India D2C founders put SKU margins, inventory and channel fit at the centre of scale

At an Inc42 and PhonePe Payment Gateway roundtable, D2C founders discussed scaling across marketplaces, quick commerce and offline without surrendering control. Priorities included SKU-level profitability, inventory-ageing limits, returns discipline, demand forecasting and retention tracking.

— Source publishedTue, 8 Sept, 2026, 12:06 IST·First seen Tue, 8 Sept, 2026, 12:32 IST·Source Inc42

What happened

India D2C brands · Inc42 and PhonePe Payment Gateway hosted an India D2C roundtable on scaling profitably across marketplaces, quick commerce and offline

Key facts

  • More than 3,500 SKUs
  • 90 days inventory ageing threshold
  • 17-20 days finished-goods inventory
  • 15 days demand forecast
  • 30-day customer lifecycle check
  • 90-day customer lifecycle check

Why this matters

Partnership or acquisition targets should have channel-specific demand data, controlled returns and inventory systems that can scale across marketplaces, quick commerce and offline.

What to watch

  • Rising quick-commerce commissions, mandatory discounting or stricter fill-rate penalties.
  • Increase in return-to-origin, marketplace returns or refund rates, especially in apparel, beauty and low-ticket categories.
  • Inventory days and aged-stock provisions rising faster than revenue.
  • More D2C brands launching channel-exclusive packs, bundles or sub-brands.
  • Growing gaps between gross merchandise value growth and contribution-margin improvement.
  • Longer marketplace or offline settlement cycles increasing working-capital needs.
  • Higher repeat-purchase rates and lower customer-acquisition payback periods among brands prioritizing retention.
  • Build SKU-by-channel contribution-margin dashboards including commissions, discounts, shipping, returns, payment fees and working-capital cost.
  • Set inventory-ageing limits and automated markdown, bundle, liquidation and replenishment rules by channel and city.
  • Use channel-specific assortments, pack sizes and promotional calendars to reduce direct price comparison and margin conflict.
  • Shift acquisition budgets toward retention cohorts, repeat-purchase products and higher-LTV customer segments.
  • Negotiate marketplace and quick-commerce terms around fill rates, return liability, settlement cycles, data access and promotional funding.
  • Deploy demand forecasting that incorporates regional demand, seasonality, campaign lift, stock-outs and channel substitution.