Pepperfry goes brick-and-mortar way

Ecommerce firms as well as physical retailers seem to have understood that the future of India’s organised retail market lies following the omni-channel or hybrid strategy. No wonder, several ecommerce players are now eyeing a physical store presence. Pepperfry is the latest to join the list.

The company has leased an 1,800 sq. ft. space at Linking Road, Santacruz in Mumbai and already has offline stores called Studio Pepperfry — which act as concept stores for buyers to see and feel the product. Most ecommerce firms’ physical stores are for customers to browse through the products and select products online or as pick-up points for orders placed on their online stores.

Lenskart, Frecultr and Firstcry are popular examples of companies, who have been successfully following the hybrid retail model. Lenskart – an Indian eyewear brand that started as online retailer, later opened stores in malls and also offers free eye check-ups at select stores. Baby, mother and kids product retailer Firstcry has been aggressively opening physical stores and has already cross a 100 stores mark across the country. And Freecultr has been opening outlets to let its customers touch and feel their merchandise.