IPO-bound Meesho doubles down on content commerce, sharpens ROI-first ad strategy

Social commerce platform Meesho Limited said “content commerce” will remain a major investment focus even after its stock market debut. At its IPO press conference on Friday, co-founder and CEO Vidit Aatrey said the platform now works with over 50,000 influencers, who earn steady income by creating and promoting product-led content.

Meesho highlighted that its content-led commerce model, where sellers select their own influencers and set commission structures, is beginning to show strong results. Influencers create short videos and post them on Meesho as well as on platforms like Instagram and YouTube. They earn commissions from sellers each time a sale is generated through their content.

“It’s a win-win for influencers and sellers,” Aatrey said. “Creators who were unable to monetise their following are doing so for the first time, and sellers who never had access to influencers now do. Consumers, meanwhile, get a far more engaging shopping format.” He added that nearly one million influencer videos drove sales for Meesho sellers in the past year and that the company will continue to invest heavily in the model post-listing.

Speaking to Storyboard18 about Meesho’s advertising revenues, co-founder and CTO Sanjeev Barnwal said the company has adopted a ROI-first advertising system instead of traditional CPC or CPM bidding. “We ask sellers what minimum ROI they want from their ad budget. If our AI algorithms do not see a clear path to delivering that return, we simply don’t spend the money,” he said.

Meesho’s IPO opens for subscription from December 3 to 5. The price band is Rs 105–Rs 111 per share, with a lot size of 135 shares. The company aims to raise Rs 4,250 crore through a fresh issue, while public shareholders will sell 10.55 crore shares through an offer-for-sale. Listing is expected on December 10.

The Bengaluru-headquartered company has sharply reduced losses. As per its Draft Red Herring Prospectus, consolidated losses fell 72% to Rs 701 crore in H1 FY26 from Rs 2,513 crore a year earlier. The platform recorded 1,261 million orders in H1 FY26, with Net Merchandise Value reaching Rs 19,194 crore. Apparel, home & kitchen, and beauty & personal care were the top categories, contributing 34%, 19% and 11% of sales respectively.