In a bustling market of a tier II town, a woman engages in a simple conversation at a fabric store, asking for a kurta in a specific color and price range. This natural interaction is what Meesho aims to replicate on mobile devices with its new voice shopping assistant, Vaani.
Launched recently, Vaani is touted as India's first conversational voice shopping assistant, designed to facilitate a seamless shopping experience. Unlike existing voice assistants from competitors like Amazon and Flipkart, which primarily assist in product discovery, Vaani supports users throughout the entire purchasing journey.
Meesho is targeting the estimated 500 million shoppers in smaller markets who may find traditional e-commerce platforms challenging. With 251 million annual transacting users, Meesho has already made significant inroads in these regions, reporting a record 1.8 billion orders in FY25.
The voice assistant is particularly aimed at users who may require assistance while shopping online, such as those who hand their phones to family members for help. By adopting a vernacular-first approach, Meesho hopes to expand the market for e-commerce in India.
India's voice commerce market is projected to grow at approximately 13.6% annually, with a substantial mobile-first user base that is not necessarily comfortable with English. Voice interfaces can help bridge the gap for these users, allowing them to interact in their native languages.
Meesho's CTO, Sanjeev Kumar, emphasizes that users can express their shopping needs in everyday language, making the experience more accessible. Vaani currently supports English and Hindi, with plans to include more Indian languages in the future.
The early response to Vaani has been promising, with a notable increase in voice-based search usage among users. The conversion rate for users interacting with Vaani has also seen a significant boost, indicating that the assistant effectively aids in decision-making and purchasing.
However, challenges remain. Vaani currently focuses on pre-purchase interactions, while post-purchase processes like returns and refunds still require human intervention. As voice commerce evolves, addressing these complexities will be crucial for building user trust.
Meesho's strategy to cater to multilingual, voice-first users positions it uniquely in the market. The success of Vaani could potentially transform hesitant internet users into confident online shoppers, reshaping the e-commerce landscape in India.
