Following online fashion retailer Myntra’s steps, marketplace model
Flipkart has announced plans of moving to a complete app-only format. The
buzz is that Flipkart is considering the same route within a year.
Witnessing a rise in mobile traffic and smart-phone users from 6 percent a
year ago, increasing almost 10 times with a year and a half, Flipkart plans
to take advantage of the prospects this business proposition holds.
Myntra which was acquired
by Flipkart last year will stop selling on its website from May 1, as per
its plans to become a completely mobile-based retailer. Both Flipkart and
Myntra have already shut their mobile websites directing visitors to their
apps. According to sources, the company aims to launch a 360-degree
advertising and marketing campaign to announce its mobile app-only
presence. Currently, Myntra witnesses around 80 percent of its traffic and
70 percent of sales driven by its mobile app. Flipkart also gets 60 percent
of sales through its mobile app.
As per a recent Morgan Stanley report, online shopper penetration (as a
percentage of internet users) in India is expected to increase from 9
percent in 2013 to 36 percent in 2020, primarily led by mobile users. With
mobile usage increasing, advertisement costs (primarily search engine
optimization) are declining as traffic is increasing either directly to the
website or through a mobile app. This is also increasing customer
stickiness as once an app has been downloaded, customers generally visit
that website before visiting any other site, the report said.