Fashion eCommerce in India has seen explosive growth over the past few years, driven by a combination of increasing internet penetration, changing consumer behavior, and rising demand for unique, trendy products. As the market evolves, Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) fashion brands are capitalizing on this rapid expansion, but to sustain long-term growth, they need eCommerce platforms that are flexible, scalable, and equipped with features tailored to the unique needs of the Indian landscape.
While Shopify is a popular choice for many, the ever-evolving Indian market means fashion brands really need to consider Shopify alternatives for D2C fashion if they want to stay ahead in such a competitive space.
Table of Contents
Fashion eCommerce Growth in India- The Future For D2C Fashion Brands
Let’s take a look at some key data trends shaping the future of fashion eCommerce in India. These insights reveal the immense potential and critical factors D2C fashion brands need to focus on to succeed in this rapidly growing market.
- $25 will be India’s online fashion industry market by 2025,
- 18% is the CAGR for fashion ecommerce between 2020-2025
- 70% of online fashion purchases are made through mobile devices
- 50% of new customer acquisitions come from Tier 2 and 3 cities
- 20% of fashion product discovery and shopping happens on social platforms
- 60% of fashion emphasize sustainability as a factor influencing purchase
Source- Statista, BCG, RedSeer, Bain & Company, McKinsey & Company
From mobile-first shopping to sustainability preferences, the data highlights key areas of focus for brands planning to create their niche in a highly competitive market. For D2C fashion brands in India aiming to grow, leveraging these insights will be crucial for staying relevant in India's booming eCommerce landscape.
8 Features Essential for D2C Fashion Success in India
To succeed in the fast-growing eCommerce market, D2C fashion brands in India need to leverage the right features that address both consumer behavior and the unique challenges of the landscape.
While Shopify provides these features, the difficult implementation and scalability issues make it complex for D2C fashion brands in India to unleash the kind of growth they are looking for with Shopify.
Here are 8 essential features every D2C brand needs and how Shopify’s limitations nudge them to look for alternatives:
1. Mobile-first Limitations
With over 70% of online fashion purchases happening on mobile devices, a platform optimized for mobile shopping is critical for success. Fashion brands need solutions that are designed for mobile devices and help their business reach even tier 2-3 cities where mobile is the only means for online purchases.
This makes exploring Shopify alternatives for D2C fashion crucial for brands wanting to deliver a seamless experience on mobile. Shopify requires additional apps and customizations for a mobile-first experience, making the overall experience fragmented and costly, whereas StoreHippo offers it as a native feature, providing seamless mobile optimization right out of the box.
StoreHippo's mobile-first architecture includes Progressive Web Apps (PWA), which work like native mobile apps, ensuring fast, smooth performance even in low connectivity areas, enabling fashion brands to reach a wider audience effortlessly. StoreHippo also has a built-in mobile apps builder that creates Android and iOS apps without additional costs or coding. It also provides a mobile admin panel for various stakeholders like admins, vendors, and delivery guys to run business on the go making it an ideal Shopify alternative for Indian enterprises.
2. Multilingual Limitations
India’s vast linguistic diversity presents a unique challenge for D2C fashion brands in India. With millions of consumers across the country speaking different regional languages, having a platform that supports multilingual capabilities is critical for expanding reach and improving customer engagement.
Shopify, however, lacks comprehensive native multilingual support, forcing brands to rely on third-party apps or extensive customizations to implement language options. This leads to increased costs, added complexity, and potential technical issues in maintaining consistency across multiple languages. On the other hand, StoreHippo offers built-in multilingual support, allowing businesses to effortlessly cater to a diverse audience with over 100 languages available out of the box.
With seamless language switching and localized interfaces, StoreHippo enables fashion brands to create personalized shopping experiences for regional customers without the need for additional apps or configurations, making it an ideal choice for D2C fashion brands in India looking to expand into tier 2 and 3 cities.
3. Complex Multi-Vendor Marketplace Implementation
As D2C fashion brands grow, many look to expand their offerings by transforming their online stores into multi-vendor marketplaces, collaborating with other sellers to increase product diversity and enhance customer choice. Unfortunately, Shopify's multi-vendor marketplace capabilities are limited, requiring several third-party apps and extensive customizations to manage multiple vendors effectively. This not only increases operational complexity but also drives up costs for businesses looking to scale.
In contrast, StoreHippo offers native multi-vendor marketplace functionality, allowing fashion brands to seamlessly manage vendors, commissions, orders, and logistics from a unified dashboard. The platform’s built-in marketplace features enable businesses to launch and scale their marketplaces without relying on additional apps, making it a more streamlined and cost-effective solution. StoreHippo also provides separate vendor and admin mobile apps, which enhance efficiency and allow for real-time management on the go, making it an excellent Shopify alternative for Indian enterprises looking to scale effortlessly.
4. Difficult Personalization
In today's competitive eCommerce landscape, personalized shopping experiences are key to capturing customer attention and boosting conversion rates. For this D2C fashion brands in India need built -in customizations capabilities and seamless integrations with AI-powered personalization tools that allow brands to deliver tailored product recommendations, personalized offers, and curated shopping experiences based on a customer’s preferences, browsing history, and behavior. However, Shopify's personalization features are limited, often requiring the integration of third-party apps that can add to the complexity and cost of maintaining such capabilities.
In contrast, StoreHippo built on pure headless architecture and microservices-based set up makes it easy to implement personalisations and integrates seamlessly with AI-powered personalization tools. StoreHippo also has a built in discount engine to offer personalized discounts and has dynamic marketing pages feature to build marketing pages in no time.
These tools enable fashion brands to offer dynamic product recommendations, tailor marketing campaigns, and personalize user experiences, all of which contribute to higher engagement and better customer retention. With StoreHippo’s AI-driven engine, D2C fashion brands can boost loyalty and ensure customers return for repeat purchases, making it a more robust and efficient Shopify alternative for D2C fashion brands.
5. Scalability Concerns
As D2C fashion brands grow, scalability becomes a critical factor in their success. Brands need an eCommerce platform that can handle growing traffic, a rapidly expanding product catalog, and the increasing complexity of logistics as they reach more customers. Unfortunately, Shopify’s scalability options come at a high cost, with additional charges for bandwidth, third-party apps, and complex customizations as businesses expand.
StoreHippo, on the other hand, offers a highly scalable architecture built to grow with your brand. The platform’s scalable cloud infrastructure handles traffic surges, product expansion, and logistical complexities without compromising performance or increasing costs. Its cloud-native infrastructure ensures businesses can scale effortlessly, whether expanding locally or globally. This makes StoreHippo a superior choice for D2C fashion brands in India, looking for Shopify alternatives for Indian enterprises that offer scalability without the financial and technical burdens.
6. Complex Omnichannel Commerce Set Up
In today's retail landscape, fashion brands need to provide a consistent shopping experience across multiple channels, including online stores, mobile apps, physical stores, and social platforms. Shopify does offer basic omnichannel solutions, but brands often need to rely on additional apps or costly custom integrations to achieve true omnichannel functionality.
StoreHippo, however, offers built-in omnichannel commerce capabilities, enabling D2C fashion brands to seamlessly integrate all their sales channels. Whether it's online, mobile, or physical retail, StoreHippo unifies inventory, orders, and customer data across platforms, ensuring a smooth and cohesive shopping experience. Moreover, StoreHippo’s seamless social commerce integration allows brands to connect with customers on Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook, driving more traffic and sales from social platforms without relying on third-party plugins. This makes StoreHippo a powerful Shopify alternative for Indian enterprises, helping fashion brands deliver a unified experience across all customer touchpoints.
7. Difficulty Integrating With Local Payment Options
In India’s diverse eCommerce market, offering flexible payment options is critical to meet customer preferences. Indian consumers prefer a wide range of payment methods, including UPI, digital wallets, credit cards, and COD (Cash on Delivery). While Shopify supports standard global payment gateways, its limited integration with local Indian payment options often necessitates the use of additional apps or customizations, adding to operational costs.
StoreHippo has 60+ integrated payment gateways including multiple Indian payment gateways such as UPI, PayTM, and Razorpay, along with global options, ensuring a smooth and flexible payment experience for customers across India. Additionally, StoreHippo's flexible payment configurations allow brands to offer specific payment methods for different regions or customer segments, meeting the unique preferences of the Indian market. This comprehensive approach makes StoreHippo a more effective platform for D2C fashion brands in India, and a strong case for migrating to Shopify alternatives.
8. Built-in Logistics and Shipping Integrations
Efficient logistics and timely deliveries are key to customer satisfaction in the eCommerce world, especially in a geographically diverse country like India. While Shopify does not offer native connect with third-party shipping partners independently which entails upfront costs.
StoreHippo provides built-in logistics and shipping integrations with 30+ pre-integrated leading carriers in India and globally, allowing fashion brands to streamline their shipping and delivery processes. With automatic order tracking, real-time shipping rates, and multiple courier integrations, StoreHippo simplifies logistics management for D2C brands. This feature is particularly useful for businesses targeting tier 2 and 3 cities, where efficient shipping is critical. By offering seamless logistics solutions, StoreHippo emerges as a top Shopify alternative for Indian enterprises looking to enhance their delivery capabilities and provide superior customer service.
Conclusion
Choosing the right eCommerce platform for your D2C fashion brand is crucial for achieving growth, scalability, and a seamless customer experience. While Shopify may be a popular choice, its limitations in mobile optimization, scalability, and omnichannel capabilities can hold back many fashion brands.
StoreHippo stands out as the perfect Shopify alternative for D2C fashion brands, offering a comprehensive set of features tailored for the Indian market—from mobile-first design and multilingual support to built-in marketplace functionality and advanced logistics.
If you’re ready to take your fashion brand to the next level, consider StoreHippo as your eCommerce partner. Start your 14-day free trial and experience the benefits firsthand!
Leave A Comment