How Product Discovery Platform Smytten is Planning to go Omnichannel

Smytten is an online platform for premium product discovery and trial where consumers can try products from more than 800 brands across lifestyle categories, ranging from fragrances, beauty and makeup, male grooming, food and beverages, baby and mother care, and health and wellness. 

The brand stands for the spirit of discovery and unlike other online commerce platforms, it focuses more on the pre-purchase experience of online shoppers, helping them to first try the product in the comfort of their homes with its unique try-buy-try model. 

Swagat Sarangi and Siddhartha Nangia started Smytten in late 2015 with the idea of solving all the problems that existed in the area of product trials in India – something they had first-hand knowledge of through their stint at HUL, and for Sarangi through his subsequent stint at Google India, where he was closely involved with the great online shopping festival initiative. 

Explaining the brand, Swagat Sarangi, Co-founder, Smytten states, “Smytten is a sampling and engagement platform for D2C brands which enables online shoppers to try products before they buy. With the pre-purchase engagement strategy, Smytten is offering better ROI than traditional sampling or digital advertising for many premium/homegrown brands in the country.”

There are five big reasons a company invests in sampling: 
1) New product development – to test the efficacy of it; 
2) Feedback from users in improving product experience; 
3) To capture market share; 
4) to drive recall; and 
5) For deeper consumer insights involving competition benchmarking. 

“Smytten helps solve this for brands, by bringing in the efficiency of micro-targeting of a segment. For example, if a skincare brand is only interested in targeting women in their 20s – the products would be shown only to that demographic,” he further adds.

Product Sampling: The Need of the Hour

For years, product sampling and trials have been a tried-and-tested method of getting people to notice a product from any brand. It is a marketing strategy that helps brands create awareness about themselves and it gives consumers a chance to experience, taste, smell, or feel the product. In any offline sampling activation, pilferage can be as high as 70 -80 percent. 

“Smytten is the first platform globally, which provides complete data/ AI-driven solutions to brands in terms of their targeting, feedback, and engagement with their potential consumers in the digital space,” asserts Sarangi. 

“Today for a new brand, if it wants to sell X product, their typical acquisition cost will be X to 1.2X. For e.g., if the product cost is Rs 700, the cost of consumer acquisition will be around Rs 700 to Rs 1,000. With the majority of the sampling activations on Smytten, the brands have seen a double-digit conversion. That means every 10 people trying the products, one person is buying on the platform. Also, if one or two in ten are converting, the consumer acquisition cost from a regular direct consumer acquisition or through digital is actually three times lesser. That is where brands see the value,” he further adds.

READ MORE: D2C Sampling: Reimagining the Tried-and-Tested Method of Customer Engagement in the New World Order

Empowering D2C Brands

Smytten hosts over 800 brands in the lifestyle space and is always looking at bringing in new discoveries for its consumers. 

“With the advent of social media, there are many brands created on the digital ecosystem. However, for many of these brands, it is difficult to reach out to consumers in person and help them sample their products. One of the biggest drivers of purchase decisions has always been a customer’s experience of the product through sampling. Sampling and trial have been a tried-and-tested method for brands to target consumers and give them an experience of their offering. That is where Smytten comes in with its unique discovery and trial platform,” Sarangi states.

Targeting the Right Consumers

The millennials are aspirational and want to try out different products and experiences that make them look good and feel good. There is a strong FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) in the segment that drives a lot of content consumption online across shopping, travel, food, entertainment, etc. While they want to try new things they are also value-conscious and seek validation before they open up their wallet. 

“Smytten caters to this segment by not only providing them an avenue to experience new and interesting premium lifestyle products through miniature/sample size but also makes it almost free for them through 100 percent cash back when they try things,” he asserts.

Technology: The Game-Changer

Smytten has pioneered the concept of ‘72 Hours Research’ for brands where brands can do product testing, concept testing, usage studies in just 72 hours engaging with more than 10,000 users. 

“Smytten is a true innovation in the pre-purchase journey between brands and consumers bringing in more meaningful engagement and efficiencies,” reveals Sarangi. 

Future Plans

Smytten has over 10 lifestyle categories on the platform. The beauty category is the most loved category on the platform. The business of the brand has more than doubled in 2021 in terms of revenue and user base. 

“After 6 years of being a digital-first platform, the next big step would be to build an omnichannel model with offline presence in multiple cities. In-store sampling has been one of the most proven marketing strategies for brands to engage and reach out to consumers. However, the physical aspect is what makes in-store sampling a difficult practice for the foreseeable future with a plethora of changes in the overall retail environment post-pandemic and the increasing propensity of online buying by consumers,” he concludes.