Started as a reseller-led social commerce platform, Flipkart Shopsy is now seeing a majority of its new users shopping directly through their app instead of discovering it through a reseller.
Reseller model
In a reseller model, resellers act as conduits between the app and the end-users and earn a margin on each product sale along with getting discounted products for their network.
Speaking to businessline, Adarsh Menon, Senior Vice President & Head - New Businesses at Flipkart said, “we have not wedded to the reseller model anymore. Instead, we are very much focused on bringing the next 200 million customers online. We have learned that while Shopsy customers are new to e-commerce, they are not new to the internet. They have trust barriers in shopping online but many of them are comfortable in using the technology and do not need a reseller.”
Shopsy app is also available in Hindi language and many users are able to figure out the app on their own. “You can look at Shopsy as hyper-value e-commerce platform under which reseller-model is just one way for us to provide that hyper-value experience,” Menon added.
The company is seeing its numbers shifting towards the direct consumer model, as most customers are preferring to shop on their own. However, there are still some customers who continue to make purchases through resellers.
“We have both the product flows on the platform, and we are leaving it completely organic to the customer. If you prefers to shop on your own, most welcome to do so. If she wants to buy and then resell amongst her community, she is welcome to do so. If somebody wants to buy through a reseller, she’s welcome to do so,” said Menon.
Private brands
Commenting on plans to launch private brands on Shopsy, he said that private brands are definitely a good idea and maybe sometime in the future, Shopsy will consider it but right now the focus is going to be more on just sharpening the selection, price, service construct, and platform’s shopping experience. He added that the company is also considering adding live commerce on the platform.
In August, Shopsy announced crossing the 100 million users mark, ahead of its target timeline of the end of 2022. Further, 40 per cent of new customers to the Flipkart group (which includes Flipkart, Shopsy and Myntra) comes from Shopsy.