How Fashion and Apparel Brands Can Leverage ONDC

A practical guide for brands ready to go beyond Myntra and Flipkart

India’s fashion industry is sitting on a goldmine — and ONDC might just be the key to unlocking it.

Here’s the picture in numbers:

India’s apparel market is valued at $115.7 billion in 2024 and is projected to hit $171.6 billion by 2034
The online fashion retail market alone is projected to reach $43 billion by 2025
Fashion contributes approximately 25% of all e-commerce GMV in India
Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities now account for over 50% of total fashion e-commerce sales — a massive, underserved market
India’s apparel sector is growing at a 10–12% CAGR from 2024 to 2030, making it one of the fastest-growing large-scale markets in the world

Yet here’s the problem: most fashion brands selling online are still playing by someone else’s rules. Myntra takes a big cut. Amazon’s algorithm is a black box. Flipkart Fashion charges commissions that can eat 25–30% of your revenue.

Enter ONDC — the Open Network for Digital Commerce.

Since its formal launch in 2023, ONDC has crossed 10 crore (100 million) total transactions, with monthly transaction volume jumping from 1 million in early 2023 to over 14 million by November 2024. In May 2024 alone, fashion recorded 330,000 orders on the network — and that number has only grown since.

For fashion and apparel brands — whether you’re a boutique ethnic wear label, a D2C streetwear startup, or an established multi-category retailer — ONDC is no longer something you can afford to ignore.

Let’s break down exactly how it works, and more importantly, how your brand can use it.

Why Should Fashion Brands Specifically Care About ONDC?

Fashion is already the second-largest e-commerce category in India. But the current model has three big pain points for sellers:

1. Sky-high commissions: Traditional platforms charge 25–30% commission. ONDC commissions run between 5–10% — dramatically lower, and directly translating to better margins for sellers.

2. Algorithm dependence: On Myntra or Amazon, your visibility depends on their algorithm, your ad spend, and how well you play their game. On ONDC, discoverability is democratized.

3. Platform lock-in: Your customer data, your reviews, your brand presence — all of it sits inside someone else’s walled garden. ONDC breaks those walls.

And the numbers back the opportunity: 84% of ONDC’s 535,000+ sellers are small sellers, contributing 56% of total orders. This is a network designed for brands like yours.

5 Key Ways Fashion Brands Can Leverage ONDC

1. Reach Buyers You Were Never Reaching Before

ONDC is now operational in over 1,200 cities. That’s not just Delhi and Bangalore — that’s Tier 2 and Tier 3 India, where fashion e-commerce is exploding but platform penetration is still low.

Since Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities already drive over 50% of India’s fashion e-commerce sales, and ONDC is specifically designed to penetrate these geographies (including multilingual support), this is a direct pipeline to customers you’ve been unable to reach cost-effectively through traditional platforms.

If your brand sells ethnic wear, festive collections, or price-conscious fashion, this audience is your sweet spot.

2. Keep More of Every Sale

Let’s do the math on what ONDC means for your margins:

PlatformCommission RateRevenue Kept on a ₹1,000 SaleMyntra / Flipkart Fashion25–30%₹700–750Amazon Fashion20–25%₹750–800ONDC5–10%₹900–950

That’s a margin improvement of 15–20 percentage points per sale. Multiply that across thousands of orders, and you’re looking at a fundamentally different business.

Small grocery retailers in Bhopal and Kochi who moved to ONDC have reported 15–25% increases in take-home margins. Fashion sellers have similar potential.

3. Build Your Brand Identity, Not the Platform’s

On Myntra, customers shop Myntra. On ONDC, customers can shop your brand — through whatever buyer app they prefer.

This matters more in fashion than almost any other category because brand perception drives repeat purchase. If a customer loves your kurta, you want them to remember your brand name, not just “that thing I bought on Myntra.”

ONDC’s open architecture means you can:

Maintain your own brand catalog with consistent imagery and storytelling
Attract loyal customers who specifically search for your label
Build ratings and reviews that travel across platforms

4. Diversify Across Sub-Categories

ONDC already supports a comprehensive fashion catalog, covering:

Men’s Apparel, Accessories, Footwear, Bags & Luggage, Eyewear, Jewellery
Women’s Apparel, Accessories, Footwear, Bags & Luggage, Eyewear, Jewellery
Kids’ Apparel, Footwear, Accessories, Eyewear, Jewellery
Infant Apparel and Accessories

This means whether you sell sarees, sneakers, sunglasses, or school bags — there’s a category waiting for you. And unlike traditional platforms where certain sub-categories get buried, ONDC’s search is interoperable, so niche sub-categories get equal discoverability.

5. Tap Into Growing Fashion Order Volumes on the Network

Fashion’s trajectory on ONDC tells a compelling story:

May 2024: Fashion hit 330,000 orders in a single month
The retail sector on ONDC grew 12% between June and July 2024 alone
Overall ONDC transaction count increased 85% from January to August 2024

As more buyer apps integrate fashion search (and as ONDC targets a GMV of $48 billion), the fashion order volume will only grow. Getting in now means building your seller rating, catalog depth, and buyer familiarity before your competitors do.

How to Actually Get Started on ONDC as a Fashion Seller

The process is more straightforward than most brands expect:

Step 1: Choose a Seller Network Participant (SNP) You don’t join ONDC directly. You join through a seller app — also called a Seller Network Participant. Popular seller app

Costbo
ShopClues
UdyamWell

Step 2: Prepare Your Catalog This is where most sellers need to invest time. A strong ONDC catalog includes:

High-quality product images (multiple angles)
Accurate size charts and material details
Category-correct classification (so your items surface in the right searches)
Competitive pricing

Step 3: Integrate Logistics ONDC works with multiple logistics providers. The seller platform can help you choose the right logistic partner

Step 4: Go Live and Manage Orders Once live, orders come in through your seller app dashboard. You manage fulfillment, track shipments, and handle returns through the same interface.

Step 5: Build Your Rating ONDC has a standardized rating and feedback system across buyer apps. A strong seller rating is transferable across the network — so the effort you put into good service compounds over time.

What Type of Fashion Brands Are Best Positioned for ONDC Right Now?

Best fit:

D2C ethnic wear and regional fashion brands targeting Tier 2/3 cities
Artisan and handloom labels seeking wider reach without heavy platform fees
Boutique and niche fashion brands (streetwear, sustainable fashion, plus-size)
Multi-category fashion retailers looking to reduce platform dependency
Brands with strong catalog depth (50+ SKUs) who can benefit from discoverability

May need more preparation:

Ultra-luxury fashion brands (ONDC’s buyer base is currently more mass-market)
Brands without basic digital catalog infrastructure
Single-SKU sellers (may not justify the onboarding effort yet)

Challenges to Keep in Mind

ONDC isn’t perfect — and any brand going in should go in clear-eyed:

Returns complexity: Fashion has one of the highest return rates (25–30% online). ONDC’s returns and dispute process is still maturing, and coordination between buyer apps, seller apps, and logistics can be bumpy.

Catalog effort upfront: A well-structured catalog is non-negotiable for ONDC discoverability. If your product data is messy, it’s worth cleaning it up before onboarding.

Buyer app fragmentation: Buyers are spread across many apps. Unlike Myntra where all traffic is in one place, ONDC requires understanding which buyer apps your target customer uses.

Still scaling: Fashion had 330,000 orders in May 2024. That’s growing, but it’s a fraction of Myntra’s volume. ONDC is a long-term bet, not an overnight channel switch.

The Bottom Line for Fashion Brands

India’s fashion market is on a decade-long upward trajectory. The platforms that dominate today — Myntra, Amazon, Flipkart — will always be relevant. But as ONDC matures, brands that establish themselves early on the open network will have a significant advantage: lower fees, broader reach, and brand independence.

The analogy to keep in mind: early UPI adopters — both merchants and customers — shaped how India pays today. Early ONDC adopters in fashion could shape how India shops for clothes tomorrow.

If you’re a fashion brand with ambitions beyond the metro, tired of giving up 25–30% to platforms, and looking for genuine customer relationships — ONDC is the channel worth investing in now.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1. Is ONDC free to join as a fashion seller? ONDC itself doesn’t charge sellers to join the network. However, the Seller Network Participant (SNP) you choose may have its own fees or subscription plans. Most SNPs are reasonably priced, and the savings from lower commissions (5–10% vs 25–30%) more than compensate for any onboarding cost.

Q2. Can I sell on ONDC and Myntra/Amazon at the same time?

Absolutely. ONDC is not an exclusive channel. Most sellers use it alongside their existing platforms — it’s an additional distribution channel, not a replacement. Many brands start by testing ONDC with a portion of their catalog.

Q3. How does order fulfillment and shipping work on ONDC for fashion? ONDC has integrated logistics providers within the network (Shiprocket, Dunzo, and others). When an order comes in, you fulfill it through your seller app, which coordinates with the logistics provider. You don’t need separate shipping contracts. That said, you should check which logistics partners your chosen seller app supports, as coverage varies.

Q4. How are returns and refunds handled?

ONDC has defined a returns and grievance redressal framework. Returns are initiated through the buyer app, coordinated between buyer app and seller app, and logistics is arranged for pickup. The process is functional but still evolving — fashion sellers should set clear return policies and product descriptions to minimize return rates in the first place.

Q5. What are the best seller apps for fashion brands on ONDC?

Mystore is one of the most fashion-specific options and has been widely recommended for apparel sellers. SellerSetu and Paytm for Business are also popular. The best choice depends on your catalog size, logistics needs, and technical capability. It’s worth demoing two or three before committing.

Q6. How many buyers can actually find my products on ONDC?

Buyer apps on ONDC include Paytm, Magicpin, PhonePe, and several others. By mid-2024, ONDC had over 1,200 cities covered and was processing 14+ million transactions per month across categories. As more buyer apps add fashion search, the addressable buyer base grows. Think of it as your products being listed across multiple apps simultaneously with a single catalog upload.

Q 7 . What’s the timeline to get live on ONDC after I sign up with a seller app?

Most seller apps can get a fashion brand live within 1–2 weeks once catalog data is ready. The onboarding process includes GST verification, catalog upload, and logistics integration. The catalog preparation (especially for larger assortments) is often the biggest time investment.

References

ONDC Official Website & Transaction Dashboard — ondc.org | Transaction data, seller counts, category structure
Redseer Strategy Consultants — Fashion Forward: Winning in India’s Fast-Growth Apparel Market (November 2025) — India apparel CAGR projections, D2C brand landscape
Expert Market Research — India Clothing Market Size, Share & Growth Report 2035 — India clothing market valuation, export data, Ministry of Textiles figures
CXOToday / ONDC Press Release — ONDC Network Records 5 Million Retail Orders in May 2024 (June 2024) — Fashion order volumes, seller network counts, buyer app data

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