Shaadi.com: Addressing a Generational Shift

Deepika Dhingra, Bhavika Bali, Subba Lakshmi Prabha, Arup Majumdar, Satakshi Raj

Product #:W41932

Supplier:Ivey

Discipline:General Management, Marketing

Setting:India, 2024

Details:Case (PDF) • 18 pages • 2025-08-12

Subjects:

Geography:

India Asia

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$10.54

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Shaadi.com, founded in Mumbai in 1996 by Anupam Mittal, was India’s leading online matrimonial site. Matchmaking in India was a complex process given the involvement of the extended family in selecting life partners for the younger generation. Making Shaadi.com an e-commerce business was a paradigm shift, and the website garnered enormous success in displacing the traditional system of matchmaking through its in-depth understanding of the psychographics of the growing youth segment. However, Mittal had important strategic decisions to make—namely, whether to transform the website into a national brand, whether to retain the website’s matrimonial focus or to broaden its mission to include non-marital relationships, and whether to prioritize increased investments in technological innovation or growth.

Learning Objectives

This case would be suitable for undergraduates and first- and second-year master of business administration students. It could be taught as part of marketing management and digital-marketing core and elective courses. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:

Understand the dynamics of the Indian matrimonial and match-making market.
Understand how changing consumer attitudes, behaviour, and environment put pressure on incumbent players in the Indian matchmaking market.
Evaluate the choices that an incumbent firm could make when faced with changes in consumer attitudes and the environment.
Learn how to apply modern digital-marketing strategies to reinvigorate a brand.
Identify and develop strategies for a business to stay relevant to existing and new customer segments.