New Delhi: As an after-effect of funding winter, eB2B firms have been prioritizing profitability and focusing on sustainable growth, resulting in major firms either scaling back in unprofitable pin codes or ceasing operations.
A recent study by Redseer in collaboration with Udaan said that the scaling down by eB2B firms led to a significant drop in buyer penetration from about 25 per cent in 2021 to 12-15 per cent in 2023.
“As such, the past two years have catalysed a secular shift towards resilient and profitable growth. eB2B firms are now adopting scalable yet sustainable playbooks centred on consistent CVP (customer value proposition) delivery and operating density to build profitable growth,” the report read.
With sustainable strategy, buyer penetration for eB2B firms can potentially triple from the current 12-15 per cent to 35-45 per cent by CY 2030, the study stated.
In line with this, the report highlighted that the B2B e-commerce major Udaan has piloted a micro-market strategy – in certain parts of Bangalore and is winning on customer service excellence after-market consolidation.
The strategy aims to decrease supply chain costs with a three-fold focus on understanding customer needs at a granular level, increasing adoption among buyers, and increasing customer’s wallet share.
The report said that following the implementation of this strategy, Udaan’s buyers have expanded their purchases beyond ‘foot in the door’ staples, such as rice, oil, and sugar, to purchase trunk/torso items in grocery and other categories, resulting in higher gross margins and an increased share of wallet.
“Across micro-markets where the strategy has been fully deployed, we observed that Udaan’s penetration among buyers has more than doubled, from 35% in July 2023 (before the strategy was implanted) to 75% in January 2024.”
Additionally, the micro-market focus of Udaan led to a 1.4x increase in its wallet share amongst eB2B platforms over the past six months.
“The primary drivers of this growth were significant enhancements in customer value proposition parameters, such as service excellence across touchpoints & order flow, credit accessibility, and right pricing & loyalty constructs,” the study highlighted adding that with the micro-market strategy, Udaan also witnessed advancements in other parameters, such as product assortment and availability.
