Women-led Direct-to-Customer (D2C) brands have seen significant business growth, with transactions online via Simpl’s Checkout Solutions increasing by 54 times in 2023 compared to 2022, according to Simpl Checkout Scan. This growth is attributed to more customers turning to D2C brands online to meet their evolving needs affordably.
Top categories showing growth for women-led D2C brands include beauty and wellness, apparel, artificial jewellery, supplements, and personal care. Brands such as Earth Rhythm, Inweave, Trubrowns, Raw Beauty Wellness, Dermabay, Estele, Fitspire, and Protouch Skin are leading in demand. While Gen Z and millennials are driving demand for D2C products, around 65% of customers placing orders with these brands are from non-metro areas, reflecting the trend of smaller cities increasingly turning to online shopping. Women-led D2C merchants have also seen a 54-fold increase in customer growth, with average order value (AOV) rising 1.4 times in 2023 compared to 2022.
Among the reasons driving demand for D2C brands, particularly in the beauty, skincare, hygiene and personal care segment, are the change in user behaviour where they are looking for sustainable solutions over quick fixes, driving the growth of the overall industry. According to KPMG, the Indian D2C market value is projected to surpass the mark of $60 billion by 2027 from approximately $12 billion in 2022, by growing at a CAGR of 40%.
Simpl, India’s foremost Checkout Network, is the preferred checkout partner for hundreds of D2C brands, including over two dozen women-led D2C brands, having an annual order checkout volume of nearly Rs 100 crore via Simpl’s network in 2023. These D2C brands have consistently posted an increase in conversions and prepaid share along with a reduction in returns, some of the major pain points in the industry, in partnership with Simpl.
“The Indian retail industry is undergoing a transformational change with the rise of D2C brands, offering niche products to fulfil customers’ evolving requirements in a trustworthy and affordable manner. Here, women-led brands have grown exponentially with Simpl’s Checkout solutions in 2023 by posting a 54x growth in transactions through building trust and convenience with customers, reducing losses while replicating the marketplace experience for a seamless e-commerce experience. We have developed an array of solutions including 1-Tap Checkout, Simpl Checkout, Checkout Suite and Early Settlement among others to power their business. This is leading to an increasing number of D2C brands across the country, including women-led, partnering with Simpl to improve business and enhance customer experience, ” Khanaz K.A., CXO – D2C Business, Simpl, said.
The accelerated growth in business is also enabling these women-led D2C founders to increasingly invest in creating employment opportunities, establishing manufacturing hubs, and investing in warehousing infrastructure across key hubs.
“We are witnessing a robust growth in demand for our products and our partnership with Simpl has been simplifying customer journeys across the board while helping us reduce business costs. Over the last 10 months, we have witnessed a 12% increase in conversions led by convenience and consumer intelligence, enabling us to invest in enhancing our capacities. We are doubling our warehousing space and increasing our manufacturing and workforce count by 50% to cater to the increasing demand from customers in across the country,” Shveta Narula, founder and chief executive officer, Inweave, said.