Non-Metro Creators Power 152% Growth in Meesho’s Content Commerce

The Net Merchandise Value (NMV) of Meesho's Content Commerce division increased by 152% in the last year compared to the previous year. There was an uptick in this activity because more and more people in tiny Indian cities are using content as a sales channel.

Nearly 90% of the 1.6 lakh producers that were active on the e-commerce platform's Content Commerce ecosystem during that time were categorised as nano creators. Additionally, 81% of the model's developer base is located outside of India's main urban areas. Hence, suggesting that the model is skewed toward non-metro India.

Meesho Focussing on Tier 3 & 4 Markets

According to Meesho's data, creator commerce is expanding beyond the realm of famous influencers and content creators in major cities. Tier 3 and Tier 4 markets made up 66% of Content Commerce orders on Meesho, which places smaller cities squarely in the centre of the platform's story of content-led buying. The Tier 3 and Tier 4 markets that made up 66% of that share were Varanasi, Agartala, Jabalpur, and Madurai. This dispersion follows the same pattern as the creator network in terms of geography.

This would imply that producers are trying to influence product discovery more and more by drawing on their knowledge of local audiences, tastes, and shopping habits. Another indicator of the ecosystem's growth is the creator mix. 40% of Meesho's active creators were housewives. Conversely, about 50,000 creators, or 30% of the total, were recent college grads.

Consumers are increasingly relying on producers, product videos, and recommendations to gain a better understanding of things before buying them, according to Nikita Dawda, General Manager of Content Commerce at Meesho. She said that the increase in ecosystem engagement and the rise of the creative base were the reasons for the 152% increase in NMV.

Meesho Relying on Short-Form Videos to Attract Customers

According to Meesho's sales model, content is now more of a direct sales platform and less of an attention-getter. Rather than relying just on views, likes, or followers, creators may now tie their commercial returns to actual purchases by creating content around items and earning commissions on orders made through that content. That difference is becoming more important as the typical search box loses its reliance on online shopping.

Video product demonstrations allow customers to see a product in action before deciding whether to explore it further. Hence, eliminating the need for them to know exactly what they want before launching an app. As part of that process, Meesho's Video Finds, a surface for short-form material, has grown in importance. In the last year, users spent approximately 9,000 crore minutes watching material on the platform, with nearly 4,800 crore views.

Using video finds, customers can view things in action and evaluate their size, shape, functionality, and overall quality before buying, says Meesho. So, unlike a standard product listing, this style includes demonstration and recommendation elements in the buying process. The most popular category for creator-led purchasing on Meesho is women's clothes. The business did note that content-led discovery is expanding beyond fashion and lifestyle suggestions into other product categories, such as personal care, home goods, and accessories for devices.