As a team, we’ve been researching different Omnichannel brands, understanding their strategies, and identifying key insights to help build a playbook for success. One such brand we have come across is FirstCry.
In our country, grandparents often play a big role in guiding families through raising children. However, one common challenge has been the limited access to quality products for newborns and mothers.
In fact, over 70% of parents in India have struggled to find trusted, high-quality baby care products locally. While international baby care brands were already well-known, they weren’t easy to find in India.
Seeing this gap in the market, Supam Maheshwari and Amitava Saha started FirstCry in 2010. Today, FirstCry has become one of the top omnichannel retailers in India, offering a wide variety of products for babies, kids, and mothers, making high-quality care easier and more convenient for Indian parents.
FirstCry has become a trusted brand for parents all over India, with everything from clothes and toys to diapers and baby care essentials. In 2020, FirstCry raised $296 million from Softbank, reaching a valuation of $1.2 billion and earning the title of a unicorn brand.
Core Pillars of First Cry’s Growth
FirstCry’s success can be attributed to several core pillars that have shaped its growth over the years. These pillars have helped them stand out in the competitive market and build trust with millions of parents. Here are the key elements of FirstCry’s growth:
- Diverse Product Categories: Offering a wide range of products for babies, kids, and mothers, FirstCry meets the diverse needs of parents in one place.
- Competitive Pricing: By offering affordable prices without compromising quality, FirstCry appeals to price-conscious customers.
- Omnichannel Approach: Combining online and offline shopping, FirstCry ensures a seamless experience across various touchpoints.
- Robust Distribution: Their strong logistics network enables fast and reliable deliveries, enhancing customer satisfaction.
- Customer-Centric Approach: Prioritizing customer feedback, easy returns, and prompt support helps build loyalty and trust.
In this blog, we’ll talk about how FirstCry built a successful omnichannel retail experience in India. In creating this blog, we’ve gathered insights from different sources, webinars, and videos, including what we’ve seen as consumers and what we’ve read and watched on various content platforms.
We wanted to create a brand that caters to every parenting need, offering a wide range of products that are both accessible and affordable.
Table of Contents
1. History of First Cry
Supam Maheshwari found it hard to find quality baby products in India, so he started bringing them back from his international business trips for his son. At the same time, life in India was changing.
Families were getting smaller, and more mothers were joining the workforce. This created a need for baby care products that were not only of good quality but also easy to find.
This inspired Supam to start FirstCry, an online store for baby and maternity products, offering around 1,000 items.
Back then, shopping for baby products online was a new concept in India, and most people still shopped at local stores. In 2012, FirstCry took a big step by opening physical stores, and since then, the brand has grown rapidly.
One smart move was focusing on smaller cities (Tier II and Tier III) where online shopping was less common.
This helped build trust and customer loyalty in these areas. Today, FirstCry is India’s largest retailer for baby and maternity products, with a strong presence both online and offline.
2. Exploring FirstCry’s Competitive Edge in the Baby Care Market
From our research, here are some key competitors of FirstCry:
- BabyOye: BabyOye was once a big player in the baby products market before FirstCry acquired it in 2016. This move eliminated a direct competitor, giving FirstCry access to BabyOye’s customers and resources, which helped strengthen its market position.
- Hopscotch: Hopscotch is another strong competitor, offering a wide range of kids’ products, particularly in clothing and accessories. They focus on stylish, trendy clothing for kids, while FirstCry offers a mix of essentials and fashion, giving it a broader appeal.
- Amazon and Flipkart: Amazon and Flipkart also sell a wide range of baby and maternity products, including diapers, toys, and more. These e-commerce giants have an advantage in terms of reach, logistics, and pricing power. However, FirstCry remains competitive by specializing in children’s and maternity products, providing a curated, trusted selection.
- Local Retailers: In many parts of India, especially in Tier II and Tier III cities, local stores still play an important role. Many parents prefer shopping for baby products in-person from nearby shops where they can directly inspect the items.
3. What Sets FirstCry Apart in the Competitive Kids’ Product Market?
Based on our research and analysis, FirstCry has managed to stand out in the crowded kids’ products market in India.
Here’s what gives them the edge:
3.1 Largest Curated Selection
FirstCry offers one of the largest collections of kids’ products in India, with over 2 lakh products from 5,800+ brands. Unlike general platforms like Amazon or Flipkart, FirstCry focuses exclusively on kids’ products, which allows them to cater specifically to parents’ needs.
Parents trust FirstCry because it’s a dedicated space that understands their requirements better than the broader marketplaces.
3.2 Omni-Channel Presence
Whether parents prefer to shop in person for baby essentials or prefer the ease of online shopping, FirstCry makes it easy to access their products.
Their offline stores combined with a robust online presence offer flexibility without compromising on quality, making them a top choice for many.
3.3 Early Customer Acquisition
FirstCry has excelled at building early customer loyalty.
In 2022, they invested over 20 crores in a micro-marketing campaign, distributing one million gift boxes to new mothers by partnering with 7,500+ hospitals.
With a coupon code for both online and offline stores, they built trust with customers right from the beginning, securing long-term loyalty.
4. What Makes FirstCry’s Omnichannel Strategy Stand Out?
FirstCry’s omnichannel strategy stands out as a great example of how to connect with customers both online and offline. Based on our independent research, here’s a look at what makes FirstCry’s approach so effective:
4.1 Building a Community through FirstCry Parenting
FirstCry has created a community for new parents that offers advice, tips, and product suggestions. With blogs, videos, and forums, parents can learn from each other and share their experiences.
This approach goes beyond being just a retailer; FirstCry earns trust and creates a loyal customer base that values the guidance, not just the products.
4.2 Collecting Customer Data at Every Touchpoint
FirstCry gathers customer insights from several places, like post-order surveys, demographic data, and in-store interactions.
Even CCTV cameras in offline stores provide valuable data about shopping behaviors. This information helps FirstCry personalize offers and improve the shopping experience for customers.
4.3 Focus on Local SEO
To make sure their stores are easy to find, FirstCry focuses on local SEO. When parents search for “baby products near me,” FirstCry’s stores are often among the top results.
Read more: Local SEO: Marketing strategy to convert Online traffic to Offline
This drives foot traffic to their physical stores and enhances their omnichannel presence, ensuring they meet parents wherever they are.
Building trust with parents isn't just about products; it's about understanding their journey and delivering solutions that truly matter.
5. Common Mistakes in FirstCry’s Omnichannel Strategies
As part of our independent research, we’ve closely looked at some of the challenges FirstCry faces in their omnichannel strategy. Here are a few common mistakes they have made and how these could be improved:
5.1 Differential Pricing Between Online and Offline
During my visit to FirstCry’s physical store, I noticed something that stood out — their pricing was inconsistent across different channels. The prices in-store were different from what I saw on their website.
Interestingly, the prices varied even when I accessed their website on my phone compared to my laptop. To top it off, when I clicked on their ads, the prices seemed even more different.
This differential pricing can easily confuse customers. Today, customers expect consistent prices no matter where they shop, whether it’s online, offline, or through ads.
When a brand maintains uniform pricing across all channels, it builds trust and credibility with its customers. This consistency is crucial in fostering transparency and avoiding any customer frustration.
5.2 No Buy Online and Pick Up in Store Option
From my visit to FirstCry’s store, I noticed that there was no option to buy online and pick up in-store, which I thought could have been a useful feature.
As a customer, I expected the convenience of browsing and purchasing products online, and then being able to pick them up in the store, or even finish the purchase in-store after browsing online.
Without this option, FirstCry misses out on offering a seamless online-to-offline (O2O) experience, which is something that many customers today look for.
Read more – Crafting Winning O2O Strategies for Omnichannel Growth
A smooth transition between online and offline shopping can significantly enhance the overall customer experience, making it easier and more convenient for customers to shop how and when they want.
5.3 Poor Customer Experience and Lack of Omnichannel Inventory Visibility
I recently had a disappointing experience at FirstCry. When I inquired about a product I had seen online, the in-store staff seemed unaware of the online offerings and couldn’t provide any assistance.
This highlighted a significant gap in customer service—staff should be knowledgeable about both online and offline product ranges to offer a seamless experience.
Another issue is FirstCry’s lack of omnichannel inventory visibility. Customers cannot check if an online product is available in-store, making it difficult to plan purchases. This is a crucial feature in modern omnichannel retail.
Brands like CaratLane have set a benchmark by offering real-time inventory updates. Their platform allows customers to check in-store stock, reserve items online, and make purchases in-store. Such features not only simplify the shopping process but also enhance convenience and customer satisfaction.
Read more – CaratLane’s Omnichannel Journey: Redefining the Future of Jewellery Shopping
Adding such features would enhance FirstCry’s omnichannel experience, making shopping more convenient and customer-centric.
Note: These insights are based on our research and experience with store operations, and we believe that addressing these gaps could help improve the overall omnichannel experience.
6. Final Thoughts: How You Can Learn from FirstCry?
In our research, we found that FirstCry’s success comes from its ability to blend both online and offline channels smoothly, while also building trust with parents. They focus on creating a strong community, using data wisely, and improving local visibility, which makes their omnichannel strategy stand out.
However, even the best strategies need ongoing adjustments. It’s important to avoid common mistakes like overlooking retention marketing, having inconsistent pricing, or failing to integrate online and offline channels properly, as these can hinder long-term success.
If you’d like to discuss how we can help enhance and optimize your Omnichannel and growth marketing strategies, we’d be happy to set up a consultation call. Feel free to reach out to us at alibha@daiom.in
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