Tweet This
- It’s the first time that two Indian startups, originally from TAP, have been absorbed by Target + Techstars Retail Accelerator in Minneapolis.
- A report by the India Brand Equity Foundation states that India’s retail business is expected to double to $1 trillion by 2020 from $600 billion, and growth will be driven largely by tech-centric solutions and services.
For the first time ever, American retail giant Target has selected two Indian startups -- Find Me A Shoe and Story Xpress -- from its India-based accelerator program to participate in a retail-focused accelerator based out of Target's Minneapolis headquarter. Participating startups will focus on scaling their business and catering to the U.S. fashion market.
Since December 2013, Target has been running the Target Accelerator Program (TAP) in India where it assists Indian retail startups with customization and scaling their products. To date, 22 Indian startups have worked with TAP. In July, the company launched its fifth batch comprising eight startups, making it the largest cohort for TAP in Bangalore.
Rakesh Mishra, executive sponsor for TAP and vice president of marketing at Target India says, “We’re witnessing a vibrant ecosystem developing within the retail technology space. The batch of startups we launched are cross-sections of computer vision, machine learning and natural language processing.”
It’s the first time that two Indian startups, originally from TAP, have been absorbed by Target + Techstars Retail Accelerator in Minneapolis. Along with global startups such as Air Tailor, Bybe, Kokko, Local Crate, Savitude, ShopTurn and Upsie, Find Me A Shoe and Story Xpress will work out of Minneapolis until October, where they will interact with mentors from Target such as CEO Brian Cornell, chief merchandising officer Mark Tritton and chief human resources officer Stephanie Lundquist to understand the retail market in the United States and develop their products.
The Journey From India To Minneapolis
Find Me A Shoe is a virtual fitting service for online and offline footwear shoppers. Using image processing technology, the software can help a consumer find perfectly-sized footwear in seconds. Anand Ganesan, founder and CEO of Find My Shoe personally had a tough time finding apparel that fit well. Following consumer research, Ganesan and his business partners discovered that ill-fitting shoes posed a larger problem with consumers.
According to Ganesan, online footwear retail has been plagued by 30-50% returns due to incorrect fit. “For shoes, the right fit is a matter of functionality and not just aesthetics. We identified a scalable solution and saw a huge opportunity for a virtual fitting device. Find Me A Shoe will increase purchase confidence by helping consumers find the right shoe in the first attempt.” The startup has curated collections to choose from and offers personalized fitting options. In addition, a user’s profile is stored on cloud permanently, from which the customer receives recommendations for ideal footwear.
Ganesan and his team are in Minneapolis currently, where they are working with the prestigious accelerator to understand the local retail environment and eventually launch more services for consumers in America. On July 18, the team launched the virtual fitting service for the U.S. market. “We want to work with lead customers to distribute and test the service,” added Ganesan.
Story Xpress is a cloud-based video creation platform that quickly and easily converts raw data such as images, text and small video clips into high-quality promotional videos using its proprietary video-rendering technology. According to Ankit Mishra, CEO and co-founder of Story Xpress, 85% of people are more likely to buy a product after seeing a video about it.
“For any large-scale retailer, it isn’t feasible to develop multiple videos manually. Story Xpress will help retailers create videos for their product catalogues,” explains Mishra. He also believes that video-rich content has great appeal with millennials, but there is no easy way yet for retailers to create quality video content quickly.
Mishra and his team are also currently in Minneapolis, where they are testing out various use cases and learning about the American retail market. They plan to eventually roll out a video platform where retailers can create personalized videos for individual customers based on purchase data. Mishra also plans to introduce real-time video rendering on Story Xpress.
In October, a Demo Day will be conducted for members across the global Target team and the greater technology community, where they will evaluate the startups and their solutions.
Retail Automation For Enhanced Customer Experience
Shopping has become exceedingly simple and hassle-free today, thanks to the advent of technology. A report by the India Brand Equity Foundation states that India’s retail business is expected to double to $1 trillion by 2020 from $600 billion, and growth will be driven largely by tech-centric solutions and services.
Rakesh Mishra says, “Technology is critical to any business today and retail is no different. It can hugely impact the way we assist our customers with better shopping experiences. Automation and innovation within retail are global phenomena, which will help companies like Target deliver better services and products to customers.”
An ASSOCHAM and Forrester study has stated that India’s e-commerce revenue will jump from $30 billion to $120 billion by 2020, primarily due to increasing internet penetration rates, younger population and improved economic performance. The paper states that retail category penetration has increased to 65 million unique visitors a month, registering an annual growth of 55%. Branded apparel, accessories, jewelry and footwear are among the major categories in demand on leading e-commerce websites in India, and mobile phones and tablets drive 65% of sales volume.
With technology at the core of businesses today, retail brands are fast adapting the most efficient technology-centric ways to boost productivity and enhance market presence.
