Flipkart considers setting up of offline stores

Touched by the 100-million registered user mark last month, e-commerce marketplace Flipkart is considering options like opening brick-and-mortar stores in small cities as a part of its online-to-offline strategy to attract more customers. The initiative, known internally as assisted commerce, is one of several the company is working on.

What amazes the market is that Flipkart is seeking to double its current user base at a time when the broader Indian e-commerce market faces stagnation. The new strategy will target remote parts of the country where awareness about e-commerce is low and users have inconsistent and limited access to the internet.Flipkart’s engineering chief Ravi Garikipati confirmed the company is working on the assisted commerce initiative, adding that the plan is still at a very early stage. The o2o strategy could take a different shape in the coming months, he claimed.

E-commerce companies in India have largely struggled to expand the market this year and investors who were betting that India would create the world’s next Alibaba have had to go back on their expectations amid valuation markdowns and a slowdown in funding. Online retail sales fell in June compared to last December, as market estimates.