Brands
Flipkart’s ‘end of season sale’ observes sale of fashion brands & label
Mumbai: Flipkart’s end of season sale 2022 is now concluded. The insights from the sale show that India loved shopping for fashion brands and labels as sellers from across the country serving millions of customers.
Millions of customers shop for fashion, accessories and lifestyle products pushing forward the economic growth for lakhs of sellers.
Customers in cities such as Bengaluru, Kolkata, New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Guwahati and Muzaffarpur clocked the highest engagement. The platform witnessed a strong response from the states of Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra followed by Bihar and West Bengal.
The live commerce initiative also saw close to 100 hours of engagement via live and video commerce, with live shows run by sellers that had maximum engagement and appealed the most to Bharat audience. Women fashion, kid’s clothing categories and footwear categories saw maximum engagement from customers during their live videos.
This EOSS 2022 also saw the debut of a 24×7 live commerce initiative that connected brands, sellers and influencers with customers engaging in real-time. Over 10,000 brands and 2,00,000 sellers came together to offer 10 lakh+ styles of fashionable apparel and accessories for men, women and children.
The weeklong event, from 10-17 June, saw customers across the country refreshing their wardrobes with the highest uptick in men’s t-shirts, jeans, formal & wedding wear, women’s western wear, sarees, shoes, luggage, handbags, shoes and watches. With the oncoming monsoon and pick-up of travel, raincoats, backpacks, handbags, suitcases and duffle bags saw a bolstered traction.
As children across the country head back to school, increased demand for uniforms, badges and black shoes was also witnessed. Black was the most-shopped for colour with over 16 lakh+ units sold.
Western wear contributed to almost half of the demand pie which saw brands such as Puma, Adidas, U.S. Polo Assn., Roadster and Highlander being most preferred by customers.
As Indians become more health conscious, fitness and health products emerged as priority buys for consumers with over 70 per cent of purchases accounting for sports goods including — running, gym, badminton and cricket shoes. Most purchases were made for western clothes with elevated demand for men’s casual T-shirts and formalwear while women preferred ethnic clothing and sarees as the new go-to fad. The top searched keyword this season was shoes.
Commenting on this, Flipkart Fashion senior director Abhishek Maloo said, “This year’s end of season sale has been steeped in the spirit of the comeback of fashion, as we saw a resurgence in consumption and a drastic increase in engagement post the pandemic. We have continued to serve our customers with an expansive range of offerings supported by technology-led innovations such as 24×7 Live commerce, for the first time, enriching their shopping experience. Our efforts to uplift the entire fashion ecosystem also ushered in growth for thousands of homegrown fashion brands and sellers across the country. We are overwhelmed by the tremendous success of this end of season sale and are confident that this will further propel growth for Flipkart’s Fashion portfolio.”
Brands
Abhinav Rastogi named global marketing director for YouTube Shopping
Google veteran to scale creator commerce and expand shopping across global markets
SINGAPORE: Abhinav Rastogi has stepped into a new role as global marketing director for YouTube Shopping, marking the latest chapter in a more than decade-long career at Google.
Rastogi, who took on the position in February and is based in Singapore, will lead global marketing for YouTube Shopping, a platform designed to connect creators, viewers and merchants in a single ecosystem. His remit includes expanding the service into new markets and strengthening its positioning as a growth channel for both creators and brands.
In a reflective note on the transition, Rastogi pointed to a simple but powerful idea driving the role. For years, creators have quietly built trust with audiences through consistent and authentic content, and that trust often shapes purchasing decisions. What is changing now, he said, is the infrastructure around that behaviour. YouTube Shopping aims to make it easier for viewers to discover and buy products recommended by creators they already follow.
The scale is already significant. More than half a million creators have joined the programme, with recent expansion into Japan through a partnership with Rakuten signalling further global ambitions.
Rastogi believes the future of shopping on YouTube will be driven by a blend of creators, content and communities. In his view, it is the human voice behind the screen, not just the product, that ultimately builds trust and drives discovery.
Prior to this role, he served as director of marketing, YouTube Asia Pacific, where he led regional marketing across creator engagement, brand building and reputation. During that time, he played a key role in launching and scaling YouTube Shopping across eight markets in the region.
Earlier stints at Google include group product marketing manager, consumer apps, overseeing growth for products such as Search, Maps and Assistant across India and Southeast Asia, and product marketing manager roles spanning consumer apps and YouTube, where he contributed to launches including YouTube Music, YouTube Originals and YouTube Shorts.
Rastogi began his career in consulting with Boston Consulting Group and A.T. Kearney, before moving into the technology sector. He is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.
Alongside his corporate role, he is also an active angel investor, backing early-stage startups in consumer technology and electric mobility across India and Southeast Asia.
As he settles into the new role, Rastogi is betting on a future where every video can double up as a storefront, and where commerce feels less like a transaction and more like a recommendation from a trusted voice.
