Online ethnic products marketplace Craftsvilla is betting on customisation to drive more traffic to its app launched a year ago.

With app-only discounts and a marketing budget close to Rs 30 crore, the marketplace has already been able to double the number of in-app conversions.

“Close to 25% of our current Gross Merchandize Value (GMV) comes from the app. We will continue to incentivize our app downloads through various channels,” said cofounder Manoj Gupta of the company that raised Rs 220 crore from Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Ventures in last November. The current GMV, or the total value of goods sold by the marketplace annually, is pegged at Rs 816 crore ($120 million).

The marketplace will also launch its customisation service for users on the app. The hyperlocal service to be rolled out in Delhi, Mumbai, Surat, Bengaluru and Hyderabad will allow users to pick unstitched material and customise the order using their neighbourhood tailor listed on Craftsvilla.

“We will customise stitching and tailoring and users can choose embellishments, designs and other features. To bring this feature alive, we are looking at a technology acquisition. Even if the user buys the material offline, they can get is stitched through our platform,” said Gupta, adding that the service will be rolled out in a month’s time and will be restricted to a radius of three to five kilometres around the user’s location.

The marketplace has acquired on-demand shipping company Sendd and Bengaluru-based food company PlaceOfOrigin.

Customised offerings have been previously piloted by online jewellery portals and other high-value segments where the costs justify the unique product experience. However, Craftsvilla plans on keeping the pricing competitive to what exists offline.

“Customisation helps in higher personalised engagement with the consumer,” said Angshuman Bhattacharya, Managing Director at professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal.

Source: The Economic Times