Consumer Brands embracing the digital revolution
The worldof consumerbrandshasundergonea
significanttransformationasonline retailhasgrownin
popularityandimportance.Consumers continueto
increasingly search,discoverandbuyproductsonline.
Ecommerceisalsocreatingopportunityfornewbrands
tobe builtandexistingbrandstomarketthemselveson
horizontalplatformsandownwebsites.There is
widespread recognitioninconsumerproduct
companiesthattheyneedtobuildstrongcapabilities
andpresenceinonlineretailif theywanttoretainor
gainmarketshareintheircategories.
OurRankingof DigitalDisruptorsisdesignedtoidentify
the topconsumerproductcompaniesthatare leaders
inecommerceacrossmajorretailcategoriesand
highlightthekeysuccessfactorsforthesedigital
leaders.Thiswillalsohelpotherplayerstoraisethebar
fortheironline performance.
We have analysedtheperformanceof thesecompanies,
usingarange of factorssuchastheirmarketsharein
onlinesalesintheircategories, shareof ecommercein
theirtotalsales,growth,andperformanceon
marketplaces.The resultisthe firstcomprehensive
rankingof themostsuccessfulandinfluential
ecommerce productcompaniesinIndia,andinsightsinto
whatsetsthemapartfromtheirpeers.
Digital
Disruptors
Ranking
Growth
Online
Category
Share
Marketplace
Performance
% Sales from
Ecommerce
Redseerconductedextensiveresearchandanalysisof
over 1000 consumerproductplayersacrosscategories
toidentify companiesthathavebeenmostsuccessful
inbuildingastrongecommercepresence.
02
Source(s): Redseer Analysis
Note(s):
1.Privatelabelsof ecommerceplatforms have beenexcludedfromtherankings
2.Only brandsoverathresholdofonlinesaleswere includedintherankings
Figure 1: Building Blocks of the DigitalDisruptors
Ranking
$ 750 Bn
$ 843 Bn
$ 724 Bn
$ 865 Bn
$ 947 Bn
$ 1,363 Bn
2022P
2018 2021
2020
2019 2026F
Some categoriessuchasElectronics&Appliances
alreadyhavea highshareof theirtotalsalesfrom
ecommerce. We expectthatexceptforgrocery, online
saleswill accountforover25% of salesformostmajor
retailcategoriesby2026, indicatingthesignificanceof
digitalleadershipinthecomingyears.
Digitalfirstbrandsnowaccountforover25% of all
onlinesales,highlightingthe growingimportance of
digital-firststrategies.Thesedigitalfirstbrandsare
alsoexpandingoffline, threateningthetraditional
playersontheirturf.
Furtherconsumersincreasinglyrelyondigitalsearchand
reviewstomaketheirdecisions,evenforoffline
purchase. Thisfurtherhighlightstheimportanceof a
strongonline presence.
Clearly,traditionalcompaniesthatare overindexedon
offlinesaleshavea shortwindowtoenhancetheir
share inecommerce.Theyneedfocusonbuildingtheir
digitalcapabilitiesandadoptinganomnichannel
approachtosucceedinthemarket.
Increasingshareof onlinesalesacrosscategories
andrise of digitalfirstbrandstogetherpose a
substantialchallenge tothetraditional players
Figure 2: Growth of Indian Retail and Ecommerce
03
Online presence is no
longer a choice
The Indianecommercemarketisoneof thelargestand
fastestgrowingintheworld,withanestimatedmarket
size of $63billionin2022asshowninFigure2.
Ecommerceisexpectedtocontinue drivinggrowthin
retailandisprojectedtogrowat a CAGRof 27% to
reach$163billionby2026,almostthreetimesthe
growthinoverallretail market.
Note(s):
1. Includes only B2C retail of products and doesn’t include B2B retail. Includes categories such as Food & Grocery, Fashion, Jewelry, Mobiles, Consumer Electronics, Large Appliances,Small Appliances, BPC, Home &
Living, Pharmacy and Wellness
2. Conversion taken as 1 USD = 75 IN
Source(s): Redseer Analysis
Overall Retail Market¹
In US$ Bn, CY2018–CY2026F
Online Retail Market¹
In US$ Bn, CY2018 –CY2026F
+10%
$ 20 Bn
$ 25 Bn
$ 35 Bn
$ 49 Bn
$ 63 Bn
$ 163 Bn
2022P
2018 2021
2020
2019 2026F
+27%
Digital Disruptors - 2022
Redseer,asthe leadingconsultingfirmtothe digital
ecosystem,hasawealthof proprietaryresearch,
benchmarks, anddataon ecommercespace.Tobuild
thisrankingof DigitalDisruptors,weleveraged
followingelementsof ourtoolkit:
We evaluatedtheecommerce performanceof over
1000 companieswithover2000 brandsacrosskey
consumerproductcategories.Givenseveral companies
have brandsthatspanacrosscategories,we have
clubbedthe companiesin three majorcategories,viz.,
Electronics&Appliances,Fashion&Home,andGrocery
&PersonalCare.Thisenablesacomparisonof
companiesincategorieswithrelativelysimilarlevelof
onlinematurity.
Basedonthisanalysis,weidentified75Digital
Disruptors, representing the most successfuland
innovative companiesintheIndianecommerce
market.
The above75DigitalDisruptorsaccountfor~$15Bnin onlinesales,indicatingtheirsignificant
impactonthe Indianecommercemarket.These companiesleadintheircategoriesinonline
salesandhavebuiltabovecategoryaveragepositionsintermsofshareof businessfrom
ecommerce.
Redseer Benchmarks - Track performanceof all
leadingecommerceplatforms.
Redseer Brandverse - Tracks ecommerce
performance of over 2000 brands across 50 sub-
categories
Ecommerce Diagnostic Toolkit - Assesses
companies on Key Success Factors of
eCommerceExcellence
Figure 3: Digital Disruptors - 2022
★ Digital First Players
Electronics & Appliances Fashion & Home Grocery & Personal Care
01. Boat ★ 1. Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail 1. Hindustan Unilever
02. BBK 2. Puma India 2. L'Oreal India
03. Asus 3. Wakefit ★ 3. Licious ★
04. HP 4. Decathalon 4. Wipro Consumer Care
05. Philips India Ltd 5. KETCH ★ 5. ITC Foods
06. Xiaomi ★ 6. Adidas 6. Country Delight ★
07. Atomberg ★ 7. Levi Strauss & Co 7. Mamaearth ★
08. Lenovo India 8. Rare Rabbit ★ 8. MuscleBlaze ★
09. Lifelong ★ 9. USPL World ★ 9. Marico
10. Samsung India 10. H&M 10. Reckitt Benckiser
11. Noise ★ 11. Varanga ★ 11. Nestle India
12. Nothing ★ 12. SASSAFRAS ★ 12. Minimalist ★
13. Crompton 13. Safari Industries 13. Plum Goodness ★
14. IFB 14. Clovia ★ 14. MyGlamm ★
15. Bajaj Electricals 15. Bewakoof ★ 15. Mamy Poko
16. Fire-Boltt ★ 16. Zara 16. Mcaffeine ★
17. Whirlpool India 17. DAMENSCH ★ 17. Beardo ★
18. Dell 18. FabAlley ★ 18. Bombay Shaving Company ★
19. Havells India Ltd 19. Campus Sutra ★ 19. WOW Skin Science ★
20. Prestige 20. Little Angel ★ 20. Sugar Cosmetics ★
21. Sony 21. Fossil 21. Johnson & Johnson
22. JBL 22. Nike India 22. Himalaya
23. LG India 23. Fort Collins ★ 23. Aachi Masala
24. Apple India 24. Caratlane ★ 24. CavinKare
25. Panasonic 25. Blackberrys 25. Estee Lauder
04
However,manycompanieswithstrongpresence in
offlinespace,are conspicuousbytheirabsence inthis
list.Clearly,manytraditional playershavestruggledto
adapttothe highlyagileecommerce marketsandtheir
onlinemarketsharesare significantlyunder-indexedto
theiroverall categoryshare.
Onanaverage, the DigitalFirstBrandsdrive>75% of
theirsalesonlinewhiletraditionalbrandsdo<30% of
theirsalesonline.
Inmature ecommercecategorieslikeelectronics,
some traditionalbrandshaveadopteddigital centric
strategiestoderivealmost50% of theirsalesfrom
online.However,the gapinthetwostrategiesisquite
evidentinfashionandgrocery.
Itispertinenttonotethatlargescaleof traditional
playersmeansthatevenwithlowpercentageofsales
comingfromecommerce,theirabsolute onlinesales
are quitesubstantial.
Digital First Players are making a bold charge forward
Over45% of the DigitalDisruptorsare DigitalFirst
Companies(Figure 4).Theseorganizationsstartedout
bylaunchingonlineonlybrandsandastheybuiltscale,
mostof themhaveexpandedtonewsub-categories
andalsotoofflinechannelstoleveragetheirbrandsto
capturealargersliceof market.
Ourresearchsuggeststhatmanytraditionalplayers
toohave done welltotransitiontoanonlineworld
usingtheirexistingbrandsornewdigitalbrands.
Figure 4 : Digital Disruptor Categorisation
Split of Ecommerce Leaders across Sectors
CY2022
Source(s): Redseer Analysis
Figure 5 : % of Sales from Ecommerce
CY 2022
05
28%
Electronics
& Appliances
48%
52%
72%
52%
48%
Grocery &
Personal Care
Fashion &Home
TraditionalBrands Digital First Brands
26%
78%
29%
80%
14%
78%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
0%
70%
80%
90%
100%
60%
Average for Traditional Brands
Average for DigitalFirstBrands
Electronics&
Appliances
Fashion &
Home
Grocery &
Personal Care
Range
Min Max
Elephants:Theseare typicallylegacyplayerswhousedto
dominatetheircategoryofflineandhavebuiltstrong
onlinepresence.Theirsheerscaleandbrandpullhas
enabledthemtogetsignificantsalesonline,but
ecommercestillcontributesarelativelysmallshareof
theirrevenues.
Rabbits:Theseare DigitalFirstBrandswhohave
leveragedecommercetoscaleup..However,theyare
stilltoachievescaletobuildcategorydominance.
Theywillbenefitfromfurthergrowthinecommerce
butwillface challengesfromelephants.
InFigure6,we analyzedtheCategoryDominance(onlinemarketsharebycategory)of DigitalDisruptors
andtheirOnlineFocus(% salesfromonlinechannels).Distinctcategoriesof disruptorsemergeinfour
quadrants..
Tigers:Theseareplayerswhowereearlymoversinthe
ecommercespaceandhavescaleduprapidly.Theyhave
builtonlinedominanceintheircategories.Theydrivea
significantshareofsalesfromecommercebuthavealso
builtstrongofflinefootprint.
Turtles:Theseagainare legacybrandsthathavedone
reasonably wellonecommerce.However, thereonline
marketshareisstill muchsmallerthanotherDigital
Disruptors.
Going forward,weexpectmostplayersin top two
quadrantto enhancetheirfocuson offlinesales,while
theplayersin bottomquadrantswillaggressively push
ecommerce.
Race for Category Dominance while keeping a
strong Online Focus
Online
Focus
CategoryDominance
03
6
Figure 6: Category Dominance vs. Online Focus
CY 2022
Rabbits
Turtles
Tigers
Elephants
Noise
Prestige
Philips
IFB
Fire-Boltt
Lifelong
Atomberg
ABFRL
Decathalon
Puma
Wakefit
Adidas
Levis
H&M
KETCH
Nike
Zara
Blackberrys
Whirlpool
Fossil
Rare Rabbit
JBL
Caratlane
USPL World
Bajaj
Varanga
Asus BBK
Crompton
Safari
Industries
Clovia
Bewakoof
Havells
Little Angel
DAMENSCH
FabAlley
Campus Sutra
Sony
Fort Collins
HUL
ITC
Nestle
L’Oreal
Marico
Reckitt Benckiser
Wipro
Mamaearth
Mamy Poko
J&J
Himalaya
CavinKare
Aachi Masala
LG India
MuscleBlaze
HP
WOW
Plum Goodness
Panasonic
MyGlamm
Boat
Sugar Cosmetics
Nothing
Mcaffeine
Lenovo
Minimalist
Beardo
Dell
Bombay Shaving Company
Apple
Licious
Country Delight
Elca Cosmetics
Xiaomi
Samsung
SASSAFRAS
Traditional Brands
Digital FirstBrands
Fashion&Homeishighlyfragmented,andpresenceof
severalmarketplaceshasenablednew brandsto
emergecateringtonichecustomersegments.
Inthe Grocery&PersonalCarecategory,specialist
platforms actaswalledgardensmakingitrelatively
hardfornewbrandstobreakthrough.Despitethis,
digital brands,are emerginginpremiumandniche
segments.LargerDFBslikeLiciousandCountryDelight
have reliedonownwebsitestodrivesales.
It isinterestingthatexceptforelectronics,onlyafew
digital-firstbrandshavebeenabletoscaleup to
dominate theircategories.M&A activityhasalsopicked
uppace inlastfew yearsaslargetraditionalplayers
have realizedtheimportanceof ecommerceand
acquireddigitalbrandstostrengthentheironline
presence.&capabilities.Acquireddigital brands too
benefitfromthesalesupliftthroughthecountry-wide
offlinedistributionof theseestablishedplayers.
Twoothertrendshavebeenwitnessedacross
categoriesoverlasttwoyears.First,wellfundedroll-
upcommerceplayershaveemergedandare
supportingsmallerdigital brandstoscaleup.
Second,private labelshavebeenlaunchedby
ecommerceplatformsacrosscategoriessuchas
electronics,fashion,personal care andgrocery. These
have a significantadvantagetoscaleupbyleveraging
the parentplatform.Someof the nextsetof Digital
Disruptorsarelikelytoemergefromthestablesof
privatelabelsorroll-upcommerce players.
Goingforwardasshareof onlinesalesincreasesacross
categories,itisexpectedthatmostleadingbrandswill
be omnichannel. Linesbetweendigitalfirstand
traditionalplayerswillgetincreasinglyblurredasthey
willbothcompeteaggressivelyonlineandoffline.At
the same time,traditionalplayerwhohavenotbuilta
strongonlinepresence, mustquicklyadaptandinvest
intheirdigitalcapabilitiestoremaincompetitiveorbe
at riskof gettingdisrupted.
Different Categories,Different Evolution
Digitalfirstplayershavea higherpercentageofsales
comingonline.However,traditional players,especially
inFashion&Home andGrocery&PersonalCare,
dominatetheircategory,withhighmarketshare.
07
Electronicsasacategoryhasquicklyreachedhighonline
penetration. Thishasenabledseveral DFBstoacquire
marketdominanceandhighonlinesalesinmobiles,
television,hearablesandwearables.
Applianceshaverelativelyloweronlinepenetrationand
traditionalplayershavehadtimetouptheirgame,
leveragingtheirestablishedbrandsandwideproduct
range tobuildstronge-commerce positions.However,
some digital-firstplayerslikeAtombergandLifelong
have carvedoutsignificantspaceintheirsub-
categories.
Learnings from Disruptors
The 75 DigitalDisruptorshavevery differentcategoryandhistoricalcontext.Someare highly establishedIndianorglobalbrandswithstrongofflinechannel,while othersdidnot
evenexistin2015. However,somecommonsuccessfactorsstoodoutacrossall successfulcompanies.
Strategic Focus
Digital Disruptorsunderstandthatecommerceisa
criticalpartof theirbusinessandputtheleadership
focusandinvestmentsbehindtheecommerce
strategy, ratherthantreatingitasjustanother
channel.
They recognizethatonlineisadifferentmarket
thanofflineandrequiresdistinctstrategy,sales&
marketingapproach,andfinancialexpectations.
DynamicPricing
DigitalDisruptorsaligntheirpricepropositionto
onlinecustomersegmentneedswhile managing
conflictwithotherchannels.
Theytrackandfrequentlyadjustthepricesand
discountstoaccountforchangingdemand,festive
spikesandcompetitormoves.
Agile Organization
Digital Disruptors promote an agile
organization & hustle culture that enables
constantinnovationandmarkettrackingtodisrupt
andgrowfaster.
Theybuilddeep capabilities inanalytics & data
science totakequickdecisionsandadaptstrategy&
tacticstorapidlychangingneedsof of the online
consumer.
Brand / ProductPortfolio
DigitalDisruptorsofferawide&oftendistinct
range of SKUsonlineascomparedtooffline.They
alsothoughtfullylaunch/acquiredistinctbrands,
thatcanbeadequatelysupported,toaddress
diversecustomersegments.
Theyinvestinunderstandingtherulesandsuccess
factorsof onlinegameandaligntheirapproachto
the respectiveplatform’salgorithmtocreatea
virtuousflywheelof discoveryandpurchaseto
scale up.
Best-in-Class Digital Marketing
DigitalDisruptorscreatestrongrelatablebrands
andcommunitiesacrosssocialmediaandon
ecommerceplatforms tobuildaloyal online
customerbasetodriveorganicsearchandreduce
costof sales.
Theybuilddeepinhousedigitalmarketing
capabilitiesandstrategiestodrivevisibilityand
performanceacrosschannelstodrivesalesat
optimumcosts.
08
Authors
Anil Kumar
CEO
Anil specialisesingrowthandinvestmentstrategiestohelpsolvebusinessproblemsinthenewage economy andemerging
markets. Anil hasbeenpartof engagementsinInternet,PrivateEquity,RetailCPGandHealthcare,amongothers.He hasledthe
marketentryandoffshoringstrategiesforFortune-500technologycompaniesaswellasgovernmentand semi-government
bodies.
He canbe reachedatanil@redseer.com
09
MohitRana
Partner
Mohitbringsover25 yearsof experienceinconsulting, start-ups,financialservices,,andtechnology.He ispassionateaboutthe
internetecosystemandhasbeeninstrumentalinhelpingclientsframegrowthstrategies, launchnewbusinesses, anddrivelar
ge
operationalimprovementprograms.Hehasledlargeengagementswithconsumerproducts,technology,mediaandPEplayers
acrossarangeof topics.
He canbe reachedatmohit.rana@redseer.com
Saurav KumarChachan
Director
Sauravhasadvisedclientsintheretail,eCommerce,foodtechnology,ePharma, eB2B, andinvestors/PEsectorsatRedseerStrategy
Consultants.Hisexpertiseencompassesnewcategorylaunchesandonlinestrategyforoffline companiesinthefashionand
FMCG sectors,andhe hasprovidedstrategyadvicetonumerousindustrytitansinthese areas.PriortojoiningRedseerStrategy
Consultants,Sauravworkedfora reputableconsultingfirmspecialisinginprovidingadvicetoretailandCPGbusinesses. He canbe
reachedatsaurav@redseer.com