India's Flipkart going 100% mobile

By

Matthieu Guinebault

Published
Jul 29, 2015

The largest Indian e-retailer has decided to dispense with its sales portal, in favour of an activity concentrated on mobile phones only. Valued at $15 billion, the company will thus carry out the largest 'app-only' transition in history.
 

The transition should be completed by the end of the year. This change follows the move started in May with the Myntra fashion portal, owned by Flipkart. Myntra shut down its websites, forcing customers to resort to its mobile apps. "Between 70 and 75% of our traffic already comes from mobile phones," stated Flipkart.

A lot is at stake, since online sales in India are expected to increase by ten times the current amount in five years, amounting to $50 billion, according to analysis by UBS. But the number of smartphones in the country should also rise in the next few years, from 150,000 to 500,000.