Flipkart has just scripted one of the biggest success stories with an astonishing 16 billion dollar deal with the world’s largest retailer, Walmart. And with this, the e-commerce space is all set to hit a new high. Enter Walmart, the brick and mortar retail giant with a 77 per cent stake in Flipkart, and the new equation is set to flip open a new world of possibilities and Amazon, its immediate competitor, is bound to feel the heat.
It has been an amazing journey for Flipkart in India, the concept of which began taking shape from the precincts of Amazon. It’s a journey of two budding IITians Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, who started off as Amazon interns abroad only to come home and apply the same business model in India. This is when Flipkart was born in 2007.
Flipkart has come a long way since then. From the euphoria that marked Flipkart’s first order, that too of a book, to turning a new leaf by getting into consumables and perishables, more especially groceries. It’s been an endless story full of twists and turns and marked by successes and improvisations at every stage.
Going ahead from here, Walmart’s infusion is only expected to do a world of a good for Flipkart. While the online sales space will hot up, it will also open up a sea of possibilities for
customers.
The e-sales space has come a long way but was never free from encumbrances. Retailers now have back-end teams working round the clock handling after sales and service issues with some even offering 24x7 customer support. It is now to be seen how the US retailer changes gears in terms of making it even more customer-friendly.
If Myntra and Jabong could connect with their customers, it is also because of their returns policy which saw refunds being managed on a keystroke. The customer convenience has been so crucial to the entire online sales, that e-tailers are now offering immediate refunds at the point of collection.
For Walmart, acquiring a stake in Flipkart enables it to tap into India’s retail market without having to go through the process of building its own stores.
The US retailer has its own success story. Besides being one of the fastest-growing brick and motor retail businesses in the world, it is known for its low pricing on a day-to-day basis. Walmart is equipped with the necessary tools that have made their business click. It has a robust strategy in place for supplies, logistics and product assortment. It is here that Flipkart will tend to benefit since Walmart will strategise likewise and hopefully be successful in offering rock-bottom prices that every Indian customer is looking out for.
While online shoppers look forward to a better customer experience, it remains to be seen how high Walmart takes this amazing Flipkart story which began in 2007 in a small apartment in Koramangala, Bengaluru.
