Meesho's efforts to break free from its budget-friendly reputation.

Meesho initially gained success by attracting sellers and customers from beyond India’s metropolitan areas, positioning itself as a value-for-money platform. However, over time, it became associated with being simply a cheap option. Despite its significant revenue growth and efforts to reduce losses, Meesho is still perceived as a low-cost, low-trust platform. Sellers have also expressed dissatisfaction with advertising on Meesho, finding better returns on investment (ROI) on platforms like Amazon and Flipkart.In response, Meesho has introduced initiatives like ROI Assurance and Meesho Gold to regain seller confidence and expand its offerings beyond just low-cost products. While the company doesn’t aim to become a premium platform like Myntra, it wants to move away from the “cheap” label while still being recognized for its value for money.Anshad Aboobacker, a kidswear seller from Tirupur, has reduced his activity on Meesho over the past year. Although he once depended heavily on the platform, his sales have dropped from 140 units a day at their peak to about 40 units on a good day. He has shifted his focus to Flipkart, which, despite charging a commission, generates over 400 orders a day for him. Aboobacker still makes some sales through Meesho and invests modestly in advertising there, but he finds Flipkart ads yield better returns. Recently, however, a Meesho account manager offered him an enticing deal through the ROI Assurance program, promising 7-8 times the sales for certain product catalogues if he invests more in Meesho’s ads.