Brands
The Souled Store partners with Simpl with 1-Tap Checkout
Mumbai: The Souled Store, India’s online brand for officially licensed merchandise announced a partnership with Simpl – India’s checkout network, to strengthen its e-commerce platform in order to provide an enhanced e-commerce experience as millions of customers make Direct-to-Customer (D2C) platforms their primary fashion retail channel.
Through this partnership, consumers can access lakhs of official merchandise, available on The Souled Store platform (App & Website) through Simpl’s 1-Tap Checkout. This judicious mix of The Souled Store’s wide selection of products, delivered across the country, combined with Simpl’s 1-Tap convenience, will play a crucial role in enabling a seamless e-commerce experience for customers while enhancing conversions, minimising transaction failures, cash-on-delivery transactions and reducing product returns which are important pain points for the industry.
Speaking of the partnership, The Souled Store co-founder Vedang Patel said, “The Pop fashion ecosystem in India is maturing at a rapid pace with millions of customers from across the country taking to e-commerce and D2C platforms to fulfil their evolving fashion needs. As a customer-focused platform, we felt the need to provide greater convenience to our customers, particularly millennials and Gen Z, across the board for whom e-commerce has become the primary retail channel. In this endeavour, we are delighted to partner Simpl to offer a 1-Tap Checkout for lakhs of our merchandise to over seven million of our customers across the country. With Simpl, we find synergies in our collective vision of empowering customers through greater convenience online in a quick and seamless manner.”
The Souled Store generates over 90 per cent of its sales through its own e-commerce platform, necessitating the need to enhance customer experience on their platform. The company experienced a 5X growth compared to the average business during the Black Friday sale last November. The top demands were in the winter wear categories, followed by oversized t-shirts and denims.
Speaking of the partnership, Simpl founder and chief executive officer Nitya Sharma said, “Fashion e-commerce marketplaces and Direct-to-Customer platforms are becoming the primary retail channels for new age customers who are looking for a more convenient and hassle-free way of accessing products online. Simpl, as an organisation, is committed to bringing an enhanced convenience and building customers’ trust on merchants online through its proprietary 1-Tap Checkout. We are delighted to partner with The Souled Store, which is one of the early movers in the D2C space, to enhance the checkout experience of millions of their customers across the country. This partnership also expands our presence in the fashion e-commerce sector with hundreds of merchants serving millions of customers, choosing Simpl as their preferred checkout partner checkout”.
Currently, thousands of small, medium, and large fashion, accessory, and beauty merchants across the country use Simpl’s 1-Tap Checkout and Simpl Checkout solutions. They have witnessed over a 70x increase in transactions, respectively, over the last 1 year. Overall, over 26,000 merchants and millions of customers across the country opt for Simpl’s Checkout options to increase conversions, reduce returns, and enhance convenience.
According to a joint report by Bain&Co and TMRW, Fashion is one of the largest and fastest-growing categories online, driven largely by Gen Z customers. The total contribution of e-commerce to fashion is expected to increase to 30 per cent over the next five years from the current 10-12 per cent. This growth will propel the size of the fashion e-commerce market in India, currently around Rs 8-10 billion, to approximately Rs 30 billion, growing at a rate of 35 per cent in the next five years. This spells immense opportunities for D2C merchants looking to reach out to millions of young customers across the country by enabling quick and easy checkout through Simpl’s 1-Tap Checkout.
Brands
International Women’s Day ’26: The rise of self-purchased jewellery among working women
By Trisha Paul, head of merchandising, Kisna
MUMBAI: You know that feeling when you buy something with your own money for the first time? Not the first time ever, but the first time with money you actually earned, for something entirely, unambiguously yours.
Fine jewellery has always been given. At weddings, at festivals, at milestones on someone else’s timeline. What is changing is that a growing number of women are buying it for themselves, to mark moments they defined. The question is no longer whether to do it. It is how to do it well.
For women in the early years of a career, a first piece can cost well under Rs. 1 lakh. Many cost a fraction of that. What matters is choosing for your life, your wardrobe, and the milestone you are marking. The woman buying for herself today wants something that works with her life every day, not just for a special occasion. She is thinking about longevity, about versatility, about what still feels right in five years. That shift has changed the entire conversation around what accessible fine jewellery needs to be.
The First Step: Daily Dainty Diamond Neckwear
The right first piece isn’t the most expensive one you can afford. It’s the one you’ll actually wear. A delicate diamond pendant or a fine diamond necklace in 9KT, 14KT, or 18KT gold hits that sweet spot: understated enough to feel effortless, special enough to feel like you.
You’ll reach for it on Monday mornings and Friday nights without a second thought. It works with almost everything in your wardrobe, and over time, it becomes less of a purchase and more of a constant, something that quietly holds both meaning and value.
A Reliable Classic: Diamond Studs That Hold Value
A pair of well-sourced diamond studs in 18KT or 14KT gold is as close to a guaranteed wearable asset as fine jewellery gets. Round brilliant cuts hold their appeal longer than more fashionable styles and resist the ageing effects of trend. Look for independent grading documentation when you buy. The difference it makes to what a piece is worth at exchange is significant, and it is a straightforward thing to ask any reputable retailer for.
Building a Collection That Marks Your Milestones
For women who would rather accumulate meaning incrementally, stackable rings are the most satisfying category. A plain gold band for the first salary. A diamond-set ring for the first promotion. Another for the move or the launch. Each band is its own modest commitment. Together they become a record, worn on your hand, of everything you have done.
Starting Small: Savings Plans and Digital Gold
Not every first purchase needs to be immediate. If you prefer a value-driven approach, begin with a jewellery savings plan from a credible retailer. These plans typically allow you to set aside a fixed monthly amount for 10 months, with the retailer contributing an equivalent 11th month that can be redeemed toward a diamond jewellery purchase. For those who would rather build value gradually and with greater flexibility, digital gold offers another route. It allows you to accumulate gold in small increments online and redeem it against physical jewellery when you are ready. The habit of building towards something is often more valuable than the thing itself.
The Bigger Picture
Fine jewellery in India has always told stories. For a long time, those stories were written by someone else. The piece you buy with your first salary is a story you are writing yourself. It does not need to be expensive to be meaningful. It needs to be right for your life, and bought because you decided it was time.
