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

The Delhi-based startup is looking beyond courier aggregation to create tools that will help online brands acquire, engage and retain customers; A change that could be a turning point as we look for new growth tools in the increasingly crowded field of logistics.

Shiprocket is preparing to list on public markets ₹2,400 crore. It submitted draft documents confidentially in May and is now awaiting regulatory approval.

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

“Our strategy is to reinvest profits from our core business into emerging areas as we believe we can leverage capabilities in our emerging services,” said finance chief Tanmay Kumar.

The firm’s emerging business arm, which includes its marketing and automation arm, has seen 41% growth in FY25. ₹326 crore. These new services now account for 20% of the company’s total revenue; This rate indicates a significant increase compared to 11% two years ago.

“Our marketing technology vertical has helped us become a full-fledged platform for brands and is growing at a very fast pace,” Kumar added but declined to share details.

Revenue from Shiprocket’s core businesses, which comprise the majority of Shiprocket’s business and include domestic shipping and value-added technology services, increased by more than 20% year-on-year. ₹1,306 crore was shown in applications filed with the ministry of corporate affairs.

Shiprocket’s operating income increased 24% in FY25 ₹1,632 crore compared to the previous year. Managed to narrow its losses ₹74 crore during the year ₹595 crore due to growth in non-core businesses in the same period of the previous year.

a new moat

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

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

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

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

Satish Meena, analyst at market research firm Datum Intelligence, said competition in the logistics industry is intensifying and it is vital to offer much more to partner brands to increase platform loyalty.

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

Analytics is the backbone that increases operational efficiency, enables brands to focus on sustainable results 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 and logistics partners, Meena added.

“Shiprocket is well positioned to move forward in the e-commerce enablement ecosystem as it has a portfolio of over 3 million brands and works with over 25 courier partners. This is a long-term play,” Meena said.

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

Launched in 2017, Shiprocket brings together third-party logistics players such as Delhivery, FedEx, Blue Dart and Shadowfax to fulfill orders from large companies and small and medium-sized businesses.

To date, Temasek has raised more than $233 million from Lightrock, Bertelsmann and listed food delivery company Zomato. Shiprocket’s latest valuation was as follows: ₹10,100 crore as of March 2025, according to Tracxn.