Homemakers Made $9 Billion by Selling Through Whatsapp and Facebook: Report

A new report by consulting firm Zinnov shows women homemakers have collectively made around $9 billion in gross sales using Whatsapp and Facebook.

The report, carried by Times Of India, said that sales through these mediums are projected to grow anywhere between $48 billion to $60 billion by 2022. Most small businesses start out with just a Facebook page and whatsapping their products to friends and acquaintances.

Neela Kothari has been designing and selling semi precious jewellery since 2004. Before whatsapp people got to know about her products only through word of mouth. Whatsapp facilitated faster spread of information, she tells SheThePeople.TV. The forwarding of images of her jewellery has made the selling process easier.

75 year old quilt maker Gita also uses Whatsapp to promote her exhibitions and products. Instead of individually calling up acquaintances and inviting them to her exhibitions, she uses the time to create interesting invites to forward on Whatsapp, she tells SheThePeople.TV.

There are over 2 million small businesses on Facebook alone

Baker Arti Vaid, uses Instagram and Facebook for all her orders. “I believe that every woman should be a bit tech savvy … its the need of the hour…because the growth of any business lies in how you market yourself and social media is big now,” she said at a Boost Your Business Seminar, conducted by Facebook and SheThePeople.TV.

Many women who started with just a Facebook page which operated locally, have grown their companies into nation wide operations.

Kalpana Rajesh, founder of hair accessory line PelliPoolaJada is one such example. She started selling flower accessories on Facebook. The company's products became so popular that it now has 45 franchisees, in India and abroad, and Facebook uses it as a case study on boosting business through the platform.

"The total market for women re-sellers is expected grow at 40-50% annually for the next five years. This means it would be over 5% of India's total retail market," Vidit Aatrey founder and CEO of Meesho, a company which offers tools to make selling through Whatsapp easier, tells TOI.

Also Read: Digital Revolution Drives My Business: Nishat Mukaddam Of WedLista.com