Shiprocket’s marketing tech business could be its next big delivery ahead of IPO

Shiprocket is gearing up for its IPO to raise as much as  ₹2,400 crore. (Image: Pixabay)
Shiprocket is gearing up for its IPO to raise as much as 2,400 crore. (Image: Pixabay)
Summary

As it prepares to launch a 2,400 crore IPO, Shiprocket wants to prove its potential to do much more than logistics aggregation: become a one-stop solution for e-commerce brands

Bengaluru/New Delhi: Logistics aggregator Shiprocket is charting a new course, betting on its marketing technology and automation arm that can serve as a full-stack enabler for e-commerce brands.

The Delhi-based startup is looking beyond courier aggregation to build tools that help online brands acquire, engage, and retain customers, a shift that could mark a turning point as it seeks new growth levers in an increasingly crowded logistics space.

Shiprocket is gearing up to list in the public markets to raise as much as 2,400 crore. It filed its draft papers via the confidential route in May and is currently awaiting regulatory approval.

The listing will test whether the company can convince investors that it is evolving from a logistics intermediary into a technology platform serving India’s $125 billion e-commerce market.

“Our strategy is to re-invest profits from our core business into emerging areas, as we believe we can build on capabilities in our developing services," chief financial officer Tanmay Kumar said.

The firm’s emerging businesses arm, which includes the marketing and automation arm, grew 41% in FY25 to 326 crore. These new services now account for 20% of the company’s overall revenue, a steep climb from 11% two years ago.

“Our marketing tech vertical has helped us become a full-stack platform for brands and is growing at a very rapid pace," Kumar added, but declined to share the specifics.

Revenue from Shiprocket’s core business—which accounts for the majority of Shiprocket’s business and includes domestic shipping and value-added technology services—rose over 20% YoY to 1,306 crore, filings made with the ministry of corporate affairs showed.

Shiprocket’s operating income in FY25 grew 24% to 1,632 crore compared to the previous year. It managed to narrow its losses to 74 crore during the year against 595 crore in the year-ago period on the back of growth from its non-core business.

A new moat

Shiprocket’s marketing platform Engage360 offers WhatsApp-based tools for brands to automate campaigns and resolve customer queries, driving conversions and reducing returns. The company also provides an RTO (return-to-origin) suite that enables customers to track shipments in real time—part of its effort to boost post-purchase engagement and customer loyalty.

The firm plans to double down on AI-powered automation and data analytics to help brands understand buying patterns, optimize promotions, and manage returns more efficiently, Kumar said.

With a full e-commerce enablement platform, Shiprocket competes with small players like RTP Global-backed GoKwik and Inflexor-backed ClickPost, among others.

Even fintech players are racing to enter the space. Payments major Razorpay invested $30 million in UPI shopping and rewards platform Pop in June, months after acquiring PoshVine, a loyalty and rewards management platform. Razorpay Engage, an intelligent marketing growth suite, was built on top of that platform.

Competition in the logistics industry is intensifying, making it crucial to offer partner brands much more to drive platform loyalty, said Satish Meena, analyst at market research firm Datum Intelligence.

Logistics providers are well-positioned to offer insights that drive e-commerce volumes, including which regions are lucrative for different categories and product return rates in various categories, to help brands plan their shipping schedules and product line expansions more effectively, according to Meena.

Analytics are the backbone that drives operational efficiency, enabling brands to focus on sustainable outcomes and reduce waste. To this end, brands are increasingly seeking data, such as best-performing promotional channels, conversion rates, shipping and return-to-origin patterns, from marketplaces as well as logistics partners, Meena added.

“Shiprocket is well placed to race ahead in the e-commerce enablement ecosystem as it has a portfolio of over 3 lakh brands and works with over 25 courier partners. It’s a long-tail game," said Meena.

India is seeing an unprecedented rise in the number of direct-to-consumer brands, with as many as 11,000 existing as of 2024, per estimates by market intelligence firm Tracxn.

Launched in 2017, Shiprocket aggregates third-party logistics players like Delhivery, FedEx, Blue Dart, and Shadowfax to fulfill orders for large corporations and small and medium businesses.

To date, it has raised upwards of $233 million from Temasek, Lightrock, Bertelsmann, and listed food delivery player Zomato, among others. Shiprocket was last valued at 10,100 crore as of March 2025, according to Tracxn.

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