How social commerce is powering the growth of hyperlocal brands

Every state has its beloved brands, which have grown over the years locally. Now, with the rapid rise of social commerce, these hyperlocal brands are getting a broader market base. Social commerce has become a key tool to reach the masses, and it has not only helped people connect with people, but also helped people connect with services. For example, Kesh King, a popular from Punjab, is now being taken by Emami to multiple states across the country.

According to a new study by Accenture, the social commerce market is pegged to reach $1.2 trillion over the next three years, which is more than double of the current market size of $492 billion.

Speaking about how social commerce has brought a new spike in market, Rajiv Kumar Aggarwal, Founder and CEO, StoreHippo, said, “Social commerce has brought a new spike in market growth as it is expected to grow three times as fast as traditional e-commerce. Driven by mobile-first consumer preferences and the launch of new hyperlocal social commerce platforms, the emerging success of social commerce in India is a testimony to the power of people and communities.”

Social commerce is a key tool to reach to the masses, and it has not only helped people connect with people, but also help people connect with services. In a similar way, social media has helped in expanding the use of hyperlocal brands. The 21^st century is an era of the hyperlocal services in the country where they act as a bridge between the resources and the consumers. The success of Zomato, Swiggy, Paytm, Milkbasket, along with the e-commerce majors like Amazon and Flipkart are being replicated in the hyperlocal space.

According to Vinay Bansal, Founder CEO, Inflection Point Ventures, one of the largest angel platforms in India, “This is definitely a sector which will take on a large part of the market in the coming years. A lot of these hyperlocal brands are acting as mediums between the source and the consumer; hence a co-existential environment would be an ideal one. Also, when these dependent businesses will flourish, the related hyperlocal delivery brands will also grow, receiving impetus from time to time.”

The millennials wish to have everything delivered to their doorstep. The pandemic has only triggered this habit and hence, the demand for a hyperlocal brand increases. With markets shut down during the peak Covid periods, the business for hyperlocal brands have only increased.

Elaborating on this, Kartik Johari, VP, Marketing & Commerce, Nobel Hygiene, said, “Logistically, hyperlocal brands have a lot more to gain than other brands. Their supply chain is shorter. If they’re a volumetric product, they can immediately fulfill their local environment. However, these are tools just for the short term. No brand or company is going to be built only because of short-term advantages. Such advantages are only a boost to companies that have a great product. So, the bottomline is – focus on the product. If you have a good product, you will survive, otherwise you are just one of the masses.”