Beauty wars intensify: Nykaa pilots Glam Pass to retain shoppers

Priced from ₹39, Glam Pass offers shoppers a 10% discount, up to ₹300, on their first three purchases and is valid for three months. The feature is currently live for select users in Mumbai and is expected to be rolled out to other cities, including the National Capital Region and Bengaluru, in the coming weeks, the people said, on condition of anonymity.

Glam Pass is expected to remain brand-specific rather than platform-wide, focusing on targeted benefits for labels shoppers already prefer, instead of generic perks spread across a large marketplace. Broader programmes such as Amazon Prime and Flipkart Black, by comparison, bundle discounts and benefits across products and brands.

Nykaa did not respond to Mint’s emailed queries.

Glam Pass is Nykaa’s bid to defend market share and boost repeat purchases amid intensifying competition. It leads the online beauty retail market with nearly 30% market share, according to its latest investor presentation. Amazon India follows with nearly 15% and Flipkart with nearly 10%, according to data from market research firm Datum Intelligence.

However, quick-commerce platforms, such as Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto, are expanding their beauty assortments and pitching faster delivery as a key differentiator, while horizontal fashion and lifestyle marketplaces like Myntra continue to invest in beauty as a growth category.

Nykaa also faces competition from Reliance Retail’s three-year-old beauty venture, Tira, even as brand-owned websites step up efforts to build direct relationships with consumers.

Retaining shoppers

Loyalty programmes have emerged as a key retention lever in India’s increasingly competitive retail landscape, spanning both e-commerce and brick-and-mortar players.

India’s loyalty programme market is projected to grow sharply, with its valuation expected to rise from about $4.3 billion in 2025 to nearly $17.1 billion by 2035, according to estimates by consulting firm Future Market Insights. The expansion is being driven by rising consumer expectations for personalized engagement and the growing adoption of data-driven reward systems.

Platforms such as Amazon (Prime), Flipkart (Black and VIP), Myntra (Insider) have popularized broad-based models that bundle benefits like faster delivery, exclusive deals, and reward points.

Offline-first retailers have also caught up, with chains such as Shoppers Stop, Trent’s Westside, and Landmark Group’s Lifestyle using tiered membership programmes to incentivize higher spending and repeat visits.

As customer acquisition costs rise, loyalty programmes are increasingly viewed as tools to drive frequency, collect shopper data, and deepen engagement, rather than just offering discounts, said Satish Meena, analyst at Datum Intelligence.

Nykaa’s new offering could help it retain flexibility over margins and promotions, while allowing individual brands to co-fund rewards and directly influence repeat purchasing, rather than committing to uniform benefits across its entire marketplace, Meena noted.

The details of Nykaa’s partnerships with brands for Glam Pass could not be ascertained.

However, the effectiveness of loyalty programmes depends less on discounts and more on how clearly and meaningfully benefits are structured. “Discounts alone do not guarantee repeat purchases. Additional benefits like free deliveries without minimum purchase value, early access to sales and offline events, as well as personalised rewards and recognition play a bigger role in building long-term customer loyalty," Meena added.

Beauty retail, Nykaa’s biggest business by revenue, saw its gross merchandise value (GMV) grow 28% year-on-year to ₹3,551 crore in the September quarter, pushing the firm’s overall operational revenue to jump to ₹2,345 crore. Nykaa’s net profit, too, surged 243% to ₹34 crore in the quarter.

Nykaa’s shares on Tuesday opened 0.15% lower at ₹269.15 apiece.