Snapdeal: Streamlining Ecommerce with Focus on Growth and Efficiency

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ECommerce has transformed shopping, which provides unparalleled ease and a wide selection of products with only a few clicks. With this change, the retail industry has entered a new era marked by increased speed and simplicity in the digital marketplace.

At the forefront of this dynamic eCommerce realm stands Snapdeal, a platform that has played a pivotal role in shaping the digital retail landscape. Since its founding in February 2010 by Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, Snapdeal has been a leading source of coupons, discounts, and exclusive offers, giving customers an exciting new way to purchase online. This Indian eCommerce behemoth, with its headquarters in Gurgaon, has effectively carved out a niche for itself by providing a wide variety of products, radically changing how we browse and purchase goods in the digital age.

Here's learning about Snapdeal Online India, its Founders and Team, Business Model, Revenue Model, Funding, Acquisitions, Growth Competitors, and more.

Snapdeal - Company Highlights

About Snapdeal
Snapdeal - Industry
Snapdeal - Founders and Team
Snapdeal - Startup Story
Snapdeal - Mission and Vision
Snapdeal - Name, Tagline and Logo
Snapdeal - Business Model
Snapdeal - Revenue Model
Snapdeal - ESOPs
Snapdeal - Challenges Faced
Snapdeal - Funding and Investors
Snapdeal - Investments
Snapdeal - Mergers and Acquisitions
Snapdeal - Partnerships
Snapdeal - Growth
Snapdeal - Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns
Snapdeal - Awards and Achievements
Snapdeal - Competitors

About Snapdeal

Founded in 2010 by Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, Snapdeal stands as India's premier pure-play value eCommerce platform, ranking among the top online lifestyle destinations. Snapdeal comes under AceVector Group. With a commitment to provide high-quality products at competitive prices, Snapdeal wants to make shopping enjoyable and dependable for the people of Bharat. Because of its dedication to providing excellent customer service, suppliers can offer premium goods at competitive costs, which helps the platform maintain its leading position in the Indian eCommerce market.

Snapdeal targets most middle-class, value-seeking non-metros customers; their logistics network reaches more than 96% of India's pin codes. With this wide reach, order delivery is guaranteed to over 2,500 towns and cities, demonstrating Snapdeal's dedication to democratizing value commerce across the country. The company aims to serve Bharat consumers at every stage of their offline to online purchasing journey.

Snapdeal - Industry

According to Mordor Intelligence, the Indian eCommerce market is expected to increase significantly, from its anticipated value of USD 112.93 billion in 2024 to USD 299.01 billion by 2029 at a compound annual growth rate of 21.5%. Smartphone use and greater internet accessibility are two of the elements driving this trend. The report highlights the potential for businesses to prosper through innovation and adaptation to changing consumer patterns, underscoring the critical role that eCommerce has played in transforming India's retail scene.

Snapdeal - Founders and Team

Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal are the founders of Snapdeal.

They started as high school friends and then went on to become business partners when they launched Snapdeal. Believe it or not, together, this duo walked away from a merger deal offered by Flipkart and envisioned and adopted an evaluated focus on the 400 million value-conscious Indian consumers.

Kunal Bahl

Kunal is the co-founder of Snapdeal. Bahl was a student at the University of Pennsylvania, where he completed a degree in Systems Engineering. He is also an alumnus of The Wharton School where he studied Marketing and Operations Strategy and also did Executive Program in Marketing from Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management.

Bahl was also there in the Jerome Fischer M&T Program. In his professional career, Kunal started as an Independent Director of Piramal Enterprises Limited before co-founding Snapdeal in 2010. Bahl also co-founded Titan Capital in 2011 and AceVector Group in June 2022. Thus, Kunal can be summed up as an investor and entrepreneur who aims to create impact through entrepreneurship.

Kunal Bahl is the newest shark on Shark Tank India season 4, replacing Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal. He will join the show alongside other investors like Ritesh Agarwal, founder of OYO; Namita Thapar, executive director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals; Aman Gupta, co-founder of boAt; and Anupam Mittal from People Group.

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Before this, Kunal Bahl appeared on Prime Video’s reality show Mission Start Ab, where 10 founders competed for mentorship and funding.

Rohit Bansal

Rohit Bansal is the co-founder of Snapdeal. Bansal has a BTech. and an MTech. degree in Computer Science from IIT Delhi, after completing which Rohit co-founded Snapdeal with Kunal. Rohit Bansal is also a co-founder of Titan Capital and AceVector Group. He has also worked part-time at FICCI. Bansal is recognized for his impressive skills in Team Management and Business Development.

The total employee strength of the company has been listed between 501-1,000, as per the Snapdeal LinkedIn profile.

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Snapdeal - Startup Story

Back in 2010, when the founders, Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, wanted to start their venture, they came up with an offline couponing business, which was named MoneySaver. This company sold around 15,000 coupons in three months, and that’s exactly when it was time to notch this business to a level up. And hence, Snapdeal was founded on February 4, 2010.

When it launched, it was primarily a daily deals platform, and then later in 2011, it expanded to become an online marketplace. Since then, Snapdeal has grown to become one of the largest online marketplaces in India.

Kunal Bahl has illuminated Twitteratis and others about the story of how Snapdeal got its first angel investor and how it proceeded toward an era of growth. Here's the insight:

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Snapdeal - Mission and Vision

The mission of Snapdeal is to become the leading value lifestyle omni-channel platform in India.

The vision is to enable Bharat's consumers to purchase with confidence and value so they can happily fulfill their dreams. Driven by state-of-the-art technology and a personalized, bilingual interface, Snapdeal is committed to reinventing innovative and reasonably priced shopping experiences in India.

Snapdeal - Name, Tagline and Logo

Snapdeal rebranded itself with a new logo in September 2016.

Rohit Bansal, co-founder, said, Our new logo is visualized from the perspective of the happiest moment for an online buyer i.e. when she receives her ‘box’. We understand that every box that we deliver contains not just a product but represents a new opportunity, an aspiration or the start of a journey for our consumers. Our entire new brand identity right from the brand mark to its extensions, reflects the box – a representation of untold potential and possibilities.

Snapdeal - Business Model

Snapdeal operates the digital B2C (Business-to-customer) marketplace, which allows third-party sellers to sell their products on the website directly to customers. The company operates a portfolio business model. Snapdeal, at its core, operates a matchmaking business model, where it connects online sellers directly to online buyers. It also offers complimentary products such as delivery and logistical support to businesses to help encourage the use of its matchmaking platform.

Snapdea has made a change to its business model. As updated on July 21, 2021, the eCommerce company has flipped its business model and started to target audiences that are value-conscious. The company is no longer selling high-end brands but targeting audiences who believe in getting value out of the affordable range of products.

“In the last couple of years, we have very sharply focused on the value eCommerce segment and our strategy going forward too is to keep building for this segment,'' Kunal Bahl, co-founder at Snapdeal, said.

Snapdeal - Revenue Model

Snapdeal has a diverse revenue strategy, but its main source of income is commissions from sellers, which are calculated as a percentage of the products sold on the platform. This commission-based strategy guarantees a win-win partnership with sellers by directly linking their performance to Snapdeal's income. Additionally, Snapdeal uses marketing campaigns to augment its revenue.

Snapdeal creates extra revenue streams by giving companies the chance to highlight their goods through targeted advertising and promotions. This all-encompassing approach establishes Snapdeal as a strong participant in the Indian eCommerce market.

Snapdeal - ESOPs

Snapdeal has significantly increased its Employee Stock Option (ESOP) pool by 151%, as reported on October 13, 2021. Shareholders approved a resolution to boost the Employee Stock Option Scheme 2016 from 1,98,890 to 5,00,000. This move highlights Snapdeal's commitment to employee engagement and positions the company strategically for future growth. The additional 3,01,110 ESOP options, exercisable into equity shares valued at Rs 1 each, underscore the company's proactive approach to financial structuring ahead of its entry into the public market.

Snapdeal - Challenges Faced

Every company faces its unique set of challenges, and Snapdeal is no exception. Before Amazon's $3 billion investment and entry into the Indian market in 2016, Snapdeal, which was ranked as the second-best online shopping destination behind Flipkart, faced a significant change in the market. This was the start of a very difficult battle for Snapdeal as it battled to deal with the increased competition caused by the massive eCommerce company.

Snapdeal struggled to secure more funding and dealt with internal disagreements in the face of external challenges. The company carried out cost-cutting measures, stopped several procedures, and regrettably had to reduce staff to improve financial stability.

Notwithstanding obstacles, Snapdeal investigated the possibility of merging with Flipkart; however, the proposal was turned down. Plans for an IPO valued at INR 1,250 crore were simultaneously shelved, complicating the company's financial plan. These difficulties highlight the complex terrain that Snapdeal traversed and provide insight into the elements that have contributed to its difficulties in the ever-changing eCommerce space.

Snapdeal - Funding and Investors

Snapdeal has raised a total of $1.8 billion in funding over 16 rounds. Here is a list of all the funding rounds for Snapdeal:

Snapdeal - Investments

Snapdeal has invested in 9 companies and later has exited from five companies.

Here are the investment details:

Snapdeal Exit

Snapdeal has exited from five companies, which are Bewakoof, Shopo, FreeCharge, Vulcan Express, and NuvoEx.

Snapdeal - Mergers and Acquisitions

Snapdeal has made a total of 11 acquisitions to date. Following are the details of Acquisitions made by Snapdeal over the years:

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Snapdeal - Partnerships

Snapdeal has seen an array of partnerships since it was founded. Here's a list of some prominent ones:

• Snapdeal partnered with the online dispute resolution platform Samaon on June 17, 2021, to deal with consumer complaints. It has already witnessed a success rate of 50% in the initial pilot
• Snapdeal collaborated with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on December 17, 2020, to help its users make QR code-based payments smoothly on the arrival of the orders
• Snapdeal has partnered with Medlife on May 6, 2020. This will help the users of the former to avail themselves of the facilities of health checkups from the comfort of their homes, order diagnostic tests, and order medicines online to be delivered to their doorstep
• Phonepe is another association of Snapdeal and as a result of the collaboration, the latter lets the users pay directly from their Phonepe accounts without any hassles. This partnership was announced on December 11, 2018
• In March 2015, Snapdeal brought Bollywood’s famous actor, Aamir Khan for the promotion of its website in India
• Also, in November 2019, the company joined the International Trademark Association (INTA) to support the protection of intellectual property on online marketplaces

Snapdeal - Growth

Once valued as a unicorn, among the first of the Indian companies with a billion-dollar valuation, Snapdeal's dreams seemed to take a nightmarish turn in the summer of 2017 amidst funding issues and an impending merger deal with Flipkart that too at a fraction of $6.5 billion, the highest valuation of the company. However, the founder duo didn't lose hope and stayed strong and independent, which is why Snapdeal is among the Indian eCommerce startups that are still strongly reigned by its founders. Besides, Snapdeal is notably improving its status, focusing on adding value to its customers.

The company has reportedly achieved numerous milestones. Some key highlights that speak of the growth of Snapdeal are:

• It has more than 25 million monthly active users per month as of September 2023.
• Snapdeal boasts over 200 million installed app users.
• Snapdeal covers over 96% of pin codes across the country.
• It has done order deliveries to more than 2,500 towns and cities and expanding.
• Snapdeal joined ONDC in July 2022 and achieved full integration in March 2023, becoming the sole Indian eCommerce company to merge its buyer and seller platforms on ONDC, as per the news report of March 2023.
• Snapdeal has taken pride in having 50.37 million customers shop using its website/app since FY19, among them, around 14.82 million customers are annual transacting customers as per a news report of December 2021.
• Resisted the blows of three major conditions in 2013, 2017, and the pandemic period.
• All of this growth that the company is continuing to witness is part of a revolution commonly referred to as Snapdeal 2.0

Snapdeal conducted its "Kum Mein Dum Diwali sale" in October 2020. In this extensive sale, the platform witnessed tremendous growth in traffic and buyers.

“The extent and depth of orders received and shipped from non-metros cities illustrates the accelerated growth of online commerce in recent months,” said Snapdeal.

Snapdeal Financials

Snapdeal's operating revenue dropped by 31%, from INR 540 crore in FY22 to INR 372 crore in FY23. Total expenses also decreased by 36%, going from INR 1,071 crore to INR 688 crore. Advertising and promotional costs saw a significant reduction of 71%, while employee benefit expenses rose by 8%. Overall, Snapdeal's net loss reduced by 45%, from INR 510 crore in FY22 to INR 282 crore in FY23.

Snapdeal - Advertisements and Social Media Campaigns

In a Snapdeal campaign, real-life husband and wife team Riteish and Genelia Deshmukh are paired with Bollywood actors. With the slogan "Brand waali quality, bazaar waali deal," Snapdeal aims to increase the number of Indian customers. With a strong focus on value-conscious consumers, the campaign seeks to strengthen Snapdeal's standing in the industry and provide consumers across the country with enticing bargains.

Snapdeal - Awards and Achievements

Snapdeal has been honored with a multitude of awards, some of the most notable recognitions are:

• Editor's Choice Award was given by ET Edge in Mumbai at the Datacon2023 event.
• E-Commerce Legal Team of the Year 2019: Legal Era presented the Legal Team with this prestigious award at the Indian Legal Awards.
• E-Best Employee Engagement 2019: At the Third Edition of the Employee Engagement Leadership Awards, Snapdeal received recognition for exceptional employee engagement in the B2B/B2C sector.
• Snapdeal's dedication to innovation was recognized with the Golden Peacock Award for Innovative Product/Service in 2015.
• Winner of the International Service Excellence Award: Honored by CSIA with the Australian Service Excellence Award of the Year 2015.
• 2015's Best Company to Work For in Retail: Snapdeal received recognition from the Retailers Association of India for offering a first-rate workplace.
• Innovation in Recruitment: Snapdeal's innovative recruitment practices were celebrated at the 9th RASBIC Awards in 2015.
• Star Retailer Award 2014: Acknowledged at the 9th Awards for Excellence in Retailing under the category 'Retail Campaign of the Year.'
• Buzziest Brands of India 2014: Recognized in Afaqs's Annual Buzz-making Poll.
• e-Retailer of the Year 2012: Snapdeal was awarded for its excellence in eCommerce.
• Red Herring Top 100 Asia 2011: Featured in the list of Most Innovative Companies, showcasing Snapdeal's commitment to innovation and cutting-edge solutions.

Snapdeal - Competitors

Snapdeal directly competes with:

• Amazon
• Flipkart
• Myntra
• Shopclues
• Club Factory and many such companies have gone on to take a great market standing in the online shopping sphere.

FAQs

What is Snapdeal?

Founded in 2010 by Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, Snapdeal stands as India's premier pure-play value eCommerce platform, ranking among the top online lifestyle destinations. Snapdeal comes under AceVector Group. With a commitment to provide high-quality products at competitive prices, Snapdeal wants to make shopping enjoyable and dependable for the people of Bharat.

What is the revenue of Snapdeal?

Snapdeal has reported a revenue of Rs 372 crore in FY23.

What is the valuation of Snapdeal?

The market valuation of Snapdeal once stood at $6.5 Billion (Rs 47 Thousand Crores) in 2016, however, the company has faced heavy competition in its league, which had a heavy toll on its operations, total valuation, and overall revenues. Snapdeal was last valued at over $800 million in 2021.

Who is the owner of Snapdeal?

Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal are the founders of Snapdeal. Jasper Infotech Private Limited is the owner/parent organization of the company. Snapdeal is not acquired by any company.

When was Snapdeal India founded?

Snapdeal was founded in February 2010.

Who is the CEO of Snapdeal?

Himanshu Chakrawarti is the CEO of Snapdeal.

Who are the competitors of Snapdeal?

The competitors of Snapdeal include:

• Amazon
• Flipkart
• Myntra
• Shopclues