Effective May 15th, Myntra.com website is no more existent. All desktop and laptop users are being asked to download their mobile app inorder to purchase a product from their platform. Earlier, we had reported that both Flipkart and Myntra have discontinued their mobile websites, and forcing users to download their mobile app.
Speculations are rife that Flipkart may also close down their website for ever, and enable only mobile app purchase. Few days back, Flipkart’s founder had stated that India is no more a ‘mobile centric’ country, but has become a ‘mobile only’ nation.
We had also shared that how users are greatly disappointed with this decision, and have expressed their anger and frustration. After all, not every shopper wishes to get ‘sticky’ with one app as comparing prices becomes a headache on a mobile app.
However, the good news is that not all ecommerce portals in India are emulating Flipkart and Myntra; and the top three portals have openly come out and assured all their customers that their desktop version will exist peacefully, along with mobile.
Strategically speaking, this is a huge morale booster for users of desktop version of ecommerce portals, and at the same time, a huge demoralizer for Flipkart and Myntra’s marketing team, as they seem to be left out now.
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We Cant’s Force A Customer – Jabong
As the current trend goes, even Jabong, strongest competitor of Myntra, has admitted that 50% of all traffic and sales originate on their mobile app and the usage is increasing. But at the same time, they can’t force a customer to purchase only via mobile app. The customer is the best person to judge whether they wish a desktop site or a mobile app to make the purchase.
Jabong Cofounder Praveen Sinha said, “We strongly believe customers should have the choice to buy either on his smartphone or on the computer. It’s still 50-50 for us.”
The Power Lies With Customer – Amazon
Amazon has made clear that in a price sensitive and emerging market like India, the power has to be given to the customer in order to grow in the market. Although they admitted that close to 50% of their sales are happening on their mobile app, but both website and mobile should co-exist.
Akshay Sahi, customer experience head at Amazon India said on this issue, “We believe that as a consumer-obsessed company, we have to enable our customers to shop anytime, anywhere, and anyway they want.”
Respect Desktop Users – Snapdeal
On the other hand, Snapdeal has said that their analytics data shows that there are considerable amount of desktop website users on their portal, and they can’t just leave them in the middle.
A spokesperson from Snapdeal said, “Our data shows that there are still many customers who use PCs to shop online. We do not want to force our customers to use one specific medium to shop on Snapdeal,”
The Hidden Secret Behind Mobile Only Diktat: Stopping Price Comparison?
After several consultations with product managers and users of ecommerce portal, we have concluded that Myntra and Flipkart wants to stop the process and tradition of price comparison, and the best way to do is forcing mobile app only purchase. As we all know, comparing prices on mobile apps becomes an almost impossible task, and to save time and resources, the customer will have to accept the price which is being quoted by the particular mobile app.
Additionally, getting more details about the product also gets difficult in the app.
Echoing our view, Jabong Co-Founder Praveen also said, “Getting a price discovery from an app will be very difficult. Price comparison is significantly reduced there. Product visibility is a feature on the application which will get improved in future. Because of the small screen, some consumers might find it a visibility issue,”
What is your take on the issue? Will you download and install Myntra’s mobile app to make a purchase or switch over to a competitor who is still providing a website to shop? Do share your views by commenting right here!