Shopify sees a lot of potential in the creator economy. The Canadian company, which offers e-commerce space and solutions to merchants for setting up online stores and selling across the internet, recently partnered with video-sharing platform Roposo. With an aim to promote creator commerce, Shopify is now offering the Roposo Clout plugin for operations like product sourcing, order fulfillment and payments.
Creators, which are now encouraged to become digital entrepreneurs with platforms like Shopify, can launch and scale up their online store using Shopify and Roposo’s recent integration.
Anyone who wants to start a D2C (Direct-to-Consumer) brand can use Roposo plug-in and their catalogue can start getting integrated and then the merchant can sell on different channels. This is to enable a new base of digital entrepreneurs.
Mansi Jain, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Roposo
How it Helps
Roposo Clout not only simplifies business management but also offers solutions related to outsourcing warehouse and inventory management. One can also use the Roposo Clout plugin to manage logistics and collect doorstep payments.
“The platform is launched to enable anyone to become an entrepreneur. The partnership is to combine the strengths of Shopify and Roposo. Anyone who wants to start a D2C (Direct-to-Consumer) brand can use Roposo plug-in and their catalogue can start getting integrated and then the merchant can sell on different channels. This is to enable a new base of digital entrepreneurs,” Mansi Jain, Senior Vice President & General Manager of Roposo, said as quoted by Money Control.
The integration assists digital retail selling with operations and management collaboration. It aims to be a comprehensive solution for creators with no prior knowledge of online selling.
Building Successful Businesses in India
Bharati Balakrishnan, Country Head & Director of Shopify India & SEA, believes that this partnership is a big boost to the Indian e-commerce and retail business.
“We are excited to announce a partnership with Roposo Clout to support more digital entrepreneurs build successful businesses in India,” Balakrishnan said in a LinkedIn post.
“We are a country of entrepreneurs, and together with Shopify’s tools to enable you to set up and grow an online store, and Roposo Clout’s comprehensive solution to source product, help price and fulfil, running your own business has never been easier. We look forward to supporting many more entrepreneurs in the months to come,” she added.
Roposo’s Big Bet
According to Jain, Roposo helps more than 200 digital entrepreneurs record a million annual turnover. “With this partnership, the number could reach up to 1,000 and the target is to reach 10,000 in next couple of years,” she added.
Jain added that the most of e-commerce transactions are coming from Tier II cities in India. Fashion is the biggest category of online businesses, followed by sneaker brands.
“Average ticket price for products is Rs 500 to Rs 1,000. We are seeing strong signs of engagement and conversion. There are 10-15 percent people who are watching and interacting and are going deeper in India. The tipping point is 24 months for creator commerce in India. We expect 10-15 percent of overall e-commerce can be driven by creator commerce in next few years,” Jain said.
Jain believes that India has the potential to compete with China and Indonesia, which enjoy 25-30 percent of commerce from live commerce or creator commerce category.
Awareness And Adaptation
Indian content creator and influencer Ritoban Chakrabarti said the creator economy has opened the doors of digital entrepreneurship with non-technical creators as well. “However, it still lacks widespread understanding, which hinders many from tapping into its potential,” Chakrabarti added.
In March, Balakrishnan told Financial Express’s BrandWagon Online in an interview that Shopify sees a huge opportunity to help Indian merchants to adapt to the current digital environment and help them grow. The Canadian company claims to be focused more than ever in India.
Shopify has been present in India for around 10 years. It was around 2010-2012 that the company started its operations in the country. However, during its first five years, it worked as a partner ecosystem helping merchants to mark their online presence.
“In 2015, e-commerce in India hit a $10 billion annual GMV sort of number and we saw the first D2C brands emerge, which are now iconic household names. In 2018, e-commerce became a $25 billion market. As a result, two things happened — many new categories were born. That led to more D2C brands being born first online. So, categories like fitness accessories, costume jewelry, fitness, clothing, plus clothing, which were really niche, and did not really take what wouldn’t really consider large online suddenly started becoming big,” Balakrishnan said on Shopify’s journey in India so far.
“In all this, the next thing that happened was a lot of traditional brands which were offline first started taking e-commerce very seriously,” she added.
What Makes Shopify Special
India has other e-commerce platforms as well but Balakrishnan claims that Shopify assists merchants take control of their online business and manage as per their requirements while others don’t work that way.
“We are a product company and fundamentally, we’re the fastest commerce platform when it comes to innovation and development by miles. Shopify helps merchants take control of their online presence, while other platforms may focus more on stocking up products and selling them at a discounted rate. Our platform is easy to use and allows for a customised shopping experience for each individual merchant,” she explained.
“Shopify is an e-commerce platform that helps merchants set up, manage, and market their online stores. We offer a range of plans for businesses of different sizes, from startups to large enterprises. Our platform provides various tools that enable merchants to sell their products online and offline, as well as manage their inventory, customer relationships, and more,” Balakrishnan added.
Shopify’s Bet on Creator Economy
In her earlier interview with Free Press Journal, Balakrishnan expressed a lot of potential in India’s role in the creator economy. As social media commerce is already skyrocketing, Shopify’s India Head explained how the company is helping its Indian partners adapt to technology.
“With social commerce now expected to have 228 million native consumers by the end of 2022, a 45 percent jump from 2021 as shoppers discover newer ways of buying goods online through YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram. As the Indian population becomes more digitally connected, especially in the untapped Tier II and Tier III cities and rural India, the social commerce market in India is expected to skyrocket,” Balakrishnan said.
“Social media platforms have been the ‘go-to’ for independent merchants in India to advertise and promote services through the pandemic,” she added.
From India, brands like Lakmé, boAt, SUGAR Cosmetics, Colorbar, Vahdam Teas, Duroflex and Borosil are based on Shopify.
