Well, well, well… Finally some fresh news! While the world is busy shopping, ironically at the same time, there is something relatively new cooking up as a sweet-smelling marketing strategy in the global e-commerce scenario.
Blame it to the fact that there are lesser players in this field or the lack of innovation, irrespective of whatever floats many of the boats, Flipkart and Myntra have set their sail and are definitely up to something which no other major portal has yet thought of doingㅡ shut down their desktop website and sell their products only via mobile application. Now how about that!
Still thinking? Now take a pause and hang on. Let me present before you a much transparent image of what the e-commerce giants (or should i say “Giant”, Myntra is owned by Flipkart) are up to…
“Last year, we had more on the app, but still did our web and desktop. In the next year or so, we’re going to be only mobile…” quoted Michael Adnani, Vice-President of Retail and Head of the Brand Alliances, Flipkart. having said this, Mr. Adnani clearly mentions that the traffic for e-commerce-driven platforms via mobile devices is growing exponentially, which is a boon for the consumers as well as for the merchant.
Supporting the fact, Mr. Adnani adds on “A year ago, 6% of our traffic was coming from mobile. In less than 18 months, that traffic is ten-fold. That shows the significance of what a mobile phone is doing for the consumers and consequently doing for us”.
Facts were stated in the press release bringing out figures as high as 80 lakh transactions on a mobile platform. Furthermore, another intriguing thing is that majority of the traffic was driven from tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Seeing results as impressive as these, Adnani is all flattery about their mobile mode. Period.
Bye-Bye Desktopㅡ Welcome Mobile App!
Going mobile savvy and loving the consequences equally, Flipkart and Myntra both have clearly announced their intentions of going off their desktop websites sooner than later, and Myntra has done it already. Couple of months back both Myntra and Flipkart experimented happily by ditching their mobile websites and redirected the mobile traffic towards a page saying download mobile application for making purchase.
I thought I would sing the Rains of Castamere as per the current situation, grieving the fall of Myntra and Flipkart, but to my surprise, it turned out to be a bold move, quite similar to the traits of House Bolton in the Game of Thrones. Turns out, they were right with their strategy. People had no option but to re-divert to the mobile applications. Winter is coming indeed!
Considering myself as a Myntra user, I happily did the same. Of course, when you need to buy something you don’t fancy waiting for long.Hence online, right ? So I simply did what they said, downloaded the application on my Windows phone and started searching for a pair of good headphones. Although i must say, personally, it’s much easier for me to search for a product on the application. Somehow, it’s less complicated and easy to operate and not much of internet hassle as well.
Four stars from my side. Anyways, here are some more reviews showcasing the impact.
So, you see how skeptical people are being about this new move by Myntra and Flipkart.
Here are some really cool rebuttals from various e-commerce users like you and me (who think) that will make you wonder. Well, guess what! Even the consumers are trying to decode this new strategy.
1) How to battle a search engine
Well, considering the mentality of Indian buyers, always willing to make a desireable pick with slight ease on the wallet (Money), Flipkart might as well look out for search engines as a potential market threat. So considering the fact that they are trying to bring their market down to a mobile application-driven search, this might as well be a good strategy countering Google and other search engines. And as of now Search engines have failed to search mobile app contents.Smart move… indeed!
2) Accessing Users’ Personal Data
Another intriguing comment on Economic Times by some user mentions the fact that such mobile apps ask for permissions while using the internet. This is definitely debatable, yet amusing.
3) Cost Engine Optimization
Shutting down the website might as well be a strategy to save some bucks as maintaining both mobile and desktop website is definitely more costly. Oh, by the way, advertising in applications is cheaper! Makes sense now, doesn’t it?
4) Future Verdict
The game is on! Just like every out-of-the-box marketing strategy has its own pros and cons, Flipkart has taken their chance yet again, maintaining their unpredictable reputation of shocking users time and again.