A while back, I wrote an
article for
Apps Unveiled magazine. At the time, Flipkart was following in the
footsteps
of Myntra and sailing ahead with their plan of going app only.
Admittedly, the concept looked revolutionary and also had the power to
drive the Indian ecommerce business to new horizons. But in a span of
few months, things turned sour and the move amassed a lot of resistance
from consumers. In a desperate attempt to recover lost base, Flipkart
conducted their patented
Big Billion Day sale as an app only feature. Even that didn’t seem to bring any change.
On the eve of Diwali, Flipkart announced its decision to bring back the web and introduced its new browser based
Flipkart Lite
app. Moreover, they decided to ditch their plans of going app only and
keep its desktop website experience alive. So, where did it all go
wrong?
Freedom to consumers
One thing that has always bugged me about Flipkart’s proposed
business model was their complete ignorance towards customer behavior.
Granted the fact that smartphone revolution is taking over, it doesn’t
take away the truth that people are still habituated in using large
screen devices such as desktops. Also, there is still the case of basic
human rights, enabling them to make their own choices. Just because I
bought a smartphone doesn’t give you the right to force me into using
your app.
Competitors leveraging loopholes
When Flipkart stopped letting people open their website on
smartphones it was a juicy opening for competitors to play their hand.
Amazon, Snapdeal and many other sites pushed their app first model but
also let people open their websites on smartphones, while keeping the
desktop website alive. Even the most loyal of Flipkart consumers started
switching to competitive offerings and the ecommerce giant’s sales
started dropping significantly.
Constant updates consume data packs
When a multimillion dollar corporation is trying to implement an app
only business model, one expects them to do their homework. In a
surprising manner, Flipkart didn’t consider the ramifications that daily
app updates will bring to the table. India being a developing nation
still makes data packs a luxury, that few can afford. So, how can you
imagine a consumer (shopping once or twice a month) spending valuable
data on updating your app, several times a month?
The Outcome
While Flipkart had the stones to go ahead with their app only
business model, that doesn’t necessarily make it a smart move. I, along
with many others foresaw an outcome that would not prove to be as
lucrative as Flipkart’s over ambitious plans had made them to believe. I
guess all of this can be owed to the enormous amount of
success and funding
that the company has achieved in a relatively short time. My only hope
is that the company doesn’t let all of it go into its head and end up
becoming a precarious example for future startups.
