For Aamir Ansari, the history of manufacturing sarees dates back to 1970 when his family first started working in the industry. Deciding to take the family legacy forward, he quit his MBA course in 2014 and used his scholarship money to found SareeVenue.com under Nex-Gen E-Commerce Pvt Ltd.

Since the retail price of Banarasi sarees was very high, he decided to provide a platform where one could get quality products at the best possible prices. Also, since sarees were sold on a credit basis in the wholesale business, sellers would incur huge losses if the products weren’t sold, were outdated or if the payment cycle was too long. Aamir took the business online so that they could directly deal with end customers and reduce payment cycles as well. SareeVenue.com uses the WhatsApp Business app to give customers real-time information on their orders.

They get nearly 40 percent of their orders through the WhatsApp Business app

“The communication with customers is in real time compared to emails, which helps us deal with them more efficiently,” says Aamir. “Customers appreciate the way we communicate the order statuses to them.”

The business has been continuously growing year-on-year, and they get nearly 40 percent of their orders through the WhatsApp Business app. The WhatsApp Business app also enabled them to lower customer acquisition and retention costs, as people are more active on WhatsApp compared to other mediums.

For Aamir, the WhatsApp Business app has been a key ally in his journey of keeping the nearly 50-year-old family legacy alive and adapting it for modern-day consumers.