In India, a thing for beauty can be delivered in 15 minutes

IN FOCUS

In today’s newsletter, we look at:

• The quick commerce trend in India’s beauty industry
• The recent job cuts at Lazada
• How PDD has surpassed Alibaba in market value

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Hi there,

Beauty has become one of the most popular categories on ecommerce platforms in recent years, especially with the boom of live selling. Many influencers and livestreamers promote beauty products during their live sessions.

But did you know that in India, online shoppers can get their beauty fix in a jiffy?

Platforms like Zomato’s Blinkit, for instance, offer instant delivery where consumers can receive their skincare and makeup purchases in just 15 minutes.

Mamaearth, one of India’s major beauty players, said the company has seen 100% year-on-year growth in that segment.

So far, though, this trend hasn’t crossed over to Southeast Asia.

In our Big Story, my colleague Samreen examines how India’s beauty industry has embraced quick commerce. With a higher contribution margin of 10% to 15% compared to the typical 1% to 2% for grocery goods, beauty products could be beneficial to quick commerce platforms that have long faced questions about their profitability.

Meanwhile, I discuss the latest layoffs at ecommerce titan Lazada in our Hot Take this week. Are the job cuts related to the increasingly intense competition from contenders such as TikTok Shop and Temu? Read on to find out.

— Jofie

THE BIG STORY

Beauty ecommerce in India gets speedy makeover via quick commerce

Image credit: Timmy Loen

THE HOT TAKE

NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW

FYI