With plans of commercially launching live commerce operation by December-end, e-commerce firm, Meesho, is running pilots, while adding value, as well as, regional brands to its platform to boost advertising revenue ahead of a planned public listing for next year.

Live commerce is one among the key initiatives that the e-commerce firm plans to initiate before its share sale.

As for the other initiative, the e-commerce firm is believed to not charge commission from its vendors selling on its platform, making advertising revenue crucial for its operation. The platform is known to sell around 95 percent of unbranded products. But, it plans to associate with established brands in the beauty and electronic categories, as customers seem to look for the trust factor when buying such brands.

Having SoftBank Group and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin’s B Capital Group among its investors, the e-commerce firm intends to be internally ready for the IPO by the end of this year and float it to early next year.

It is venturing into either domestic or SPAC listing in the US.

Live commerce widely appears to have become a major sales channel for the retail industry, for the reason of linking instant purchasing of a featured product, including audience participation through a chat function or reaction buttons.

The concept is said to be popular in China, with a 2020 survey indicating two-thirds of Chinese consumers reported to have bought products through livestream last year, stated a McKinsey report. Also, it can be witnessed by Alibaba-owned online shopping platform Taobao.

The concept is catching up in India as well, with Walmart-owned Flipkart reported to have started live commerce this year. Last year, InMobi-owned short video platform Roposo is said to have pivoted to live commerce as well.

Although it is observed to be in the nascent stage, additionally, the e-commerce firm is seeking for a fresh fundraise to make an acquisition.

Founded in 2015, by Indian Institute of Technology Delhi alumni Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal, Meesho is said to be one of the most heavily funded startups in the ecosystem. It raised $300 million in a new fundraising round headed by SoftBank in April 2021. Meesho became a unicorn, or a privately held startup with a valuation of at least $1 billion, as a result of this funding round. It secured another $570 million a few months later, led by Fidelity Management and Research and B Capital Group, bringing the Bangalore-based startup's valuation to $4.9 billion, up from $2.2 billion in April. Last year, Meesho's enormous fundraising was part of a flurry of deal-making activity, as most new-age digital companies benefited from the covid-19 pandemic.