Building with Trust, Not Just Trends: Lessons from Ashish Ranka at Virgio
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We feature D2C operators and CRO experts with a story worth sharing.
We feature D2C operators and CRO experts with a story worth sharing.
In this episode of GrowthFit, we spoke with Ashish Ranka, Head of Product and Director at Virgio, to unpack what goes into crafting a high-converting, high-trust user experience in the D2C world. With product stints at Flipkart, CoinSwitch, Rivigo, and more, Ashish brings a grounded, deeply thoughtful lens to product-led growth.
From hyper-local UX decisions that saved a launch to A/B experiments that shocked the team, Ashish’s perspective is a goldmine for anyone building for today's fast-moving, mobile-first consumer.
Ashish starts with a blunt truth: in D2C, your design is your handshake. It tells users if they can trust you before they even scroll. A slow, clunky, or chaotic website immediately breaks that trust.
“If your site looks shady or slow”, he says, “nobody’s putting their credit card in.”
At Virgio, early experiments leaned heavily into visual flair—animations, stars, loud interactions. But that didn’t translate to comfort or conversions. It was only when the team began prioritising familiarity and stability—things like predictable actions and reliable performance—that users started buying in, literally.
Ashish highlights a mistake many D2C brands make: over-indexing on aesthetics at the cost of usability.
“You can’t have a site that’s gorgeous but unusable,” he says. “And you can’t have a fast-loading site that looks like it’s from 2004 either.”
The sweet spot? Functionally beautiful. Not loud. Not gimmicky. Just clear, confidence-building experiences.
Ashish believes the best personalisation is the one users don’t even notice—it just feels right. At Virgio, personalisation goes beyond “Hey, [Name]!” and digs into behaviour patterns. If someone previously looked for a sold-out size, the site remembers. Next time, filters are pre-set to that size, surfacing what’s in stock, without asking.
“It’s not just about calling out the customer’s name,” he explains. “It’s about anticipating intent and making it effortless.”
Virgio runs 15–20 A/B tests every few months. But Ashish makes it clear: most don’t deliver statistically significant results. Why? Because too many experiments aim for marginal gains instead of meaningful shifts.
The one that broke through? A bold move in price transparency. Virgio tested showing the cost of making a product, and even the margin the brand made. The result? Significantly higher conversions.
“You won’t know what works until you test,” he says. “But don’t test timidly. Go big or go back.”
According to Ashish, cart abandonment is a silent killer that impacts over 40% of revenue opportunities at Virgio. One key fix? Capture contact early.
Instead of waiting until checkout, Virgio prompts users for their number the moment they add an item to the bag. That small shift fuels remarketing across WhatsApp, Instagram, and more.
Still, Ashish admits there's more to explore here. Nudges, urgency, and bundling logic—these are areas ripe for experimentation. As he puts it, “There’s a fine line between helpful nudges and distracting detours.”
With 95% of traffic on mobile, mobile-first thinking is non-negotiable. But Ashish warns against writing off desktops entirely—especially if you're selling higher-ticket items.
“I helped rebuild Flipkart’s desktop site after they went app-only and lost ground,” he recalls. “Even if it's 5% of your traffic, that user might be your biggest spender.”
The key is not to clone your mobile experience on desktop but to respect the form factor. Each device is a different canvas.
Virgio learnt the hard way that simply duplicating your site for new markets doesn’t work. When they launched in the UAE with a copy of their India site, the ROAS tanked to 0.2. The fix? Localisation.
From showcasing culturally appropriate dresses to changing the greeting to “Marhaba” and even creating an Arabic version of the logo, small details drove massive impact. The ROAS jumped to 4.0.
Ashish sums it up: “UX is the difference between flopping at launch and growing 20x.”
Ashish breaks down an emerging trend: intent-based UX. Think beyond static journeys. Start adapting based on whether someone’s browsing casually, price-hunting, or showing clear buying signals.
And if your ads are bringing in different personas—Gen Z trend-hunters vs. value-conscious shoppers—your website should speak to each in their own language.
One landing page shouldn’t do it all. Build like there’s a salesperson behind the screen, ready to switch gears.
Asked what one metric he’d take on a lonely island, Ashish picks ROAS (Revenue Over Ad Spend). It’s simple on the surface, but deceptively complex underneath, especially when attribution clouds the truth.
“Everyone sees a different ROAS depending on where they’re looking,” he says. “To really understand it, you have to strip away the noise.”
His advice? Dive deep. Understand how ROAS is calculated, where it's coming from, and what it's actually telling you.
Ashish’s episode is a quiet masterclass in modern D2C product thinking. No fluff. No hacks. Just user-first thinking, backed by experiments and rooted in empathy.
“Users aren’t here for your design,” he says. “They’re here to solve a need. The more frictionless, personalised, and trustworthy your site feels, the more they’ll stay—and convert.”
In a world that’s quick to chase trends, this is your reminder to build patiently, personalise wisely, and always test with purpose.