Flipkart acquires ANS Commerce to tap into growing ‘direct to consumer’ space

Rising competition in the direct to consumer (D2C) space has led to brands relying heavily on technology to recognise and solve multiple business pain points. Google’s annual “Year in Search Report for 2021” showed that search for D2C brands grew by a steep 533% during Covid-era.

In a bid to tap into the growing D2C space, Flipkart has acquired ANS Commerce, a software-as-a-service (SaaS)-based platform that helps sellers create digital brand stores and storefronts, according to a statement.

The acquisition, financial details of which were not disclosed, will help Flipkart target the growing D2C e-commerce sector in India. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2022, subject to customary closing conditions.

According to a March 17, report by market research website Statista, the total addressable D2C market in India is expected to grow over 15 times from 2015 to 2025. As of 2020, the market value for D2C was pegged at $33.1 billion.

Also read: Flipkart partners with Google to augment its cloud infrastructure

ANS Commerce was founded in 2017 by Sushant Puri, Amit Monga, Nakul Singh and Vibhor Sahare. The company offers solutions for D2C brands to manage their online presence. Some of the solutions they offer are in the areas of performance marketing, technology to enhance online brand store, marketplace integrations, warehousing and facilities maintenance services.

ANS currently has more than 100 enterprise customers spanning enterprise, D2C and mid-market domains.

Flipkart said that ANS commerce will continue to operate as an independent business with its existing team.

“Our efforts focus on ensuring that businesses, including MSMEs and smaller brands, can leverage the opportunities that e-commerce offers, to provide greater value and deeper experiences for Indian customers who are rapidly adopting digital commerce,” said Ravi Iyer, Senior Vice President and Head of Corporate Development at Flipkart.

Flipkart discovered the startup through its Flipkart Tech Startup accelerator program in July last year, called Flipkart Leap.

“We see new-age brands building direct relationships with their customers. We’re excited to bring new SaaS services via ANS Commerce, to help Indian brands on their D2C journey and look forward to launching new SaaS services to businesses adopting digitization,” said Anand Lakshminarayanan, Senior Vice President, Shopping Experiences and Commerce Cloud at Flipkart.