By: Chanda Kumar
Last updated : June 05, 2026 2:44 pm
In an exclusive conversation with Retail4Growth, Sumit Jasoria, CEO and Co-founder of NewMe, discusses the distinct buying behaviour of young shoppers at the brand's offline stores, the must-haves for a Gen Z retail experience, and NewMe's growth outlook.
It was Tuesday morning, and the NewMe store in Forum South, Bengaluru was brimming with activity. Young shoppers browsed the latest fashion while store stylists moved swiftly, creating looks with great ease. NewMe, the popular women-focused fashion-tech brand, strategically targets Gen Z with its offerings and store experience and for good reason. Gen Z is now the decision-maker for travel, dining, and clothing in most urban families. And the NewMe store experience is built around aspiration, expression, and validation for this new-age shopper, from Instagram-worthy trial rooms to dynamic displays. With 25 stores across India, the brand continues to expand its offline presence in fashion-forward Gen Z markets.
In an exclusive conversation with Retail4Growth, Sumit Jasoria, CEO and Co-founder of NewMe, discusses the distinct buying behaviour of young shoppers at the brand's offline stores, the must-haves for a Gen Z retail experience, and NewMe's growth outlook.
NewMe targets Gen Z, a demographic known for an 8-second attention span. What have you observed about their buying behaviour in a densely-packed, frequently refreshed store environment?
Gen Z's attention span is short, but their preferences are formed early, and decisions come fast. They can make up their mind in as little as 8 seconds. At NewMe, we see two distinct customer types. The first knows the brand well: they walk in, know what they want, try it, and buy it. The second is the exploratory customer, who is discovering us for the first time.
Our offline store also broke a myth for us. We assumed Gen Z is always online, but half of our customers never buy online. What we've learnt is that they browse online and buy offline. If they need something urgently, they'll order online, but the store is an experience. They're also remarkably direct. If they don't like something, they'll say it to your face. They're vocal about what they want and what they don't.
Finally, the store itself has to tell a story. Gen Z loves coming in to take selfies and create content. Expression is at the heart of who they are.
What role do visual merchandising and other elements play in elevating the store experience dedicated to Gen Z?
Visual merchandising plays a huge role. Whatever goes on the mannequin sells out within two days and that's just the reality. Secondly, the trial room is very important, which most brands undervalue and invest the least in. So much of the purchase decision is made there. It's a simple AIDA model: the trial room is where conversion happens. Our highest investment is in the trial room, including design and the number of rooms.
Gen Z, in my view, is driven by three things: Aspiration, Expression, and Validation. You'll notice there's no pricing on any product in this store and that's a conscious decision. Many experts told us we were getting it wrong. But we don't want to be a price-led brand. Pricing is table stakes today. Customers already know what they're willing to pay. They come here for the designs.
In retail, competing on price is a race to the bottom, and there's no end to it. But if you build a brand around experience, that's defensible. For NewMe, the fundamentals are great design and compelling value.
What’s been your approach to building the in-store experience as you scale?
In retail, you can't build experience after 5 years, but from the first day itself. So, the DNA of the company is defined by data and tech, but consumers come first. And the consumer has to love everything, no matter how much technology you've built behind the scenes.
We do two things differently at offline retail. We don’t replicate styles across stores, as around 30–40% of styles are unique to each store, based on the pincode-level catchment. Secondly, we offer unique looks in limited quantities. Gen Z validation is very important and it only happens when they look unique.
How does technology factor into the NewMe store experience?
We use a lot of technology, but most of it works behind the scenes and customers don't see it, nor should they. They come for great design and experience, not another layer of tech in their lives. I learned something early on: don't try to solve what doesn't need solving. Gen Z already lives in a high-tech world; the store should feel like a relief, not an extension of it.
That said, we are experimenting on the operational side. One example is an AI-powered recorder for staff interactions, which helps us analyse customer conversations and sharpen our service and training.
How do you see Tier 2 & 3 locations as part of your offline retail growth?
We're not rushing into every market. Our online data tells us that certain markets, like Kerala and Chennai, aren't ready yet and we're happy to wait. We've also changed how we think about locations. A city is not one but a bunch of pincodes. Every pincode carries a 5 km catchment area, and that catchment has to excite us before we move in.
Shillong is a great example of a fashion-forward market that ranks third in our online records, even though it’s a Tier 3 location for most. The moment we opened the store, the merchandise flew off the shelves. Clothing is very personal, and people want to get their hands on it as soon as possible.
What are your expansion plans — cities, formats, anything new?
We're doing exclusive brand outlets, all company-owned. We have 25 stores operational and are adding 30–40 more this year, with 20 already signed. We are looking at Jaipur, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Bangalore.
Northeast is a massive market. We're expanding to Agartala, Dimapur, Manipur, and opening a second store in Guwahati. For East India broadly Bhubaneswar and Kolkata, we're looking at two stores this year. We're also piloting one franchise store in Guwahati.
Also, we're also building NewMe Zip — a delivery model that uses our stores as pseudo dark stores. Customers can order online with pincode-based delivery fulfilled from the nearest store.