The Indian textiles market currently stands at $75 billion dollars and is expected to expand to $190 billion by 2026, as per Statista. Besides this, the organized apparel sector in India is on the rise with a steady growth forecast.
However, because of the pandemic, consumers have been reluctant to spend more on clothing than usual. As a result, the revenue of this industry declined from Rs. 4,129 billion in 2019 to Rs. 3,022 billion in 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the Indian ethnic wear industry because of a significant drop in the average consumer’s buying power. With essentials becoming a higher priority, it also redefined consumer behavior towards fashion.
But on the brighter side, the e-commerce advancements of the past 2-3 years has become a ray of hope for many businesses, It has created opportunities for higher penetration across categories, including apparel.
With India expected to have 300 million+ online shoppers by 2023 (Facebook-BCG report), the apparel industry will also witness an increase in online spend amongst consumers. As the offline spends shift towards online shopping, it creates an opportunity for high-end ethnic wear brands in India to start selling online.
And at the forefront of this trend stands Meena Bazaar.
From a hint in filmy songs to becoming India’s favorite
Meena Bazaar is a trusted brand in India that sells ethnic wear for women since the year 1970. For ‘Meena Bazaar’ lovers, it is more than just a shop but a world of ethnic fashion. Its product range tends to fuse the essence of traditional Indian dresses with modern fashion.
What started as a small local store selling women’s clothes, Meena Bazaar is now a full-fledged chain of retail stores with its head office in Gurugram. It has also started selling its clothing range online. In times full of fake stores and shopping scams, Meena Bazaar is known for its authenticity and has been curating fashionable clothing for women of all ages.
The most popular ethnic wear collection at Meena Bazaar includes Sarees, Kurtis, Suits (unstitched and readymade), gowns, Shararas, Gararas, and more. It is also the one-stop destination for wedding shopping, especially bridal trousseau.
Three things that make their clothing range stand out are product quality, competitive pricing, and their availability in different sizes – from XS (Extra Small) to XXXL.
Meena Bazaar’s Gurugram outlet usually has queues of shoppers buying new clothes for festivals like Diwali, Raksha Bandhan, and more. Similar is the case with their website receiving bulk orders during the festive season. While everything’s going good, it was not enough for the team behind the brand.
From offline-only to offline-and-online: Their journey and challenges
Meena Bazaar is mostly known for its offline presence amongst the customers. While the brand’s strong presence has always attracted shoppers across India, it fell short of converting online buyers. Then the mighty COVID-19 pandemic made the footfalls of customers fall drastically.
The team behind Meena Bazaar wanted to take their clothing to customers’ homes and reduce the existing friction in the online payment process. They wanted to rely on a reliable payment brand their buyers already knew about.
When Meena Bazaar found Paytm Payment Gateway
To deal with the pandemic and even otherwise, selecting a renowned payment gateway to accept digital payments became the need of the hour. It was time for them to make ‘Meena Bazaar’ a household name. That’s when they joined hands with Paytm Payment Gateway.
Even before this collaboration, many customers have asked to pay via Paytm, which is one reason why they preferred to go with Paytm Payment Gateway. It is a comprehensive payment solution that has enabled them to accept payments online from a wide range of payment sources – credit card, debit card, net banking, and even Paytm Wallet.
Read what Meena Bazaar spokesperson has said about Paytm Payment Gateway:
“Our customers know and rely on Paytm. And we, as a brand, rely on Paytm Payment Gateway to accept payments. Paytm QR codes are already there in our 31 stores across the country. But with the payment gateway, we felt like taking a longer leap into the future. The whole process of integration took less than we expected. Now, we also have easy access to an intuitive dashboard to check payments received and there’s no looking back.”
From setbacks to growth with Paytm Payment Gateway
Paytm Payment Gateway has helped Meena Bazaar start accepting online payments, making the brand stand out stronger for its customers even in these challenging times. Now it has:
- Paytm Wallet and Paytm PostPaid as a payment source available to customers
- A bigger customer base thanks to its ability to sell online
- Witnessed 20-30% increase in online orders because of simplified payment experience
- Plans to sell their range of products internationally and accept payments in foreign currencies via Paytm Payment Gateway
Is your mind craving for ethnic wear from Meena Bazaar on reading this story? Shop now!
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