Meesho reduced ad spends 50% in FY24

E-commerce marketplace Meesho has reduced its advertising and sales promotion expenses by 50.51%, spending Rs 459.2 crore in FY24, down from Rs 927.8 crore in the previous year.

According to the company’s annual report, Meesho is making e-commerce accessible to 187 million annual transacting consumers. Total orders placed grew to 1.3 billion from Apr to Dec'24. “This trend has driven impressive growth across categories like Home & Kitchen, Beauty & Personal Care, and Kids & Baby Care. As a result, Meesho continued to be India’s most downloaded shopping app for four consecutive years, underscoring the platform’s growing appeal and reach,” mentioned a release.

The report mentioned that Meesho achieved profitability in FY'24 and generated positive free cash flow of ₹197 crore for the full year. “This success was fueled by efficiencies across multiple areas, including logistics, as well as the strategic use of Generative AI and Machine Learning to enhance product discovery, improve the in-app experience, and provide round-the-clock customer support. Meesho’s Selling, General, and Administrative (SG&A) expenses as a percentage of revenue declined significantly, supported by strong consumer awareness, organic traction, and the inherent operating leverage of a marketplace e-commerce model. As a result, adjusted losses narrowed by 97% from INR 1,569 crores to just INR 53 crores, excluding Employee Share Based Compensation expense,” stated the release.

According to the release, AI powers Meesho’s seamless, intuitive, and inclusive shopping experiences, driving real-time personalization through a robust ranking system that curates unique experiences for users.

“Large Language Models (LLMs) enhance search by decoding vernacular expressions, correcting errors, and refining queries for precise results. GenAI-driven customer support, available in six Indian languages, resolves ~90% of queries at one-fifth the cost while improving Customer Effort Score (CES) and Customer Satisfaction (CSAT). On the logistics front, the GeoIndia model converts unstructured addresses into precise geolocations, outperforming industry benchmarks in rural regions. To maintain platform integrity, Meesho’s AI-first fraud detection system, powered by Generative AI and advanced architectures like Graph Neural Networks, ensures stringent quality checks, predicts Return to Origin (RTO), and detects fraud in real time. These innovations reinforce Meesho’s commitment to AI as a transformative force in delivering exceptional e-commerce experiences for every Indian,” the release shared.