#TryItToLoveIt - Myntra Invites Offline Shoppers To Try Its Revamped Website

Myntra is back with its website after a year of going app-only; the ecommerce player is now wooing offline shoppers to try Myntra and also getting brand loyalists to get their friends too

VinayaBrands
Myntra_Abhay_deol_ira_Dubey

May 15 last year saw one of India’s leading ecommerce company go app-only, stealing international headlines and leading to much debate and analysis by industry pundits. Myntra, the Flipkart-owned fashion wear etailer cited the reason to be mobile traffic data: Myntra claimed that nearly 90% of its traffic and 70% of its sales came from its mobile app. Six months down the line, it rolled out a mobile site, however, one could not buy from the mobile site; for that they had to install the app. The focus was always on its mobile app, the mobile site was more to help its Google search.

Myntra shutting down its desktop site and having a mobile site serve only as a catalogue, became the subject of debate. Transitioning from website to mobile app to mobile app-only to mobile site and then back again to mobile app-only, Myntra was experimenting nonstop to find the most optimized platform that could bring it the best sales.

This May, nearly a year later, Myntra announced the relaunch of its desktop site, the mobile site, along with the mobile app. “We listened to your feedback and brought the website back. We believe that customers should have maximum choice, be it in selection of clothes or the device they like to shop on,” read a blog post by CEO Ananth Narayanan.

Now, Myntra has launched a campaign to announce the return of its revamped website: “Try Myntra. You’ll Love It.”

A couple of TVCs conceptualized by ad film director Shirsha Guha and produced by OINK Films, feature popular celebrities like Abhay Deol, Ira Dubey, Prateik Babbar and Amol Parashar, convincing viewers of the brand’s service propositions such as curated collection from over 2000 Indian & International brands, 100% authentic products and quick refunds.

Ira playing the wife, is just not ready to believe that fashion can be bought online. Abhay, the husband tells her he’ll return it and they can get their refund quickly. But, Ira has actually fallen for the clothes he bought for her from Myntra.

Amol has bought a leather jacket for his brother Prateik from Myntra but the excited brother is just not ready to believe the jacket he has liked so much has been bought online.

It may look like Myntra is back to square one. Easy returns, quick refunds, cash on delivery, large collection are some of the basics of advertising ecommerce businesses. And Myntra is resorting to the basics of ecommerce advertising in new campaign, the social media properties are sharing the new ads as well as relying on the existing customer base to convince their fashionable friends to try Myntra too.

Visuals inspired by popular screen friendships are inviting brand advocates to get their friends too.

Rollback to old glory with new TG

In the last one year of app-only mode, many campaigns were executed to drive app installs, while the world called it a suicidal move. #BestOfFashion tried hard to get the fashion conscious consumer to go Myntra shopping on their smartphone. Ad films tried to position Myntra as a one-stop shopping destination for all your fashion needs, while the app gave more reasons for shoppers to install it: a style forum to answer your fashion queries, and a referral reward scheme for inviting your friends.

None of this affected Myntra’s overall sales; it was reported that only a portion of customers were lost, but that was compensated by the new people who visited through the app. We don’t know if the annual loss is a significant one to have triggered this rollback, but we can safely assume it is.

“Try Myntra. You’ll Love It” has again gone back to what ecommerce brands were doing back in the early days - talking about how safe, easy and convenient it is to do your shopping online. Apart from wooing first time online buyers, it is also riding on the support extended by existing customer base. The choice of protagonists in the ad films reflects the kind of TG it is hoping to attract and retain.

Myntra’s decisions have always been driven by data, and for a company that chose to experiment with an altogether new approach, and not go by industry best practices in ecommerce, it’s a laudable effort. Even if it failed, it brought forth lessons on how India wants to shop. Hoping Myntra finds its lost glory in this new chapter.