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E-tailer Myntra has become India’s first ‘app-only’ e-commerce player. Which means the Flipkart-owned platform that sells fashion and lifestyle products will not be available on desktops and browsers. Myntra feels only an app will enable it to service customers in the best way. Reports suggest Flipkart, the largest e-tailer in India valued at about $15 billion, will also move to ‘app-only’ in a year.
Myntra hopes the exploding smartphone market, from about 140 million in 2014 to nearly 700 million in 2020, will power its growth. And, Sachin Bansal, Co-founder and CEO of Flipkart, says India is becoming a mobile-first internet country.
Still, the move to ‘app-only’ e-commerce seems hurried. App advocates miss a few points. First, apps consume copious amounts of cellular internet data if users access them on the go. Given the high prices of 3G services, which do not look like coming down thanks to telcos’ bleeding books, expecting everyone to download, install and use multiple apps to shop is going a bit too far.
Shopping apps work only on smartphones, not on feature phones, which are still used by a vast number. Yes, smartphone prices are coming down, thanks to China, but most people use smartphones for basic services such as instant messaging and social media. Shopping is a long way off. In fact, smartphone sales in India fell 7 per cent in the first quarter of 2015 to 19.5 million units. Does this signal a saturation?
PCs offer better navigation and a detailed look and feel. And, data shows PCs are here to stay. Market researcher IDC says India bought 9.6 million personal computers during 2014. This includes individual and institutional buyers. Of this, consumer PC sales remained robust at 4.9 million, 1.7 per cent up from 2013. So, the desktop is likely to be the preferred mode for online shopping.
Multiple platforms offer diverse experiences, especially when it comes to deeply personal activity like shopping or messaging. That’s why Facebook has not logged out of its browser edition, despite the fact that mobile ads reportedly account for more than 70 per cent of its revenues.
Assistant Editor
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