Recently, Myntra announced to shut its online website and said that it would operate app-only from May 1. Now, Flipkart has chosen to go Myntra’s way. Flipkart announced that it will soon shut down its website and will switch completely to a mobile app.
As reported by Times of India, Michael Adnani, Flipkart’s vice president, retail and head of brand alliances said, “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”. He added, “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.”
The sudden transition to app-only mode by the two websites is a reaction to the expeditious growth of the smartphone users. Having a complete access to a shopping website on your smartphone means being able to buy or order anything, just at a tap. Not everybody has access to desktop websites at all times, but a smartphone is a device most of us are around almost every second of the day.
Even though Flipkart and Myntra already have mobile shopping apps, a lot of people still go on the desktop to make purchases. The decision of the two online shopping portals to switch to app-only will direct all its users to a much more accessible platform.
