Earlier this month, it was reported that Myntra will shut down its website from May 1st and will go app only. Now, Flipkart is following its suit and planning to shut down its website by the end of the year, as per a report from The Economic Times.
“Last year, we had more on the app, but still did our Web and desktop. In the next year or so, we’re going to be only mobile. A year ago, 6% of our traffic was coming from mobile. In less than 18 months, that traffic is 10-fold. That shows the significance of what a mobile phone is doing for the consumers and consequently doing for us,”
Michael Adnani, vice-president, retail and head of brand alliances, Flipkart.
A senior executive from Flipkart confirmed that the website will adopt app-only format within an year.Flipkart has over 40 million registered users.He said the move to go app-only resulted from the growing popularity of smartphones in India. He said that more and more people were shopping through smartphones. Over 30,000 merchants sell over 20 million products via this platform which shows the tremendous popularity of e-retail.
The move comes from Myntra as it draws 80% of its traffic and 70% of sale from mobile app. The increasing usage of smartphones in India has forced e-tailers to take the app only approach.