Why FlipKart Halted App-Only Plans After Decision in May
After deciding to go App-Only in May of 2015, Flipkart recently halted it's plan. Find out why
Flipkart, India’s top eCommerce portal, has now put app-only plans on hold after thorough planning in September of 2015.
Flipkart has delayed the app-only approach because company wants to assess how it will impact sales in big-ticket categories such as large appliances and furniture.
Flipkart might pick up the project (to go app-only) soon, but as of now things have been stalled and September looks unlikely,” a company insider claims. “Major sellers who retail white goods, electronics and large appliances are not convinced about the move,” according to an insider.
“We are constantly experimenting with various aspects of our service to create the best shopping experience for our users on our app. Meanwhile, we continue to offer both desktop as well as mobile option for our customers”, the company officially stated.
Flipkart's mobile application accounts for 70-75% of the total traffic received by the domain flipkart.com. Besides the fact that a majority of Indians use smartphones to access the Internet, eCommerce players push mobile applications because apps provide more data on each user, and allows firms to personalize a user’s experience based on his/her interests & requirements gathered from buying and browsing history. Just a month back, Flipkart’s chief product officer Punit Soni said in a town hall meeting, “Flipkart will operate as only a mobile app from September.”
According to a KPMG report, people accessing the Internet through their mobiles rose about 33% in 2014 to 173M, and is expected to grow 21% YOY till 2019 to 457M. mCommerce is estimated to constitute 30% of the $3B e-tailing industry, and is likely to grow to nearly 40% of the entire industry, which is expected to be about $32B by 2020.
Also, fashion and lifestyle ecommerce player Myntra, a subsidiary of Flipkart, went app-only in May, 2015. In two months of Myntra going app-only; parent company Flipkart had also decided to follow suit. Flipkart’s chief product officer Punit Soni said in a town hall meeting in May 2015, “Flipkart will operate as only a mobile app from September.”
"Some categories are better viewed on a bigger screen," said Sujayath Ali, CEO and co-founder of mobile app based fashion retailer Voonik. "Also, going app-only will affect people browsing from office as well as price or value comparison," he said.
These sudden strategy shifts raises the critical issue about the impact of shutting down website commerce, and whether to rely on social commerce & mobile commerce - as the future of ecommerce lies in smartphones and social media, especially for ecommerce development companies in Gurgaon.
