fashion and beauty propositions, while further adding adjacent categories like home and gifting/
The business has always been an early adopter of technology, constantly innovating to solve customer challenges in the space of fashion and now beauty
AI and machine learning have both proven a successful tool for the world of e-commerce, and has supported Myntra in making guided purchasing decisions and improving efficiency.
“Myntra is one of India’s leading fashion, beauty and lifestyle e-commerce destinations. As a tech-first company, we have beautifully integrated tech at every touch point. A seamless UI/ UX driving ease of discoverability, size & fit recommendations and virtual try on enabling informed decision making and hassle free post shopping experience with features like M-Express and Style Exchange. Leveraging the power of technology helps us provide a differentiated shopping experience to customers, ” Shirish added.
About Myntra
Myntra is one of India's leading platforms for fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands and in m-commerce play. An integral part of the Flipkart Group, Myntra brings together technology and fashion to create the best experience in the fashion and lifestyle space in India. Myntra platform offers a wide range of over 9700+ leading fashion and lifestyle brands in the country such as H&M, Levi’s, U.S. Polo Assn., Tommy Hilfiger, Louis Philippe, HUDA Beauty, MANGO, Forever 21, Marks & Spencer, W, Biba, Nike, Puma, Crocs, M.A.C, and Fossil and many more. Myntra services over ~19,000 pin codes across the country.
Enhancing Experience through Innovation AI is also having a positive impact on Myntra’s customer experience, with Shirish explaining that implementation of generative AI to its platform is one of the many reasons customers choose to shop through Myntra.
“Our platform offers suggestions to consumers based on their preferences, so should they pick a pair of trousers, our AI integration will suggest ways to style them and what to accessorise them with. We have found customers love the experience,” explained Shirish.
‘My Stylist’ is Myntra’s AI-powered endto-end automated personal style guide, which offers the most relevant outfit recommendations for a complete look. Myntra's in-house artificial intelligence (AI) technology, machine learning (ML) models and computer vision algorithms, along with expertise of subject matter experts in curation and styling, power My Stylist's 'Fashion Object Detection', 'Image Search', and 'Outfit Recommendations' features.
Another Gen AI-led feature is Myntra’s MyFashionGPT, arguably among the world's first features to have leveraged ChatGPT for fashion at this scale; it allows users to search for outfits seamlessly using natural language, revolutionising the shopping experience. Users can ask for outfit queries based on popular events like IPL, travel locations like beaches, celebrity looks from popular movies, occasions like weddings and festivals and many more and get suggestions realtime. In a diverse country like India, giving customers the option to search for products in their native language helps in building deeper salience with existing customers as well as tapping into a new set, specifically from non-metro and tier 3+ cities. Myntra’s Vernacular Search feature enables its customers to search for their favourite products on the platform in 10 native languages other than Hindi.
Myntra is a pioneer in the space of deploying Omnichannel technology at scale. This has not only resulted in improved shopper experience, but has
DBS Lifestyle is a one-of-a-kind turnkey company servicing Fashion & Home clients and brands globally since 2010. Our Trend & Design Studio and Sourcing business verticals collectively provide an end-to-end solution from design to manufacturing & warehouse delivery.
Pangram Brands, our newest venture, specialises in creating global private brands that address specific customer needs and are retailed through both offline and online channels.
As a company, we offer a unique combination of B2B, B2C & D2C services, all under one umbrella. www.dbslifestyle.com
DBS Lifestyle: Driving Innovation in Design, Sourcing, and Fast Fashion
Since its establishment in 2010, DBS Lifestyle India Private Limited (a member of the PDS Group) has emerged as a trailblazer in the fashion and home service industry, transforming the landscape with its innovative approach to design, product development and sourcing. With a commitment to excellence and a fully integrated business model, DBS Lifestyle is reshaping how brands bring products to market.
A Fully Integrated Business Model
Founded by Divya Suri and Bhawnish Suri, DBS Lifestyle operates on a comprehensive business model that encompasses design, brands, and sourcing. This strategic structure enables the company to provide end-to-end solutions for its clients with a lighttouch model. Having served over 200 fashion and 150 home customers globally, DBS Lifestyle's extensive reach and experience has positioned it as a leader in the industry.
The company’s offerings are categorised into three verticals: design, brands, and sourcing The design vertical specialises in cutting-edge fashion solutions, delivering original intellectual property and proprietary designs. This division has solidified DBS's status as a significant player in the global design market. Additionally, the brands vertical introduced Gia Como Italy, their in-house home lifestyle brand which retails across the GCC region through the Landmark Group, further showcasing the company’s
Divya Suri
Bhawnish Suri
capability to appeal to global consumers. The sourcing vertical, supported by five global offices, integrates DBS Lifestyle's design and sourcing capabilities, positioning it as a comprehensive service provider .
Why Clients Choose DBS Lifestyle
DBS Lifestyle’s ability to swiftly respond to market trends is one of its core strengths. In the fast-paced world of fashion, staying ahead of trends is essential. DBS achieves this through robust design and sourcing capabilities, enabling quick turnaround for clients. By controlling the entire value chain—from design to delivery— DBS ensures both efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
In an industry that requires rapid adaptation, DBS Lifestyle excels by leveraging datadriven insights. Innovative technologies, such as 3D design and real-time AI-enabled data analytics, expedite the sampling and production process. Teams of specialists in each vertical provide expert attention tailored to individual client needs, ensuring highquality output.
Partnership with Myntra
A significant highlight of DBS Lifestyle's success is its strategic partnership with e-commerce giant Myntra Since 2014, DBS has provided a comprehensive range of services, from design to product
development, ultimately becoming a key full-service partner in Myntra’s fast fashion strategy. This partnership has evolved over the years, reflecting DBS Lifestyle's ability to grow with its clients and adapt to the industry's dynamic landscape.
The collaboration with Myntra embodies DBS Lifestyle’s core values: agility, innovation, and strategic alignment with its partners. As the fast fashion sector continues to evolve, DBS's capability to pivot quickly while maintaining high standards sets it apart in this competitive market.
Sustainability and Ethical Practices
In today’s business environment, sustainability is more than just a trend; it’s a vital consideration for forwardthinking companies. DBS Lifestyle recognises this need and has integrated sustainable practices within its operations. The company collaborates with factories certified for Global Recycled Standard (GRS) and Oeko-Tex, actively promoting the use of sustainable materials.
Moreover, DBS Lifestyle is committed to upholding the highest ethical standards across its manufacturing processes. This includes minimising waste and ensuring all operations have the lowest possible
environmental impact. These sustainability initiatives not only meet global standards but also align with the expectations of key partners like Myntra, positioning DBS ahead in a market increasingly focused on responsible business choices.
Looking Ahead
DBS Lifestyle's forward-thinking approach to business, built on innovation, efficiency, and strategic partnerships, has established an agile supply chain supported by worldclass design capabilities. With turnaround time as quick as 21 days, DBS Lifestyle continues to thrive alongside partners like Myntra, effectively navigating the fast-paced e-commerce landscape.
As DBS Lifestyle expands its global presence, its commitment to sustainability and adaptability to emerging trends will remain central to its business model. This innovative approach ensures that DBS will not only meet the demands of today’s fast fashion market but will also set new benchmarks for the future of ethical and sustainable fashion.
In summary, DBS Lifestyle has solidified its position as a pioneer in India’s fashion industry, consistently delivering innovative, sustainable, and scalable solutions to customers worldwide.
also enabled brands to feature their entire collection, those available in their stores also, on Myntra. The concept is today giving impetus to start a new chapter in the industry in terms of collaboration, that is rewarding to the customer and the brands.
“Omnichannel has a multifold objective for us”, says Shirish. “First, it offers the largest width of selection under one roof to our customers. If it's available anywhere in the country, it's available to our customers. Second, it creates non-linear growth opportunities for our partners by creating more opportunities.” he adds.
In what Shirish described as a complete solution, he highlighted that customers also shop with Myntra because of its convenience, range of products, and ease of exchange or return.
Leading with Sustainability
Myntra has also become popular with consumers because of its sustainability credentials. Even in the younger years of the business we have been committed to taking steps towards sustainability.”.
With that in mind, in 2021, Myntra pioneered the introduction of sustainable alternatives for packaging and delivery.
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These include replacing poly pouches with recycled paper bags, bubble wraps with carton waste shredded material, plastic adhesive tapes with paper tapes, polybags used for attaching customer invoices with a recycled Kraft paper pouch and RFIDtagged multi-use polyester bags. A result of the commitment of multiple in-house teams and their methodical approach, involving several months of finding suitable material and process exploration, and collaboration with several ecosystem stakeholders.
In this effort, Myntra has aimed to make these solutions both cost-effective and scalable. The initiative also included multiple educational webinars and training sessions to support vendor partners in adopting the new paper packaging system nationwide.
Myntra took another significant step by collaborating with Canopy, a non-profit environmental organisation, to prevent deforestation by increasing the use of recycled and alternative materials in its packaging.
In addition, Myntra became the first e-commerce vertical in the country to have joined forces with the Better Cotton Initiative, a sustainability program focused on promoting sustainable cotton farming practices. Myntra also has two of its five fulfilment centres powered by solar energy.
“Considering the scale, we can make a humongous impact.” adds Srivastava Shirish highlighted that digitisation is powering the penetration in India, and with Myntra already serving over 98% of the serviceable pin codes of the country, it will be interesting to see how the next phase of fashion evolution is going to take place
“With the convenience which Myntra offers, I think it's going to become a preferred choice for even more consumers across India, while strengthening its position as a gateway of choice for brands looking at tapping into the promising India market” closed Shirish.
www.myntra.com
