We are uniquely positioned for the Indian market from a timing and demand perspective: Prakash Gurumoorthy, VTEX

India is a country that’s constantly evolving and reinventing itself, and the world of ecommerce is no exception. With a thriving startup ecosystem and a mobile-first mindset, India is experiencing exponential growth in the ecommerce market. As we inch closer to the 100 billion dollar mark by the end of 2023, there’s an unprecedented opportunity for growth and investment in this sector. In this landscape, VTEX is trying to make its own mark by offering a personalized experience that covers the entire spectrum of ecommerce, says Prakash Gurumoorthy, General Manager – EMEA & APAC at VTEX

Some edited excerpts from an interview:

How does VTEX differentiate itself from other digital commerce platforms in the market?
VTEX is a 20-year old global enterprise digital commerce platform for enterprise brands and retailers. VTEX enables merchants to deploy, optimize, test and scale advanced B2C and B2B commerce experience through a composable and complete Commerce. We offer services related to Digital Commerce Platform, Marketplace & Seller Management, Order Management System and a development platform.

Going far beyond just an ecommerce solution, VTEX has been helping brands and retailers globally drive rapid and efficient growth. The company enables brands and retailers to achieve faster time to market, reach their customers across any channel, and uncover new growth areas. VTEX is trusted by more than 2,600 customers, including Carrefour, Colgate, Motorola, Stanley Black & Decker, and Whirlpool, having over 3,400 active online stores across 38 countries.

What kind of opportunities does VTEX see in the Indian market? Please elaborate on your go-to-market strategy

India is in a constant state of reinvention, from being a technology greenfield to innovating as a mobile-first nation with a vibrant startup ecosystem. There’s a tremendous amount of growth opportunity and we will be investing significantly over the coming months to build a strong ecosystem. The ecommerce market has grown over 3X in the last six years and is inching closer to the 100Bn (US$) mark by the end of 2023. The current focus lies on building a strong ecosystem across customers, partners & communities in India.

In my opinion, we are uniquely positioned for the India market, from both a timing and demand perspective where both (customers and the end consumers) are looking for a personalized and best-in-class experience that covers the entire spectrum of ecommerce.

A customer-centric digital transformation is essential to drive business value, growth and success for our customers. Today, every company wants to deliver connected customer experiences across channels & departments & therefore, companies are increasingly turning to VTEX to accelerate their commerce transformation journey & build faster time to market and revenue. The end-to-end customer experience will revolutionize the relationship between organizations and their customers.

How does VTEX enable its customers to create a future-proof digital commerce strategy?
Our USP is that we are truly cloud based and that we can bring our extensive experience from the global market to the entire world. We work with many global brands and have developed a highly capable technology platform that has helped brands expand internationally. Using the VTEX platform, brands and retailers can go beyond traditional ecommerce by selling across all channels, collaborating with channel partners, and expanding product assortment.

We also offer some interesting logistical tools. Learning from our experiences in the global market, we have built in logistics models that can handle inventory, omnichannel sales, and multiple distribution centres in a simple and integrated way. We can also deliver, deploy and scale up rapidly, typically within three and a half months and we have done so for many clients.

Can you discuss how VTEX helps its customers integrate orders across channels and create marketplaces to sell online?

Our platform enables merchants to deploy, optimize, test and scale advanced B2C and B2B commerce experience through a composable and complete commerce, marketplace and OMS solution. The platform offers merchants across industries and regions unmatched time to revenue by delivering flexibility without unnecessary complexity. VTEX Order Management System helps customers optimize their commerce operation with a single view of inventory, seamlessly orchestrating orders across channels, and fulfilling orders from stores and distribution centers. Our distributed order management is built into the VTEX Digital Commerce Platform to unify your business and meet customer delivery promises more efficiently and cost-effectively.

VTEX inStore is an app that allows merchants to integrate their online and physical sales channels, putting their customers at the center of the business. Using inStore, sales associates from your physical stores can serve customers in a personalized way and complete the entire sales process from helping to choose the right products to payment and delivery.

VTEX offers a pickup point in a physical location where customers can pick up their orders instead of having them delivered to their homes. When the customer fills in their address information when purchasing a product, the system displays all shipping options for that address, including the available pickup points. The customer can decide whether they want their order delivered to their home or collected at a pickup point, and they can also choose from the available pickup points.

Please elaborate on the initiatives planned in the next six months to one year

India’s e-retail market was estimated to be $50 billion in 2022, growing at 25% over 2021. By 2027, the market is expected to grow to $150–$170 billion, with up to 1 in 10 retail dollars spent online. The growing population of aspirational consumers is catapulting the retail sector’s growth in smaller cities and tier 2 & 3 markets. Retailers and brands are exploring the possibilities in tier 2 & 3 cities creating a demand for retail spaces. The growth of the retail sector will likely be driven by smaller cities in the coming years and we at VTEX want to tap these brands and markets in the coming months. We are looking to have at least 12 big brands on board by next year. It is a very ambitious goal to achieve but with the right people, and infrastructure we are certain to achieve it. We have been a valuable partner for Motorola in their D2C journey.

We want our platform and technology to get merchants ahead in their ecommerce goals, making sure that their stores are the fastest and highest converting, and that their experience as administrators of those stores is pleasant, powerful, and differentiated. We’re looking forward to delivering on our visionary roadmap and keeping the conversation going with our customers, assuring that we are focusing on what is essential and making a positive impact on each business that relies on us.