Meesho adds 8 new vernacular languages to tap 377 mn potential user base

Softbank-backed e-commerce firm Meesho has added eight new vernacular languages to its platform with an eye on 377 million potential users across different regions, the company said on Friday.

Meesho has added Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam and Odia to its platform to target regional users.

With this, Meesho customers can select their preferred language for accessing the account and product information, placing and tracking orders, and making payments on android phones.

"It is important to note that around 50 per cent of our users are new to e-commerce and have probably never transacted on such platforms before. By introducing vernacular languages on the platform, Meesho aims to eliminate language barriers.

"This is a natural step in our journey of becoming the single shopping destination for the next billion users in India," Meesho chief technology officer Sanjeev Barnwal said in a statement.

Last year, Meesho introduced Hindi as a language option on the platform, which has seen a high adoption rate of 20 per cent to date.

"The company aims to target a potential user base of around 377 million, as per data shared by Kantar ICUBE 2021. The majority of Meesho customers come from tier 2 and beyond cities like Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Jamshedpur and non-Hindi-speaking states, where English or Hindi may not always be the language of choice," the statement said.

Meesho claims that the transacting user base on its platform has surged around 5.5 times since March 2021, while the assortment has grown 9 times to around 72 million during the same period.

Customers from tier 2 and beyond markets account for around 80 per cent of all shoppers and have been key drivers of growth for Meesho, the statement said.