This is an interesting take, had a bunch of thoughts but too long for a write up.
So here's a TL;DR:
Influencer-led commerce in India faces structural challenges. Most influencers are entertainers, not domain experts, and Instagram is primarily an entertainment [Indian context] platform—not a sales engine.
India’s sharp economic divide (140M affluent vs. 1B budget-conscious) limits conversion potential. High return [RTO/RTV] rates for unfamiliar, couriered products add friction.
While entertainment thrives (e.g., IPL, Reels), it rarely translates to meaningful commerce, especially when trust and product expertise are missing.
Would love to have a chat or AMA on this with your team sometime :)
Damn, great article! Didn’t know I had it in me to go through an article with reading time > 50 mins. Thought will just start, read a few lines and see where this goes, but surprisingly managed to get to the bottom.
This is an interesting take, had a bunch of thoughts but too long for a write up.
So here's a TL;DR:
Influencer-led commerce in India faces structural challenges. Most influencers are entertainers, not domain experts, and Instagram is primarily an entertainment [Indian context] platform—not a sales engine.
India’s sharp economic divide (140M affluent vs. 1B budget-conscious) limits conversion potential. High return [RTO/RTV] rates for unfamiliar, couriered products add friction.
While entertainment thrives (e.g., IPL, Reels), it rarely translates to meaningful commerce, especially when trust and product expertise are missing.
Would love to have a chat or AMA on this with your team sometime :)
Such a great read!
Also, probably your thoughts about Nishhair, an influencer led brand which till the last I knew was doing decently well.
Very interested to know your take on 'SuperYou' by Ranveer Singh, even tho it's too early to judge, maybe in part 2.
Damn, great article! Didn’t know I had it in me to go through an article with reading time > 50 mins. Thought will just start, read a few lines and see where this goes, but surprisingly managed to get to the bottom.
Learnt a lot of new things. Thanks!
Very Insightful! Thanks for sharing! :)
I was researching on the same thing few days ago.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and research.