ttract more customers
Store-King and iPay are online start-ups who use an assisted ecommerce model to attract customers in small towns. Ecommerce top dog, Flipkart is the latest to go down that road as it attempts to assist ecommerce novices, by setting up an offline presence.
No prizes for guessing which product Flipkart is using to debut with the new service. You guessed it. Mobile phones! The Mobile phone category contributes to 65% of sales on Flipkart. The latest offline revelation by the online marketplace is certain to increase that figure, by tapping into the population who are not yet familiar with the online world.
Building App nicely
The fact that Flipkart sold $200 million worth of phones during the five day Big Billion Days sale has recently come to light. This should bring big smiles to the faces of the Flipkart directors, if you consider that last year Flipkart sold $ 60 million worth of mobile phones at the single day Big Billion day sale. Alot has been said on the subject of Flipkart’s App-only strategy during the Big Billion Days sale. The Flipkart mobile app will still be the primary emphasis in the latest offline strategy.
How will it work?
Customers who are not comfortable using the internet to order goods can go to selected experience stores to view, touch and assess the product. Once the customer is convinced, then the shop assistant can help the customer to buy the product through the Flipkart app, which can be delivered to the house or be picked up from the store itself. This offline strategy will not only increase Flipkart sales, but will also convert more prospects to the app philosophy.
- Experience centres available across 30 outlets
- Experience centres available in 19 cities
Flipkart has currently tied up with mobile retail chain Spice Hotspot, but is in talks with at least ten other offline mobile retail chains, as it looks to rapidly implement the service. Brands including Motorola and Alcatel who retail exclusively with Flipkart, will also benefit from the offline offering.
“This is targeted mainly at places where online shopping is still catching up. Customers in tier-3 and tier-4 towns have heard about online shopping but are still circumspect. Once these customers got a taste of online, they would buy online the next time. This is going to be a big customer conversion tool for us in the smartphone category,” said Ankit Nagori, chief business officer, Flipkart.
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