With a strong market presence covering practically each category in retail – from fashion, luxury, beauty to home décor, Tata CLiQ leads the way with its strong commitment to customer satisfaction. Its omnichannel approach has been well received by its patrons and going by its recent expansion to the offline space it is emerging as a formidable player
Mumbai: Launched in May 2016, Tata CLiQ is a multi-category e-commerce platform from the Tata Group. Over the years, it has developed a strong positioning for itself with three clear verticals: Tata CLiQ, the lifestyle vertical which is also the oldest; Tata CLiQ Luxury, which is the luxury vertical; and the newly launched Tata CLiQ Palette, which is the beauty vertical.
Speaking about the platform, Gopal Asthana, Chief Executive Officer, Tata CLiQ shared, “As a platform, Tata CLiQ offers a trusted and premium online experience where we predominantly showcase the in-season collections and latest styles from leading brands in the market.” “We have a unique model with a strong emphasis on omnichannel. We are integrated with over 7,000 stores of different brands on the platform. Hence, when an order is received, brand stores are also actively involved in fulfilling and shipping these orders out,” explained Asthana who took the reins of the company in June this year. In December 2022, Tata CLiQ was acquired by Tata Digital from Tata Industries.
Key Success Factors
What sets Tata CLiQ apart from its competitors is its omnichannel approach. “Speaking of Tata CLiQ, our omnichannel strategy allows us to offer an extensive assortment of styles from leading brands, which is a key differentiator,” Asthana shared. The platform is directly connected to brand stores and warehouses, and hence is able to oȮ er a large number of in-season styles from 25%–30% of the top 100 brands.
“Apart from this, we also have partners like Westside on board, which are selectively available on Tata CLiQ and Tata Neu. Some of these Westside styles are also often exclusive to CLiQ,” Asthana added. Tata CLiQ Luxury’s USP lies in the highly curated assortment of global and Indian luxury brands oȮ ered and the online shopping experience. “We are building Tata CLiQ Luxury as a lifestyle destination for luxury shoppers. Hence, from gourmet to fitness, fashion apparel to accessories, audio to coffee table books, a luxury consumer can shop for all this and more from a range of brands on the platform,” explained the CEO.
Apart from the above, Tata CLiQ Luxury also has the first mover advantage, as it was the first luxury e-commerce platform in the country which enabled it to launch many brands online for the first time. The most recent one is TimeVallee, the luxury multi-brand boutique that launched its first-ever digital boutique in India on the platform.
Customer Engagement
Engagement is crucial to the growth of the platform. “Customer Obsession’ is one of the core tenets at CLiQ,” said Asthana, explaining that to address this, the company has a centralized ‘consumer insights’ function. The Consumer Insights team ensures ‘customer feedback’ remains at the heart of new features and product development, business process improvements, supply chain strategies, and conflict resolution. The process of gathering customer feedback follows the three-step systemic approach outlined below:
Capture: Tata CLiQ gathers customer insights from multiple channels, including structured sources like NPS surveys, CSAT surveys, and Play store reviews, as well as unstructured sources like social media and customer interactions.
Analyse: All facets of the customer journey, including pre-order, order through delivery, postpurchase, refund or return, etc., are meticulously analyzed.
Action: Negative sentiments are evaluated, and root causes are shared with relevant stakeholders for swift resolution.
For Tata CliQ, consumer retention is a key strategic lever given the cluttered market space in the masstige segment. “We enjoy a strong loyalty and retention amongst the CLiQ shopper base. Beyond this, we incentivize repeat purchases by analyzing the browsing behavior of existing shoppers to ensure relevant crossselling and upselling,” Asthana shared. Tata CliQ’s shoppers also enjoy the larger benefit of Tata Neu loyalty program in the form of Neu coins which they can avail across multiple Tata group’s offerings on Tata Neu.
Seamless Experience
To offer a seamless and enjoyable shopping experience, Tata CLiQ offers a variety of technology based interventions and customercentric practices. The customer experience on CLiQ is tailor-made for the customer segment on its three platforms: On Tata CLiQ, customers get a personalised experience through a wide range of recommendations from a diverse lifestyle assortment to aid them in their purchase decisions. The postpurchase experience on CLiQ also uses various tools like chatbots and automation techniques for various needs like order tracking, easy returns, and quick refunds.
On Tata CLiQ Luxury, the focus is on enhancing the online luxury shopping experience by embracing the principles of Slow Commerce, where the focus switches to finer elements like craftsmanship, heritage, and the value of an experience when shopping for luxury. Through this philosophy, the platform leads with a story-telling approach across all consumer touch points, such as careful curation of brands, mindfully developed brand stores, luxury delivery, and unboxing experiences.
On Tata CLiQ Palette, the company’s state-of-the-art AI-enabled Beauty ID technology helps personalize every customer’s experience to match their unique beauty needs. “Shopping for beauty often involves in-depth research, finding the right formulas, and more. Hence, with the Beauty ID technology, we’ve made this journey easier for consumers as it shares personalized recommendations on beauty products based on their specific hair and skin types, beauty goals, and more,” Asthana explained. The platform also offers expert tips to help one stay up-to-date with all the trends.
Measurement Metrics
“Across all three platforms, we track our measures of experience success in three key tiers: tier 1 is interaction health, tier 2 journey health, and tier 3 is business health,” Asthana explained.
Tier I | Interaction Health:
Here Tata CLiQ ensures customer satisfaction across all channels of interaction, including contact centres, social media, chat, and email. It also tracks metrics like speed of response and speed of resolution to ensure effective service delivery.
Tier II | Journey Health:
This measures ‘Order to Delivery’ journey experience (NPS) and customer loyalty.
Tier III | Business Health:
This tracks ‘Perfect Order’ %, i.e., the number of orders delivered on time without being returned or cancelled and undergoing no failure modes. “In addition, we also look at assortment width, brands relevant to the consumer, loyalty, and brand lift studies to understand the growing awareness and feedback,” added Asthana.
Marketing Strategies
The cornerstone of Tata CLiQ’s marketing approach is a ‘magical shopping experience’. Asthana points out that the customer benefit is never quantified or reduced to just deals and discounts but is seeped into ensuring that a potential or existing shopper gets the best shopping experience (pre/during/post).
This, he shared, starts with deploying relevant and personalized campaigns based on deep cohort analysis to maximize relevance. The browsing is aided by ML-based personalization, topped up by the latest curations. “We understand that at the heart of a fashion consumer is the desire to look their best, and that’s what our customized curations aid in,” Asthana said. The brand’s CS team is always pushing to minimize any friction in the post-purchase journey.
The team continues to measure and optimize the overall shopping experience with the help of internal NPS and brand surveys to deliver on the promise of a ’magical shopping experience.
The overall marketing approach for Tata CLiQ Luxury has a strong focus on establishing itself as the go-to destination for online luxury shopping across categories. The platform’s brand philosophy of Slow Commerce, which emphasizes the finer elements of craftsmanship and the tranquillity of the overall experience of purchasing a luxury product, has guided the marketing strategy at every consumer touch point, including brand campaigns, IPs like The Luxe Life and Watch Society, the experience designed on the app, luxury packaging, white glove delivery service, a luxury help desk, and more. This has helped the platform differentiate itself and stand out in the minds of consumers.
For Tata CLiQ Palette, the company has signed Bollywood actor Kriti Sanon as its brand ambassador. Asthana reveals, “One of our key marketing initiatives was to onboard a brand ambassador who resonates with our target audience and embodies our values. We are happy to have found that in acclaimed actor and skin care enthusiast Kriti Sanon,” said Asthana.
As part of its #YourBeautyMatch maker campaign, it recently unveiled a series of videos featuring Sanon with the aim of introducing consumers to the platform. Apart from this, the efforts are focused on ensuring elevated communication for thumb-stopping and relatable content and expanding the assortment further with the introduction of new beauty brands.
Technology Play
Tata CLiQ employs a suite of technologies and tools to enhance the customer experience. Some of them include:
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) CLiQ uses AI and data analytics to gather and analyze customer data, such as browsing behaviour, purchase history, and preferences, to create personalized product recommendations, offers, and content.
CHATBOTS AND VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS CLiQ has integrated AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants to offer instant and personalized customer support 24/7. These bots can respond to frequently asked questions, assist with order tracking, and resolve customer issues efficiently, thus improving customer satisfaction and reducing response times.
FRAUD DETECTION With AI algorithms, CLiQ identifies and prevents fraudulent transactions, protecting its customers from potential financial losses and security breaches.
AUGMENTED REALITY (AR) Integrating AR technology allows customers to virtually try on products, such as clothing or accessories, before making a purchase. This immersive experience helps customers make more informed buying decisions, reducing the likelihood of returns.
Responsible Retailing
The company is registered with the Central Pollution Control Board and has adopted a sustainable approach to packaging across all three platforms. Tata CLiQ recycles 100% of its limited plastic usage annually and reports the same to the CPCB.
Tata CLiQ Luxury also has an initiative called the Circular Packaging Programme. In addition to ensuring every aspect of the packaging is sustainable, through this initiative, customers can return their high-quality black boxes and the outer carton after the delivery is done.
Once the quality check is performed, these materials are refurbished and used to package and deliver new orders, thus allowing the company to recover, reuse, and reduce. “Our beauty platform, Tata CLiQ Palette, also has fully reusable and recyclable packaging with minimal non-biodegradable interventions, both for e-commerce and the retail store,” shared Asthana.
Future Plans
The home and living category is one of the key focus areas for Tata CLiQ, given the increasing interest the category is getting in the post-pandemic landscape. In response to the market need, the company launched the furniture segment in January which is anticipated to show significant growth potential in the coming months.
“Our brand-forward approach has been pivotal in building this category, enabling us to offer our customers the best of both national and D2C (Direct-to-Consumer) brands. By curating a diverse and high-quality assortment, we aim to cater to the varying preferences and demands of our customers,” said Asthana.
Apart from the home office and living room furniture assortments, Tata CLiQ is also expanding its offerings to include bedroom, dining room, and utility categories. The brand will continue to focus its efforts to add new listings or increase the assortment in existing categories while introducing two new categories this year, namely sports equipment and toys informed Asthana.
“Tata CLiQ Luxury has over 800+ premium and luxury global and Indian brands across categories On Tata CLiQ Luxury, our aim is to continue to bring in new assortments and categories that enhance the consumer’s lifestyle,” Asthana concluded.
