The price tag of a birthday wish

‘Wish you many happy returns of the day. May your day be filled with lots and lots of joy, exuberance, and happiness. have a great year ahead.’

This is usually how we wish birthdays right. But what if I tell you that this message has a price tag associated with it. My quest for knowing about booming trends in the society led me to an article about this emerging new phenomenon.

So in short what happens is that you want to give a surprise to your your friend/loved ones by making a personalized message/video for them . But instead of doing that yourself you nominate a celebrity (of sorts) to do the same.

Now this person can be a micro-influencer, an emerging athlete, a sidekick of Alia Bhatt in some Bollywood flick or a fitness model. The options are aplenty to pick and choose.

And the price tag depends on a number of factors which might include the popularity, demand and success of that particular person. You can also keep it as a souvenir and add to your digital footprint as well as share across various social media platforms to gain #social currency.

Although the trend is in nascent stage but is already mushrooming across the country with 12 startups already trying to bank on this inherent need of feeling valued by human beings, now being monetized by these players. One such startup called Simsim has even raised $16 million in funding across 3 rounds.

The target group of such ventures includes teenagers, college-goers, housewives from small towns and cities.

In my view this trend will pick up in tier 2–3 cities much faster as people in metros like Delhi and Mumbai already have access to such celebrities.

Opening up monetization avenues for celebrities and marking lifetime memories for fans, at as little as Rs 500 a wish.

Social commerce has only begun. A fad or an upcoming revelation remains to be seen.

Please share your thoughts in the comments!

#socialcommerce #startups #influencers