📖 Byju's, Unacademy Going Offline?

While most companies are now making plans to enter the metaverse, two 'successful' edtech companies are planning to go offline. Here's why. (Reading Time: 3 mins)

The metaverse is causing a digital revolution by taking everything online.

Even banks like JP Morgan and SBI are creating digital equivalents of themselves.

This digital migration has made it seem that in the future we may never ever have to step out of the house.

But while most companies are taking themselves online, edtech companies like Byju's and Unacademy, which have so far only maintained an online presence, are going offline. 

Wondering why? 

ReadOn!

Unacademy's Unique Offline Play

Both Byju's and Unacademy have realised that now that Covid lockdowns are over, they need to work harder to acquire and retain customers.

With schools and tuition centres shut down, students had rushed to these online classes during Covid.

But now that the scare is over, these companies could lose out all steam.

So, Unacademy recently announced that it has launched its first-ever experience centre in Delhi. It plans to open three more in Jaipur, Kota and Lucknow very soon.

But these "experience centres" are not meant for teaching children offline.

No, Unacademy is going to keep its classes virtual-only for now.

These centres are just meant to give students and parents information about Unacademy's various courses and subscriptions.

Students can come in, talk to counsellors and figure out which course is best for them. 

They can also come in and meet educators.

Basically, these stores are a customer acquisition tool.

But why not just acquire customers through advertisements and digital campaigns?

Won't that be much cheaper than investing in real estate and incurring regular maintenance expenses?

Well, Unacademy is already running many digital campaigns (including launching two different shows) and burning a lot of cash in the process.

In FY21, it spent around Rs. 414 crores in digital marketing and advertising.

But the company feels that this strategy alone will not help it.

After all, so many students are continuing to opt for offline classes. Around 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh students still go to Kota every year to study the same courses that Unacademy is offering.

That's because a lot of us want education to have at least some sort of a social aspect.

Also having a completely digital existence may not build trust.

The experience centres are trying to fill in these very gaps.

And that's not all. The company thinks that this investment, though costly, will eventually help it cut down customer acquisition costs and boost the average order value per customer.

Byju's Offline Play

Byju's on the other hand is not just relying on offline centres to build trust and connect.

No, India's most valued startup now wants to launch full-fledged tuition centres.

The company is investing $200 million to build over 500 tuition centres in 200 cities. It aims to enrol over 1 million children.

This strategy makes sense for Byju's as its target audience is not just children preparing for entrance exams but also school children, who may need a more hands-on learning experience. 

Byju's had sort of seen this coming, which is why it had acquired Aakash Educational Services last year for a whopping $1 billion. 

Wait. So, wouldn't it make sense for Unacademy to also launch offline classes?

Well, yes. But Unacademy is focusing more on reducing the costs of the courses it offers.

You see, offline classes can be much more expensive because the company has to factor in the costs of running the tuition centre, providing physical study material to the children and so on in the fees.

Plus, students would also have to spend more on travelling. 

This would increase the cost of a Rs. 50,000 course to around Rs. 1 lakh- Rs. 2 lakhs, which Unacademy doesn't want to do.

So, you see, even though both companies are entering the offline realm, they both have very different ideas about what they will be doing on the field.

Both their plans have their pros and cons. 

Now only time will tell which company will manage to be more successful.

But do you think these edtech companies, which are burning cash without making profits, manage to survive now that Covid is over?

Let us know your thoughts on Twitter.

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