What and How of the Digital Market of Lenskart?
Numerous firms began as digital-native brands and are now expanding into the actual Brick & Mortar market. Lenskart is an example of an Indian brand.
With the launch of Lenskart, the unorganized eye care market in India has been transformed. Starting off as an online contact lens retailer, the company has since expanded its product offering to include prescription glasses and sunglasses as well as other eyewear.
“3D Try-on services” and online eye examinations are available through the use of augmented reality technology at the company. Lenskart has recently expanded its business model to include physical brick-and-mortar stores. They now have more than 550 stores in India, according to the company.
Lenskart’s recent debut into the Middle Eastern countries, specifically the United Arab Emirates, was featured prominently in a recent news piece that received a lot of attention.
About Lenskart
Eyewear accessories are the specialty of Lenskart, an e-commerce platform. The platform operates in both online and offline distribution modes, giving its clients the option to purchase products either online or through their unique retail locations, depending on their preferences. The organization offers a variety of services, including in-home eye examinations and screenings. Lenskart recently achieved the rank of a unicorn company, which was achieved around the end of 2019.
As of the right moment, the platform offers over 5,000 different frame designs as well as a variety of various lens options. 460 outlets spread across India are used to sell the products that are manufactured, assembled, and distributed by the company. Valyoo Technologies is the company that created the platform. Their portfolio includes a diverse range of eyewear items such as specs, goggles, sunglasses, reading glasses, and computer glasses as well as contacts, frames, and anti-glare lenses. They also provide a variety of other eye accessories.
What makes the Lenskart model unique?
By putting a professional touch on its services, it has caused significant disruption in the unorganized eye care sector. A vast selection of frame styles, as well as more than 45 distinct types of high-quality lenses, are available. Pay close attention to the quality, durability, and appearance of the spectacles. An inventory-driven methodology in which the designs are handed on to their selected manufacturers, who then make the frames and lenses in response to the demand for that particular style.
It all started out as a digital brand, but it has evolved into an Omni-channel retailing strategy. The company provides services such as 3-D trial facilities in order to make the procedure more convenient for its clients.
An aggressive marketing strategy is also employed by the company; for example, it provides its first-time consumers with a complimentary first frame. (A technique for rapidly increasing the number of users.)
The ability to use digital cookies (data) to better understand their customers, communicate with them, and recruit them as brand ambassadors is a powerful tool.
Why did Lenskart make the decision to switch to an Omni channel retail model?
An insight gained from the research revealed that Indian consumers were concerned about purchasing eyewear online, which was a surprise to us. Customers wanted to test on the frames, therefore they wanted to be able to touch and feel the spectacles before purchasing them.
Is there a profit margin at Lenskart?
Additionally, opening physical storefronts assisted the brand in growing its business more quickly and gaining the trust of its clients. Their offline clients were converted to online customers through the implementation of the Omni-channel strategy, which included the provision of application and portal facilities.
Lenskart was able to track their customers’ preferences and geographic regions thanks to digitalization, and they were able to create a sales funnel that allowed them to drive internet traffic to their physical stores in order to increase the number of trials of their stylish frames and lenses. That is the primary goal of any retailer, which is to draw online traffic into their physical locations.
Lenskart, which currently operates over 500 locations in 30 cities, is considering expanding its retail store operations through franchising in order to get a larger portion of the market. With a physical store presence, they are now able to provide better customer care to their consumers, such as free eye exams and other services.
The Indian eyeglasses market is currently dominated by them, with a 70 percent share. Take note of the fact that one-third of India’s population wears glasses or contact lenses at this point. Peyush Bansal, the founder of Lenskart, was able to recognize this tendency as well as the unorganized sector very early in the company’s business cycle.
Lenskart’s fundamental beliefs
As opposed to being a medically oriented eye care brand, they have positioned themselves as a fashion accessory brand instead.
Prior to making a purchasing decision, their clients today visit Lenskart.com to see what the latest fashion and style is all about. They have 3D technology that is driven by augmented reality that allows their clients to evaluate the frames and looks on their faces before purchasing them.
Using economies of scale to improve its operating efficiency
Because they do not own any manufacturing facilities (an example of Lean management), they are able to use some of the greatest manufacturing facilities in the world as their shortlisted manufacturers because they do not own any manufacturing facilities.
“Because there is no middleman involved, the company is able to pass on the savings from lower costs to its clients in the form of pricing that is over 70% lower than the competition.” “The frames at Lenskart.com are produced on some of the most advanced production lines in the world, and they are triple-inspected before being sent out to customers.”
Vision Magazine published an old interview with Peyush Bansal in which he stated the above statement.
It is possible that the introduction of such a dynamic brand into Gulf territory may lead to some inventive action within the eyeglasses business in the region within a few months.
In order to compete with Lenskart, which has emerged as a winner despite the digital onslaught from giants such as Amazon, Flipkart, etc., brands such as Magrabi, Optix, vision care, al jabber optics, Rivoli eyezone, and others will need to step up their digital and retail initiatives in order to stay competitive. The category here will most likely see some activity in the coming days, which will be good for the customers in the long run.
Recent Growth and Developments in Lenskart
Recently, the platform has expressed an interest in investing in the establishment of a second manufacturing unit in India. In recent years, the corporation has also made an investment in the Tango Eye software platform, which is powered by artificial intelligence.
With the current epidemic and the restrictions imposed, the platform has gained a greater degree of online traction, which is encouraging. According to recent research by Inc42, the company’s online sales have increased from 20 percent to 40 percent of its total sales volume since 2011. Online sales are currently dominating the company’s sales, accounting for 90 percent of total sales, as opposed to the 70 percent achieved prior to the epidemic.
As a result of this, the platform anticipates an increase of at least 20% in revenue for its current fiscal year, which will end in March 2021. The company has also announced that it intends to open up to 200-300 outlets by the year 2020, depending on demand. Lenskart currently has over 600 locations. In order to attract more customers in the middle of pandemic limitations, the platform has implemented a number of new features such as appointment-based shopping and stringent sanitization procedures.
Traversing The Digital Path
“We still make mistakes every day,” said Peyush Bansal, the founder of Lenskart, when asked about his company’s foray into the world of digital marketing. Bansal was speaking at the ‘Digital Marketing Conclave,’ which was organized by the online education startup, UpGrad, on August 6 at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Delhi to launch their new curriculum in Digital Marketing.
In his discussion of the various digital tools available for building a brand, Bansal emphasized that the most essential component of digital marketing is still the positioning of the company’s brand. In his remarks, he stated that while the message can be tailored to fit a particular platform, it is the brand message that must be determined first. “You must be aware of the message you wish to deliver to your target audience through your brand’s image. Invest in a brand consultant agency to help you refine your messaging if at all possible. First and foremost, you must settle on a business model; marketing platforms will be determined later “Bansal was speaking to a group of enthusiastic digital marketers and young entrepreneurs when he said this.
Citing data-driven experimentation as the key to digital success, Bansal shared how Lenskart had to shift its focus in response to the constant stream of input it was receiving from customers. It was intriguing to see that an eyecare brand did not immediately become popular in a country where two-thirds of the population suffers from impaired vision. Following a period of time spent focusing on excellent eye care, Lenskart decided to rebrand its brand as a fun eye-care brand, which allowed the firm to establish an immediate connection with its customers.
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