Result
A digital platform that connects customers directly with retailers & merchants to buy authentic silk sarees, offering video-based shopping and full customization, recreating the in-store experience online with trust and clarity.
Project
Overview
In India, it’s rare to find a woman, even a teenage girl, who hasn’t loved wearing a saree. When it comes to silk sarees, it’s not just clothing it’s tradition, culture, emotion, and a deep sense of pride passed through generations.
At the same time, sarees are not only seen as traditional wear but also carry religious value and are often viewed as a symbol of social status.
Around 15–20% of silk sarees made today are still handmade. But if we go back 10–20 years (between 2000 and 2010), nearly 30–40% of silk sarees were handcrafted, showing how much things have changed. In recent years, small weavers, retailers, and merchants have been struggling. The rise of big brands, large-scale power loom production, and aggressive sales across India have impacted their income and pushed them to the edge. Source: Tamil Nadu State Cooperative Societies Election Commission.
This project aims to understand the real problems faced by small players in the silk saree industry especially weavers, merchants and retailers, and build a digital solution that helps increase their sales, improve customer experience, and support their long-term growth in the modern market.
Project
Identify the key problems and challenges faced by small merchants and weavers in the current silk saree market .
Help them overcome these barriers through meaningful digital solutions.
Targets
Kanchipuram district in Tamil Nadu, South India, is one of the most iconic places in the country and the main center for weaving and selling silk sarees, especially the world famous Kanjeevaram silk sarees. Customers come not only from Tamil Nadu but also from nearby states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala, as well as from North India, including Maharashtra, and even from NRIs around the world.
Research
What are the current challenges in the silk saree industry — especially for small weavers and merchants?
Has there been a noticeable drop in their business or sales in the past few years?
Have customer purchases increased or decreased recently — and why?
Is lack of trust or transparency one of the key reasons for the drop in online saree sales?
How can a digital platform solve these issues?
Field
Fly-on-the-wall
I visited both small and large silk saree shops in Kanchipuram to observe how customers and sellers behave. I didn’t ask any questions; I just visited as a customer and listened to understand their actions and patterns without getting involved.
AEIOU Framework - Observation Sorting Method
This method helps me organize what I saw and heard during my research. It’s an easy way to document and group my findings into five simple categories: Activities, Environments, Interactions, Objects, and Users.
Understanding
Today’s Silk Saree Market Ecosystem
This mapping shows all the steps and people involved in today’s silk saree market. It helps us understand how the whole system works.
The Glimpse
of User Interview
Key Insights
From Research Work
Most people who shop in small silk saree stores are from middle or lower-middle class families.
Big silk saree showrooms mostly have high-class customers, including people from other South and North Indian states, and also NRIs.
Small silk shops usually buy sarees from wholesalers, and only a few buy directly from weavers.
Big silk shops often have their own weaving units and also buy from wholesalers and small weavers.
Most custom orders come from big shops to the weavers; small shops give very few.
Some customers want to buy directly from weavers, but most weavers are not ready to sell directly and they have limited education and low digital skills.
Most small retailers rely on word-of-mouth and local agents as their main marketing strategy.
Small Silk Saree Shops
Pros
Personal touch and friendly experience.
Direct interaction with owners or local staff.
Easy price negotiation.
Better trust with known local sellers.
Closer relationship with regular customers.
Cons
Limited variety of sarees and stock.
Small, crowded spaces with less comfort..
No proper branding or visual merchandising.
Few or no offers/discounts.
Less marketing reach.
Big Silk Saree Showrooms
Pros
Huge collection with designs and budgets.
Trained sales staff and systemized service.
Strong branding and premium packaging.
Offers, discounts, and loyalty programs.
Organized floors by category and price.
Cons
Less personal connection with customers.
Fixed pricing with little or no negotiation.
Can feel overwhelming.
Higher prices.
Customers may feel less connected to tradition or local sellers.
User
Personas
I created a user persona based on the research findings. It's important to improve the struggles and challenges of small retailers, weavers and customers by turning the problems we found during research into opportunities.
User
Journey
Creating this user journey helps me understand how users act when purchasing silk sarees, understand their interactions, and identify opportunities.`
Ideation
Mapping
I explored many feature ideas during ideation, I prioritized features using the Impact vs Effort Matrix and chose three as (UVP): customization, video shopping, and authenticity tags. These solve key user pain points and align with business goals. Other ideas are kept for future roadmap.
The
Final Idea
A digital platform for authentic silk sarees — with video shopping, custom orders, and fair bidding for trust and transparency.
The New
Service Infrastructure
This helps us identify and organize the infrastructure of the new video call shopping and customized order service,
Our New
Service Highlights
Service
Blue Prints
Key
UI Screens
We developed sample mobile interface designs for both user groups Customers and Merchants to provide a visual representation of the potential experience. These are simply conceptual models intended to help readers better understand how the interface might appear.
What Our
New App Offers
Challenges
Solved by Our Platform
Product’s
Potential impact
Validation &
& Next Steps
During interviews, I noticed two strong signals:
These real behaviors gave me the confidence to focus on Video Shopping and Customization as my core features.
