Fashion e-commerce brand Myntra recently announced its collaboration with rapper and singer Badshah for his latest music video, Jordan. This is no ordinary music video, simply because it allows consumers to purchase the apparel and looks showcased in it in real time. Myntra, which has always been big on content, has now launched its new entertainment and fashion content hub, Glamstream, which will be hosted on the app.
Badshah is one of 100-odd celebrities that the brand has partnered with to churn out over 500 hours of snackable content on Glamstream that allows users to purchase seamlessly while they view. Noting that social media has changed the way consumers shop, Sunder Balasubramanian, CMO, Myntra, says a lot of inspiration for fashion and beauty purchases come from social media. “Historically, consumer journeys in this segment have been catalogue-based but over the last few years it has moved to content-based shopping,” he says.
According to Balasubramanian, the top 2.5 million influencers in India drive upwards of $300 billion in consumer spending annually through their endorsements and content. That’s what prompted the Glamstream launch. This comes almost a year after the e-commerce brand launched the Ultimate Glam Clan (UGC) programme for shoppers to become creators and post their videos and images. Over a million shoppers have signed up in 10 months for the programme, says Balasubramanian, with over 4.5 billion cumulative views.
“We have seen a 20% increase in conversion among users that interact with content compared with users that don’t. We expect creator-led revenue to double in the next two years, which is why content is a big focus for us,” he notes. UGC also allows users to earn up to `25,000 in Myntra credits every month, incentivising their content creation.
The brand saw its first full year of profitability in FY24 with a 15% growth in revenue at 5,122 crore. It spent1,677.4 crore on advertising in FY24, though Balasubramanian wouldn’t say how much it is spending on its content-led initiatives.
Claiming the scarce
With Myntra’s own creator platform and now with the launch of Glamstream, could the brand possibly become the next ‘Instagram’ of fashion and beauty? Balasubramanian is clear that the brand is not competing with social media platforms at all. “We’re not replacing any social media platforms but rather creating a new shopping behaviour. The focus is on two metrics — user engagement and conversion,” he says.
Experts note that while the content platforms will not compete with social media, they will help Myntra to reduce their dependence on it. Russhabh R Thakkar, founder & CEO, Frodoh, observes that UGC and Glamstream will help Myntra to stop “renting attention” but rather own it. “Myntra is stitching commerce into content, and more importantly, keeping both of these in-house. Glamstream makes the scroll shoppable, while UGC brings creators into the fold as reach and relevance engines,” says Thakkar.
To be sure, Myntra is active across social media platforms such as YouTube and Instagram. The brand has 5 million followers on Instagram and 3.5 million subscribers on YouTube. On its app, the brand has 70 million monthly active users.
Rajni Daswani, chief growth officer for people and business, SoCheers, remarks that Myntra’s latest move is a step towards building a strong owned ecosystem. However, if it needs to become the ultimate fashion and entertainment hub, Daswani says it needs to expand significantly and diversify its content beyond just shoppable videos, offering pure entertainment and style guides. “It will need deep AI-driven personalisation for video feeds and robust in-app community features like following, comments and live sessions. Empowering creators with strong monetisation and seamless tools will also be crucial. It’s about building a holistic ecosystem where users come for ongoing inspiration and connection, not just transactions,” explains Daswani.
While initiatives like Glamstream and UGC offer rich commerce integration and data ownership, social media platforms win on scale and spontaneity, points out Neelesh Pednekar, co-founder & head of digital media, Social Pill. “The smart play for Myntra is a hybrid approach. Use Instagram and Facebook to draw audiences in, then convert and retain them on its own shoppable video stage. Offerings like Glamstream can deepen user time-on-app, build first-party data and create a self-sustaining ecosystem enabling Myntra to drive product discovery, social proof and transactions under its own roof,” states Pednekar, adding that its focus on content could enable Myntra to become a media-commerce hub and not just a marketplace.