Horizontal ecommerce hasn’t historically been profitable in India, with Amazon and Flipkart. How tough was it for you to convince public market investors to bet on Meesho?
Investors now have 10 years of data on us. We’ve always been very capital-efficient, minimal marketing spends, WhatsApp acquisition, and an asset-light model. In the first six months of this financial year, orders grew over 50% and NMV (net merchandise value) grew 44% year-on-year. We’ve also been free-cash-flow positive for the last few years. That consistency builds confidence.
Amazon and Flipkart have invested heavily in infrastructure. Has there been pressure on Meesho to go full-stack?
We have the highest order volumes and the highest annually transacting user base in India today while remaining asset-light. Globally, too, companies such as Pinduoduo and Shopee have scaled massively without owning heavy infrastructure. Our asset-light approach is a strategic choice, and it works.
You started Meesho as a social commerce company using WhatsApp…and now you’re a pure-play horizontal ecommerce platform…
In the early days, new internet users were comfortable with only one app, WhatsApp. So, if we wanted to bring them online, that was the best place to start. During the pandemic, people became more familiar with digital behaviour, and we moved them to our own app. That was the right path for onboarding mass users at scale.
What prevented small businesses from coming online earlier?
The biggest barrier was cost. Commissions made ecommerce expensive for small sellers with thin margins. Our zero-commission model changed that. For the first time, many Indian businesses could participate online, and that widened the entire ecosystem.
Valmo has been positioned as a strategic lever. How does it change the logistics equation?
Earlier, only new-age logistics players served ecommerce. With Valmo, we’ve enabled all kinds of logistics companies to participate. Traditional firms are now part of the ecommerce supply chain because we’ve created the rails for them. It’s a key ecosystem unlock.
Losses have gone up recently for Meesho…are you prioritising growth over profitability?
We invest when payback periods are strong. Over the last 18 months, our value proposition improved, prices strengthened, and marketing payback periods became attractive. So, we leaned in. If we see paybacks weaken, we will pull back. Our north star remains free cash flow, and we’ve been positive for two years.
Also Read: Meesho’s operating revenue rises 29% YoY in H1 FY26, but operating loss widens 10-fold
Several listed new-age lossmaking companies have looked at follow-on fundraises from the public markets…as your losses increase, is there a possibility of finding Meesho in that situation?
As a company, we always optimise for free cash flow. At the end of the day, what matters is whether you’re burning money or adding to your bank account. We’ve been free-cash-flow positive for the last two years. As long as we are free-cash-flow positive, there is no need for us to dilute our shareholders at any time in the future…and we don’t see any change in this profile going forward. We will continue to focus on growth while optimising for free cash flow as the most important metric.
As Meesho enters public markets, is growth the top priority?
Nothing changes. We optimise for free cash flow and long-term value creation. If paybacks are attractive, we invest; if not, we slow down. The approach stays the same.
How has customer penetration changed? Are you seeing any slowdown in ecommerce demand?
Not at all. India is still among the least penetrated ecommerce markets globally. As long as we offer the right proposition, affordability, customers come online. We haven’t seen any slowdown in our numbers.
What will drive growth in the next few years?
Three things: growing our annually transacting user base, which is now at 23 crore users; adding more affordable products across categories, and increasing purchase frequency, which has already risen from 7.5 orders per year two years ago to nearly 10 now.
Will you diversify into newer categories such as grocery or FMCG again?
Affordability applies across categories. Home and kitchen, for instance, has doubled from 10% to 19% of orders in two years. FMCG brands are scaling well on the platform. Penetration across price points is still early, and we’re expanding selection where affordability drives demand.
You recently settled the AWS dispute. Has that been fully accounted for?
Yes. The settlement cost has been reflected. We haven’t disclosed the exact number.
What is your current cash balance as you head into the listing?
It’s around Rs 3,500 crore, post making the tax payment, which happened after September.
Are acquisitions on the table?
We’re always open to inorganic moves aligned with our mission. But most of our growth has been organic, and that will remain true.
What are the new initiatives in which you’re investing now?
There are two big themes…the first is AI-led shopping experiences, which makes discovery conversational and more relevant, especially for rural users, improving ranking algorithms. Second is financial services. We want to provide access to credit for sellers, BNPL for consumers, and leverage our high transacting user base to solve gaps similar to China and Southeast Asia.
How big is financial services today and where is it headed?
Still early. We’re experimenting, getting the product right—like seller working capital and BNPL. Once the product is in the right shape, we’ll scale quickly, just as we did with Valmo and content-led commerce.
Will your customer base adopt AI-driven shopping features meaningfully?
Consumers don’t choose AI—they choose a simpler experience. We use AI to personalise feeds, interpret behaviour, improve session-level relevance, and even decode unstructured Indian addresses. If it simplifies shopping, users adopt it naturally.