Myntra CMO Sunder Balasubramanian busts myths about Gen Z

New Delhi: Myntra is doubling down on its identity in fashion e-commerce, harnessing the creator economy with its annual Creator Fest. This year's Myntra FWD event brought together over 600 influencers from the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle sectors, showcasing how the platform is evolving to cater to the growing influence of digital creators.

Focusing on Gen Z as a key target audience, Sunder Balasubramanian, Chief Marketing Officer of Myntra, emphasised, “We’re excited about the Gen Z growth opportunity, with 200 million Gen Z in urban India. 60 million are already shopping online, creating a large consumer base. We’re betting on this demographic as a major growth engine in the coming years."

Myntra FWD has seen its customer base grow from 8 million in mid-2023 to 16 million in 2024. The company expects to add another 20–25 million Gen Z customers in the coming years. 

Balasubramanian dispelled common misconceptions about Gen Z, highlighting how these “college kids” are actually a significant consumer force. He explained, “Gen Z is not just in college; many are in their first jobs or juggling side gigs, earning disposable income.”

He also addressed myths like the short attention spans of Gen Z: “Give them quality content, and they’ll engage. Gen Z’s loyalty isn’t about consistency—it’s about relevance and the right choices, day in and day out.”

Another myth about Gen Z is that they are not loyal to brands and tend to flirt from one to another. “This, again, is a two-way street,” said Balasubramanian. Quoting someone else, he added, “If you are loyal to Gen Z, they will be loyal back to you.”

Explaining this further, he said, “Being loyal to Gen Z means understanding them and offering them the right choices, day in and day out. For example, in the fashion world, there are the traditional spring/summer/autumn/winter collections. But Gen Z doesn’t care about that. They care about what’s trending today. They’re looking for weekly or even monthly trends, and pop culture-related trends. If you cater to this, they will engage with your brand, like it, consume it, and be loyal to it.”

Highlighting how Gen Z is reshaping the creator economy, Sunder Balasubramanian, Chief Marketing Officer of Myntra, noted that Gen Z engages differently with creators compared to millennials. “While they do follow macro creators and celebrities, they gravitate towards nano and micro creators who feel more relatable. Especially in smaller cities, they seek influencers who resonate with their personal experiences. This shift has led to the rise of micro and nano creators, making the creator ecosystem more democratised and accessible.”

Continuing the conversation, Balasubramanian spoke about Myntra's approach to experimenting with different digital platforms, continuously testing, and drawing insights for future strategies. For instance, Myntra leveraged Pinterest's visual discovery tools and trend-driven user base to drive its home decor business. This partnership allowed Myntra to curate and showcase home decor trends, DIY projects, and lifestyle content, engaging Pinterest's audience interested in home aesthetics.

Similarly, Myntra’s collaboration with Snapchat for the sneaker category capitalised on the platform’s younger demographic and immersive AR (augmented reality) features. The partnership included AR try-on filters, enabling users to virtually test sneakers.

Balasubramanian added, “I think the approach I would emphasise is to keep experimenting. Some things will work, some won’t, but you have to take learnings and move forward. This is an ever-evolving field and a year from now, we might be discussing an entirely different set of trends—but that will only happen if we experiment.”