Meesho Aims for Growth with Financial Services, Grocery Delivery Push in FY24

SoftBank-backed ecommerce platform Meesho is set to diversify its offerings in the next financial year, venturing into financial services and scaling its grocery delivery business. This move mirrors efforts by other players like Flipkart and Amazon to move beyond core ecommerce and achieve profitability.

Key Highlights:

• Building a Financial Services Platform: Meesho plans to launch a credit marketplace connecting borrowers with lending partners (banks, NBFCs) and earn commissions on disbursements.

• Scaling Grocery Delivery: After scaling down in 2022, Meesho will re-launch grocery delivery in select cities from April, aiming to tap into the high-growth segment.

• Focus on Profitability: These initiatives come after Meesho narrowed its losses by 48% in FY23 and aims for sustained profitability.

• Competition Heats Up: The move reflects the intensifying competition in the ecommerce landscape, where players like Flipkart and Amazon already offer financial services and grocery delivery.

Challenges and Opportunities:

• Building User Trust: Meesho will need to build user trust and manage credit quality in the regulated financial services space.

• Managing Grocery Burn: Expansion in the low-margin grocery segment could impact burn rate, requiring careful planning.

• Leveraging User Base: Meesho's large user base presents an advantage, but attracting high-quality users for credit products is crucial.

Overall, Meesho's diversification strategy holds potential for growth but comes with challenges. Its success will hinge on careful execution, managing risks, and capitalizing on its existing user base.