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India's retail sector witnessed a 169% year-on-year growth in Q1 2025

This growth reflects strong momentum in the country's retail landscape.

Author

Bindu Sharma
May 23, 2025

Table of Contents

🧠 Retail Quiz of the Week

Which global fashion retailer announced its plans this week to phase out all plastic packaging by 2027?
(Answer at the end of the newsletter)

📰 India Retail Pulse

🌍 World Retail Headlines at a Glance

🤖 Deep Dive: Google's AI Retail REVOLUTION is HERE — ARE YOU READY?

1. What's New:
Google has launched a suite of AI-powered tools to revolutionize online shopping—starting with a virtual try-on that lets users see how clothes fit on various body types before buying.

2. Why It Matters:
Returns cost retailers billions yearly. Google’s solution promises to reduce returns and increase confidence in online apparel shopping.

3. Use Cases:

  • Virtual try-on for clothes, makeup, and glasses

  • AI-generated summaries of product highlights

  • Visual search based on photos/screenshots

4. Action Plan for Retailers:

  • Integrate with Google Shopping AI APIs

  • Create 3D renderings of top-selling products

  • Re-market based on AI-driven visual search behavior

Source: Google Blog

👔 Spotlight Insight: Premium Workwear in India – Market Trends 2025

India’s Premium Workwear Market is Evolving – Are You Ready to Suit Up?

As corporate culture shifts and hybrid work persists, premium workwear in India is undergoing a stylish transformation. This detailed report dives into the key trends, market drivers, and emerging consumer preferences that are redefining professional attire for both men and women. From comfort-driven fabrics to cross-functional apparel, find out what’s shaping the next wave of wardrobe essentials in India’s fastest-growing fashion niche.

Complete market analysis for FREE and get ahead of what India’s upwardly mobile professionals are demanding in 2025.

💡 Quick Wins for E-Com Sellers—Do These Right Now

  1. Add AI audio to top 10 products

  2. Auto-generate SEO titles using tools like Jasper

  3. Enable "buy online, pick up in store" for urban ZIPs

  4. Test a virtual try-on plugin (free trials available)

  5. Schedule Instagram Reels with product demos

  6. Launch exit-intent popups with timed discount offers

  7. Create FAQ sections using ChatGPT prompts

  8. Use Klaviyo AI to clean your email lists

  9. Install one-click re-order functionality

  10. Conduct A/B test on product images for mobile

📊 Retail Stats Snapshot

Source: Statista

🌐 2.77 billion People Will Shop Online in 2025
This reflects global e-commerce adoption, based on trends in internet penetration, mobile commerce, and digital payment enablement.
🔗 Statista – Number of digital buyers worldwide 2014–2026

  1. Fermat
    AI-powered platform to generate high-converting ecommerce landing pages, personalized to shopper intent. Ideal for product drops and seasonal campaigns.
    🔗 fermatcommerce.com

  2. Vue.ai Personalization Suite
    An AI suite for omnichannel personalization—from product recommendations to intelligent sorting and bundling for both online and in-store retail.
    🔗 vue.ai/products/personalization

  3. Renderforest AI
    AI video generator that helps retailers auto-create promotional videos, product explainers, and social content within minutes.
    🔗 renderforest.com

  4. Wisdolia
    A Chrome extension that uses AI to create quizzes and flashcards from webpages, PDFs, or customer surveys—great for feedback forms and product education.
    🔗 wisdolia.com

  5. Zoko AI
    WhatsApp-native sales toolkit that now includes AI-driven customer engagement, cart recovery, product discovery, and post-purchase flows.
    🔗 zoko.io

🔥 More Hot Picks

  • Pinterest partners with Shopify for in-app checkout
    Pinterest deepens e-commerce push by integrating Shopify's checkout flow within Pins, reducing friction for social commerce.
    🔗 TechCrunch

  • Meta tests native shopping in Reels
    Instagram and Facebook Reels now feature embedded native checkout for select products—Meta’s latest move to compete with TikTok Shop.
    🔗 Business Insider

  • IKEA’s AI chatbot closes $500K in sales in 30 days
    IKEA piloted an AI shopping assistant that helped answer product queries and upsell items, generating $500K in additional revenue.
    🔗 Retail Dive

  • Walmart’s drone delivery expands to 10 cities
    Walmart is scaling its drone delivery service, now active in 10 U.S. metro areas, offering delivery within 30 minutes.
    🔗 CNBC

📍 Quote of the Day

"Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it." – Henry David Thoreau

✍️ About The Writer

Bindu Sharma

Bindu | Founder, World One Consulting

A seasoned entrepreneur with 20+ years of experience in building and scaling successful retail brands across India. Bindu has launched ventures like Oma, Renovation Factory, and MyEpique, and worked with leading names such as Westside, GoodEarth, Kiehl’s, and Pepsico. At World One Consulting, she empowers businesses with strategic insight, brand-building expertise, and a passion for sustainable, omnichannel growth.

Looking to work with us? Book an intro call here.

✅ Quiz Answer

Zara.

Zara, the flagship brand of Inditext, announced this week that it will completely phase out plastic packaging by 2027 across all its global retail and e-commerce operations. This move is part of Zara's broader sustainability strategy, aligning with its pledge to be net-zero by 2040. The company has already eliminated 85% of plastic from its packaging chain and is pushing to meet circularity goals ahead of the fashion industry curve. This is a bold move in an industry struggling to tackle environmental impact at scale.

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