Transforming India's Resale Culture With an AI-Powered Marketplace Experience
The Challenge
India's sneaker resale market was growing fast but remained fragmented and trust-deficient. Buyers couldn't verify authenticity, sellers had no reliable platform to reach serious buyers, and the entire category was associated with fakes and scams. SoleSearch wanted to build the trusted marketplace that India's sneaker community deserved — but trust is impossible to fake, and the product had to earn it.
Our Approach
Tequity designed the full marketplace experience with trust as the foundation. The AI authentication system analyzes seller-submitted photos against a trained model of authentic sneaker characteristics — flagging suspicious listings before they reach buyers and creating a verified badge system that signals legitimacy.
The discovery experience is personalized to each buyer's taste profile (brands, silhouettes, colorways, budget) and surfaces new arrivals and price drops tailored to their preferences. For sellers, we designed a streamlined listing flow that makes submission easy while collecting the data the AI needs to authenticate effectively.
The Results
SoleSearch launched with a verified inventory that immediately differentiated it from generic resale platforms. The AI authentication system dramatically reduced fake listings, and buyers responded to the trust signals with higher average transaction values. The seller community grew organically as word spread that SoleSearch was the legitimate platform — not just another marketplace.
