Reliance Brands pulling out of Tata Cliq isn’t about luxury but loyalty

Over the past year, a divide has been notable in India’s e-commerce space. While e-commerce as a whole has struggled to grow, the premium and luxury segment has proven to be one of the few outliers, with expensive products seeing more growth than their massier peers. This was evident in online beauty platform Nykaa’s recent earnings call. Even as mass market brands struggled to sell, the company has seen premium and international brands thrive.

This trend should have been a boost to Tata Cliq, the Tata-owned e-commerce platform that pivoted from electronics to fashion. With the platform taking an early punt on the luxury space through its Luxury vertical, it was perfectly placed to reap the rewards of this shift in consumer spending.