E-commerce portals like Myntra and Flipkart's fashion sales hit $1 billion

MUMBAI: At a time when fashion sales at Flipkart and Myntra have collectively crossed the billion-dollar mark in run rate, Myntra may look to phase out its web presence completely in a strong testimony to the exponential growth of mobile internet in the country. This will be the first such instance of a mainstream online retailer morphing into a mobile-only player as internet usage over smartphones surges in India.

Myntra, which draws as much as 80% of its traffic and 60% of sales from its mobile application, is expecting to take the sales number to 90% by the year end, when the etailer's web portal may cease to exist, people familiar with the development told TOI.

Talking to TOI, Mukesh Bansal, co-founder Myntra & CMO at Flipkart, said mobile as a medium has grown rapidly for all e-commerce players but more so for the fashion e-tailers.Bansal, however, did not confirm the plans to phase out the website in the backdrop of such phenomenal traction that the mobile is getting among Indian shoppers. "Shopping for fashion is largely impulse-driven and that's why the vertical has done so well on the mobile. We are 100% focused on mobile and are making all our investments on the platform going forward."

While fashion for Flipkart and Myntra is expected to close at $1 billion in sales for the current financial year, Myntra independently is on course to clock Rs 2,000 crore (about $315 million) in sales, or gross merchandise value (GMV), at a current monthly run rate of Rs 300 crore (nearly $50 million). GMV , in e-commerce parlance, is the overall revenue generated by an online retailer through the sale of goods on its platform. tions in the fashion space.

Flipkart, along with Myntra, is expected to be burning $20-30 million on discounting, marketing, and ramping up its employee strength in a bitter battle for market share.

Its two biggest rivals, Amazon and Snapdeal, are also guzzling millions in cash to discount products even as they scale up their GMVs.

Delhi-based Snapdeal also claims to have hit a run rate of a billion dollars in fashion sales with 65% of transactions being E-tailers usually make anywhere between 5% and 20% of GMV , depending on the category. Fashion unlike electronics, particularly private brands, offer e-commerce players better margins. Going forward, Myntra will look to build more of its own brands in partnerships with celebrities, sell its private labels on other portals besides hunting for acquisi done over the mobile. "Several leading Indian e-commerce players have seen mobile con, tribute more than 50% of transactions today from under 5% a year ago. More importantly, these users are three times more engaged and likely to buy as compared to desktop users," said Tarun Davda, director at Mumbai-based early-stage venture fund Matrix Partners.