OVERVIEW
SHELF is an innovative marketing technology platform designed to transform the traditional retail marketplace in India. SHELF aims to streamline the process of listing, discovering, and matching the optimal shelf space for store owners and brand managers, addressing the inefficiencies and challenges faced by both parties in the $1.3 trillion Indian retail sector.
DISCOVER
Indian retail market is characterized by its vastness and the predominance of manually-operated General trade stores, which are highly unorganized. Store owners face significant challenges in terms of discoverability and timely rental payments from brands, leading to breaches of trust. Meanwhile, brand managers struggle with lost time during the multi-tiered process of renting shelf space, failed campaign activations, and contract breaches.
“I fail to trust brands for long-term contracts because it’s very rare to receive monthly rental payments on time.”
Store Owner, Mumbai India
“Discovering shelf spaces & negotiating contract with store owners is the primary reason behind new product launches getting delayed.”
Brand Manager, Mumbai India
DEFINE
India, a country with a population of 1.38 billion, the retail landscape is dominantly traditional, with small general trade stores driving 90% of FMCG sales. This traditional model underscores the necessity for brand managers to boost their products' visibility within these outlets to tap into the Indian market effectively. In an effort to understand traditional retail operations, I conducted in-depth interviews with 50+ general trade store owners, where they revealed their critical pain points and challenges faced when selling shelf branding spaces to brands. Simultaneously, I worked closely with 5+ brand managers to understand the hurdles they encounter when renting shelf spaces and how it affects their overall product visibility. This helped me get a dual perspective in identifying and addressing the core issues, ultimately leading to SHELF, an innovative platform, aimed to streamline the process of renting a shelf space.
RESEARCH INSIGHTS
DEVELOP
My focus was on simplifying the complicated process of renting out shelf space. I developed a platform where store owners can easily list the available shelf spaces, and for brand managers to find and rent these spaces, with SHELF it is as easy as booking an Airbnb. SHELF helps brand managers to not only manage their current marketing campaigns but they can also efficiently discover and secure new shelf spaces.
PLATFORM FEATURES
List
Retail Store Owners list available shelf spaces in their stores
Discover
Brand Managers discover available shelf spaces listed on the web platform
Match
A suitable match is created between retail store owners and brand managers
KEY TRENDS AND FIGURES
The State of Indian Retail Market
Going against Predictions and COVID hit, the Number of Indian Retail Stores Continue to Grow
Number of traditional retail outlets India 2013-2022
Digitization in India
With Half-a-Billion Active Internet Users, India is World’s Fastest Growing Digital Economy
Internet Penetration Rate in India Inches Close to 50%
WIREFRAMES
Using the research as reference, I started creating wireframes. Throughout the design process, I kept the the users in mind, ensuring that their objectives were taken into account.
