India’s online shopper base is expected to become the second-largest worldwide, with over 500 million shoppers, by 2030. E-commerce, as per industry reports, is projected to grow from four per cent of the total food and groceries, fashion, and consumer electronics retail sales in 2020 to eight per cent by 2025.
While rising internet penetration and growing use of smartphones, laptops, and tablets have boosted the market growth, the emergence of disruptive e-commerce brands over the last couple of years has been a key driver. Currently, electronics and apparel make up nearly 70 per cent of India’s e-commerce market.
“India is at the cusp of an e-commerce revolution,” says Esha Tiwary, Founder & CEO of Furrl, an online shopping app that offers a selection of homegrown, new-age, independent brands in the women’s fashion and lifestyle space. The target consumer is the evolved online shopper, looking for a curated and expansive selection on a platform that captures the essence of contemporary and unique brands.
“The changing customer, seeking uniqueness over conformity, is driving this shift away from traditional brands and creating opportunities for new players,” says Tiwary, who has a strong passion for brands and e-commerce, having built multiple businesses from ground-up in her prior role as the Director for Emerging Categories at Myntra.
In India, the demographics of online shoppers have evolved significantly, with women now comprising 40% compared to 10% just five years ago. This shift, she notes, is a massive change in cohorts, influencing both demand and supply dynamics in the market, driving the growth of e-commerce brands.
Observing changing consumer behaviours, driven by platforms like Instagram and the rise of new-age brands, made Tiwary, realize that a significant disruption was taking place in the e-commerce landscape, prompting the creation of Furrl in December 2022. “We cater to the evolving Indian consumer, who is actively expressing her unique identity through unique fashion and lifestyle choices,” she asserts. The name “Furrl” underlines the brand’s mission to encourage individuals to “Unfurl their vibe” fearlessly.
Furrl’s strength lies in curating a selection of homegrown, new-age, independent brands, each with a compelling story. “We keep hearing from our customers how they have never come across these brands before, but absolutely love their products!” says the Bengaluru-based entrepreneur. The app’s #vibe-first architecture enables the salient discovery of brands and products, tailored to each customer’s unique vibe.
Having worked closely with and mentored entrepreneurs as the former Partner and India Head of Entrepreneur First, a UK-based global talent investor, has influenced Tiwary’s own journey as an entrepreneur. Guiding 42 portfolio startups right from inception gave her the opportunity to closely observe both successful strategies and real challenges they faced. “This firsthand experience offered valuable insights into what works and what doesn’t in the startup ecosystem,” she affirms.
In addition, there’s the creation of an invaluable network. “Many founders I collaborated with have become good friends. Some have even transitioned into the role of advisors, offering guidance and support in my own entrepreneurial journey!” says Tiwary, whose vision for Furrl is to become the go-to destination for everything related to new-age brands in the country.
Furrl has been scaling rapidly month-on-month and the goal is to triple this growth by March 2024, solidifying the brand’s position as a dynamic and thriving e-commerce platform. With an existing catalogue featuring over 10,000 products from 100 unique brands, the plan is to amplify the brand’s offerings.
“Over the next three months, we aim to introduce 75 new brands,” informs Tiwary. There are plans to diversify into additional categories, including men’s fashion. “Given the number of requests we are already receiving to add men’s brands, we are quite excited about the potential here!” she says.
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