Influencer marketing is no stranger to the world, but a new wave is currently surging across the consumer industry in India – the advent of virtual influencers. Big name global brands like Nike, Calvin Klein, and Samsung have been making the most of this trend for years. India joined the bandwagon in January 2022 with its first virtual influencer, ‘Kyra’.
Now, Myntra, the e-commerce platform owned by Walmart, has introduced ‘Maya’, its premier virtual fashion influencer. According to Sunder Balasubramanian, Myntra’s Chief Marketing Officer, “Maya, a distinctive figure of Myntra Fashion Forward (FWD), will function as an influencer on social media and also be part of Myntra’s own social commerce on the Myntra Studio platform.”
He adds, “Maya, in collaboration with our influencers, will jointly establish trends and guide users in identifying them, thus facilitating a simpler shopping experience.” This digital avatar, with the Instagram handle ‘@maya_unlimited’, is conceived to be located in Bengaluru within Myntra’s virtual universe.
Launching alongside Myntra’s 18th biannual ‘End of Reason Sale’ (‘EORS’), Maya will act as the ‘style hacker’ for Generation Z, providing insight into trends and deals. “With an understanding of the necessity to blend global progress with the interests of the next generation, we are leading the way with Maya, who will redefine fashion with her trendy and daring approach, sure to appeal to fashion-forward individuals nationwide,” Balasubramanian shares.
EORS-18 is slated to commence on June 1, 2023, with exclusive early access for ‘Myntra Insiders’ on May 31. The event will present a broad array of over 6,000 brands and two million styles. As per the company, Maya will personally select her top picks from EORS-18 and share the trendiest FWD styles on her Instagram, providing a sneak peek into the future of product endorsements.
Data from the ‘Virtual Influencers Survey 2022’ reveals that 58% of respondents follow at least one virtual influencer, with 27% following for the content, 19% for storytelling, and 15% for the inspiration they provide.
Myntra has been heavily integrating AI into their operations, as evident from their recent introduction of MyStylist, a digital personal stylist for users, and MyFashionGPT, which allows users to conduct searches in a more conversational manner rather than just relying on keywords. Balasubramanian concludes, “These tools help users to not only explore a wide variety of exciting offers but also discover them in a manner that suits them best.” The platform has further improved its technology by enabling search in over 11 languages to cater to a wider range of consumers.
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